Category: AHL

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Titus Wilkinson: Barracuda and Condors conclude their 8 game meeting for the season tonight in Bakersfield

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San Jose Barracuda goaltender Magnus Chrona stopped 28 out of 30 shots he faced against the Bakersfield Condors on Sat Feb 10, 2024 at Acrisure Arena in Bakersfield (photo from NHL.com)

On the SJ Barracuda podcast with Titus Wilkinson:

#1 The San Jose Barracuda (16-23-8-0) end their three game road trip tonight against Bakersfield Condors and this will be the final meeting between the Barracuda and Condors for the 2023-24 season.

#2 The Barracuda defeated the Condors last week Saturday at Tech CU 4-2. Magnus Chrona returned to work between the pipes in goal for the Barracuda stopping 28 of 30 shots against the Condors.

#3 The tough trip on Thursday against the Coachella Valley Firebirds at Acrisure Arena at Coachella Valley saw the Barracuda get shutout 4-0. The Firebirds got goals from Kole Lind in the first period at 15:24 and Max McCormick at 1:25 of the third period.

#4 Before Thursday’s loss to the Firebirds the Barracuda had held the opposition to three of fewer goals in their last eight games and were 5-2-1-0 during that run.

#5 The last time the Barracuda met the Condors they split a two game series Fri Feb 9 in Bakersfield in a 3-2 overtime loss and defeated the Condors on Sat Feb 10 4-2 at Tech CU the following night. These two teams match up again in Bakersfield tonight how do you see the match up in their final season meeting?

Titus Wilkinson is a San Jose Barracuda beat writer for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Barracuda shut out by Coachella Valley 4-0

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Tried as hard as they could the San Jose Barracuda were just blitzed by the Coachella Valley Firebirds at Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert on Thu Feb 15, 2024 (San Jose Barracuda photo)

Photo courtesy of San Jose Barracuda.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

The Barracuda on a roll looked to keep the good times going as they took on Coachella Valley.

For San Jose Magnus Chrona was in goal while for the Firebirds Chris Driedger got the start.

It was a slow start offensively for both teams as a goal wasn’t put on the board until 15:24 in when Kole Lind got Coachella Valley the lead.

Right after the goal San Jose found themselves down a man as Artem Guryev was given a match penalty for a hit to the head. Ozzy Wiesblatt would sit in the box to serve the penalty.

Heading into the middle frame the Firebirds were on the power play but were unable to capitalize.

There was no scoring in the second though San Jose would take two penalties and the Firebirds one.

After an extended period of no goals the third period got the offense going quickly as Max McCormick scored his 20th of the season less than two minutes in.

Later in the period the Barracuda pulled their goalie while on the power play but the Firebirds scored two empty net goals to put the game fully away. The two goal scorers were Ryan Winterton and Marian Studenic.

There were some extra circulars after the goals as Scott Sabourin and and McCormick got into it. Overall on the night San Jose took 37 penalty minutes.

With the loss San Jose falls to 16-23-8 while the Firebirds continue their dominance improving to 28-12-4.

The shots at the end of this game favored the Firebirds 32-25 while both teams failed to score on the power play going a combined 0/6.

The playmaker of the night was Andrew Poturalski who racked up two assists bringing his total assists up to 22.

The three stars of the game were: 1st: Chris Driedger 2nd: Kole Lind 3rd: Max McCormick

The Barracuda will look to bounce back against the Condors as they continue their road trip on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Barracuda get dominant victory over Gulls 6-2

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Photo courtesy of San Jose Barracuda. Thomas Bordeleau warms up before a game.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

After beating the Condors at home San Jose looked to continue their winning ways against the San Diego Gulls.

In net for the Barracuda was Georgi Romanov while for the Gulls Calle Clang was in between the pipes.

Good starts are always important and for the Barracuda they did not do that. Instead just 1:46 into the game on the power play Olen Zellweger scored his 10th goal of the season giving them the early lead.

While the start may have been rough later in the period San Jose would tie the game as Ethan Cardwell scored his 14th of the campaign.

Then in the dying moments Nathan Todd snuck one home to give San Jose a late period lead.

