Barracuda drop close game against Colorado Eagles 4-3

Photo Courtesy of San Jose Barracuda Twitter. Andrew Agozzino celebrates a goal against the Colorado Eagles.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

The Barracuda took on the Eagles on the road and lost a tight affair against Colorado by a final of 4-3 on Friday night.

The first period between the two teams was a tight checking period with no goals for most of the period.

At the 17:00 mark however the Barracuda got a powerplay opportunity thanks to high-sticking penalty against Nate Clurman.

Shorthanded though the Eagles scored a minute and 30 seconds into the powerplay from Spencer Smallman who got his first goal of the season. The goal was also unassisted.

That ended up being all the scoring in the first with the shots finishing in favor of San Jose at 13-11.

The second period started exactly opposite to the first period as just 1:09 in Andrew Agozzino scored for San Jose to get his eight goal of the season. Both William Eklund and Danil Guschin got assists on the goal.

The tie however did not last for long as just 28 seconds later Cedric Paré got his third goal of the season for Colorado with Smallman getting the lone assist on the goal.

After the quick outburst of goals to start the period both offenses quieted down with just a couple penalties for around the next 15 minutes.

15:20 into the second though Martin Kaut got his fourth goal of the season extending the lead for Colorado making it 3-1. Callahan Burke and Anton Blidh got assists on the goal.

Down by two with the minutes ticking away in the second the Barracuda pressed looking for a response.

For San Jose they would find that response with Tristen Robins getting his ninth goal of the season brining it back to just a one goal deficit. The goal itself ended up being unassisted.

That would be the final big play of the period as the score remained at 3-2 heading into the third.

The shots still favored San Jose at 23-