The second ended up starting out the opposite of the first as Shakir Mukhamadullin scored his sixth to extend their lead to 3-1.

Later in the period Kyle Rau tacked on with his fourth to make it a commanding three goal lead.

The dominance continued in the final frame as Jacob Peterson made it 5-1 though the Gulls would cut into the lead at 10:55 as Ben King scored.

San Diego pulled their goalie but it did not end up mattering as Peterson got his second of the night putting the game away at 6-2.

While the Gulls are one of the bottom feeders in the league seeing San Jose’s offense explode for six goals was great to see. This is also the second game in a row were the offense has showed up as they scored four goals against the Condors last game. What is more impressive is that they have given up only four goals in their past two games.

If there was any negative San Jose took a lot of penalties though they weren’t punished for it as the Gulls only went 1/6 on the man advantage.

As far as stats Thomas Bordeleau had a great night with three assists and two shots on goal. The shots also favored San Jose in this one at 26-21.

The three stars of the game were: 1st: Kyle Rau 2nd: Thomas Bordeleau 3rd: Shakir Mukhamadullin

After this victory San Jose improves to 16-22-8 while the Gulls fall to 18-19-7.

The Barracuda will continue their road trip against one of the best in the league Coachella Valley tomorrow at 7 p.m.

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Barracuda hits road against Gulls Wednesday night

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San Jose Barracuda forward Nathan Todd (45) scored three goals to help the Barracuda defeat the Bakersfield Condors at Tech CU in San Jose on Sat Feb 10, 2024 (San Jose Barracuda photo)

On the SJ Barracuda podcast with Marko:

#1 San Jose Barracuda Nathan Todd scored his first career hat trick which included the game winning goal and the ice sealer as the San Jose Barracuda shot down the Bakersfield Condors 4-2 on Saturday evening at Tech CU Arena.

#2 San Jose split the home and home weekend series with its Pacific Division rival. Bakersfield has its three-game winning streak snapped

#3 Todd’s second goal of his hat trick, which also was the Cuda’s first team hat trick of the season, was the eventual game winning goal with 3:34 remaining in the third period. 

#4 Brandon Coe centered the puck out in front of the crease from behind the net and Todd tucked home the puck inside the near post for his 12th goal of the season sending hats everywhere on from the announced crowd of 3,986.

#5 San Jose takes on the San Diego Gulls on Wednesday 2/14 at 7:00pm at Pechanga Arena of San Diego. I know you have a weak spot for your alma matter and San Diego has a special place for you not to mention it’s a tough place to play for the Barracuda.

Join Marko Ukalovic for the SJ Barracuda podcasts Mondays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

AHL All Star Game/San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: AHL All Star Game tonight in San Jose; Mukhamadullin to represent Barracuda

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2024 AHL All Star Game/San Jose Barracuda logo

On the SJ Barracuda/AHL All Star Game podcast with Marko Ukalovic:

#1 Marko, first of all it had to be exciting for the San Jose Barracuda and the AHL to hold the 2024 All Star Game at Tech CU now in it’s second year a great opportunity for the Barracuda to showcase their home ice building.

#2 The AHL announced that the All Star Game was live streamed on AHL televised to fans worldwide.

#3 Marko you had a chance to take a look at the AHL Skills Competition tell us how that went and who were some of the fastest skaters and hardest shooters.

#4 Marko, talk about Barracuda All Star lone representative defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin .who replaced leading scorer Danil Guschin, who had originally  been the lone representative of the Cuda’s but had to bow out due to injury. That’s why Mukhamadullin was chosen to replace him.

#5 Marko, the AHL All Star Challenge is tonight at Tech CU this is a chance for those AHL players whose dream is it to have a career in the NHL to shine tonight.

#6 Just looking ahead the Barracuda next game is on Fri Feb 9 in Bakersfield against the Condors. The Barracuda in their last two games split with the Abbottsford Canucks last Friday and Saturday. The Condors on the other hand swept the Texas Stars in Cedar Park Texas last Friday and Saturday. How do you see this two game set with Bakersfield coming up?

Join Marko for the Barracuda podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Barracuda hold on to win first of back-to-backs against Abbotsford 2-1

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Photo courtesy of San Jose Barracuda.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

The Barracuda took on the Canucks in the first of back-to-backs on Friday night.

In goal for San Jose was Georgi Romanov who coming into this game had a 3-5-3 record with a 3.63 GAA and .889 SV%. While on the other side, it was Artūrs Šilovs who had a 13-7-5 record with a 2.86 GAA and a .901%.

A little over a minute into this one the Barracuda were given a great opportunity to get on the board due to high-sticking penalty against Abbotsford. However, the Canucks penalty kill did their job and kept them off the scoreboard.

Despite the power play not clicking San Jose would find the back of the net at 10:13 as Nathan Todd scored his 10th goal of the season.

The Barracuda continued to push and were able to extend their lead as Kyle Rau scored his third of the campaign against his former team giving them a solid two-goal lead. On the goal, Gannon Laroque got his first point of the season and only the second of his career in the AHL.

The middle frame saw neither team find the back of the net as defense and goaltending reigned supreme. There were two penalties in the period one against Ethan Frisch for hooking and the other against Jett Woo also for hooking.

Looking to hold on to their lead the Barracuda tried to clamp things down in their own end. They were able to do that until 16 minutes in when Marc Gatcomb scored his fifth of the season cutting San Jose’s lead down to one.

Things got stressful for the road team especially as Vancouver pulled Šilovs 16:56 into the period. Abbotsford was not able to do much with the extra man and San Jose held on to win 2-1 in what ended up being a very close game.

For Romanov it was a very good showing as he made 30 saves in what must have been a big confidence booster for him.

Both teams penalty kills also went perfect as San Jose killed off two while Abbotsford killed off three.

The Barracuda have to feel good about this win as historically they do not well against the Canucks as over the last five seasons they are 6-9-1-0.

This win also improves San Jose’s record to 14-21-7 while the Canucks fall to 22-14-3.

The three stars of the game were: 1st: Georgi Romanov 2nd: Tanner Caspick 3rd: Marc Gatcomb

San Jose will look to get one final win in tomorrow before they head back to San Jose for the all-star break.

That game will be on at 7 p.m. and will be against these same Canucks.

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Titus Wilkinson: Barracuda open road trip in Abbottsford against Canucks Friday night

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San Jose Barracuda forward Kyle Rau takes a fall on his back and is surrounded by Calgary Wranglers at the Tech CU Center in San Jose on Sat Jan 27. 2024 (San Jose Barracuda photo)

On the SJ Barracuda podcast with Titus Wilkinson:

#1 Things got off to a quick start in this one as just 2:28 in Ilya Solovyov scored his third of the season giving Calgary an early lead.

#2 Before the period came to a close San Jose would pull away as Thomas Bordeleau got his ninth putting the home crowd on their feet.

#3 Not only was Calgary’s power play doing well they also had a lot of chances in the period as they registered 21 shots.

#4 If there is any positive San Jose’s new acquisition Jordy Bellerive seems to be fitting in well as he scored last game and had an assist in this one.

#5 The Barracuda will have some time off before they play again on Friday against the Canucks on the road at 7 p.m.

Titus Wilkinson filled in for Marko Ukalovic for the SJ Barracuda podcast heard Mondays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Barracuda battle but eventually fall to Wranglers 3-2

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Photo courtesy of San Jose Barracuda. Thomas Bordeleau celebrates his goal against the Wranglers (photo taken on 1/27/24).

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

SAN JOSE- After beating the Wranglers yesterday the Barracuda looked to repeat their success in front of their home crowd.

For San Jose this time it would be Georgi Romanov in goal while Dustin Wolf played his second game in a row as the starter.

Things got off to a quick start in this one as just 2:28 in Ilya Solovyov scored his third of the season giving Calgary an early lead.

San Jose responded even faster as less than a minute later Jacob Peterson tied it getting his fifth of the campaign.

Before the period came to a close San Jose would pull away as Thomas Bordeleau got his ninth putting the home crowd on their feet.

Special teams would play a big role in the middle frame as Calgary would take the lead on two power-play goals. One was scored by Brady Lyle while Jonathon Aspirot got the other.

Not only was Calgary’s power play doing well they also had a lot of chances in the period as they registered 21 shots.

Interestingly enough though the third ended up being sort of the inverse of that as Calgary only registered three shots in the period.

San Jose also wasn’t really able to muster much on offense leading them to drop the second of back-to-backs against the Wranglers 3-2.

With the loss, the Barracuda fall to 13-21-7 while Calgary improves to 23-13-3.

If there is any positive San Jose’s new acquisition Jordy Bellerive seems to be fitting in well as he scored last game and had an assist in this one.

Cole Cassels also registered his 22nd assist of the season on the Bordeleau goal showing once again why he is one of the better playmakers on the team.

The shots in this one favored Calgary 39-33 while San Jose went 0/3 on the power play and Calgary went 2/4.

The three stars of the game were: 1st: Ilya Solovyov 2nd: Jonathon Aspirot 3rd: Georgi Romanov

The Barracuda will have some time off before they play again on Friday against the Canucks on the road at 7 p.m.

Makiniemi makes 37 saves to secure a shutout victory for the Barracuda over Calgary 3-0

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Photo courtesy of San Jose Barracuda.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

SAN JOSE- The Barracuda looked to extend their winning streak against the Wranglers on Friday night.

In between the pipes for San Jose was Eetu Makiniemi while for the Wranglers Dustin Wolf was in goal.

The first period was rather uneventful, with no goals and the Wranglers getting the most of the chances with 15 shots on goal.

The one penalty in the period was killed off by San Jose as Valtteri Pulli was called for holding.

It took a while to get a goal but 13:24 into the second Ethan Frisch got his first career AHL goal.

Then on the power play San Jose extended their lead to two as Nathan Todd got his ninth goal of the season.

The second period also saw plenty of penalties mainly taken by Calgary as they took five.

The final frame saw the home team pull away even further as Jordy Bellerive scored his fourth of the campaign.

Makiniemi was then able to secure the shutout which was his second of the season as he made 37 saves.

Neither team’s powerplay was all that notable except for the penalty kill as Calgary went 0/4 while San Jose went 1/4.

The shots in this one favored Calgary 37-21.

The three stars of the game were: 1st: Eetu Makiniemi 2nd: Ethan Firsch 3rd: Valterri Pulli

The Barracuda will look to extend this winning streak to three at home as they will play Calgary tomorrow at 6 p.m.

Barracuda snap nine-game losing streak with win over Condors 5-3

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Photo courtesy of San Jose Barracuda.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

SAN JOSE- The Barracuda returned home to take on the Barracuda on Wednesday night.

Getting the start in goal for San Jose was Eetu Makiniemi while Olivier Rodrigue was in between the pipes for the Condors.

Looking to get out of this losing streak the Barracuda did not do themselves any favors going down early in this one. The first period saw the Condors strike out to a 2-0 lead thanks to goals by Carter Savoie and Ty Tullio.

Rodrigue was decently busy in the first for Bakersfield as he made 14 saves to keep San Jose off the board.

The middle frame saw quite the swing in momentum as on the power play just 5:42 in Cole Cassels scored his fifth of the season to make it 2-1.

Then on another power play not long after the Barracuda struck again with all-star Danil Gushchin potting his 14th of the campaign.

With the game now suddenly tied San Jose pushed for more and would score their third striaght goal as recently demoted Scott Sabourin capitalized on his oppurunity.

The Condors looked to be reeling heading into the final frame as Oskar Lindblom extended the home teams lead to 4-2 7:48 into the period.

Bakersfield however would not give up as Matvey Petrov scored his fourth of the season to make it a one goal game.

While the Condors would pull Rodrigue it was not enough to tie the game as Jack Studnicka scored on the empty cage to seal the deal.

The win improves San Jose’s record to 12-20-7 while the Condors fall to 18-12-1.

Of note was the Barracuda’s power play which went a perfect 2/2 while the Condors went 0/3. The shots also favored San Jose 40-38.

The three stars of the game were: 1st: Oskar Lindblom 2nd: Scott Sabourin 3rd: Danil Gushchin

Looking to continue their winning ways the Barracuda will play the Wranglers on Friday at home at 7 p.m.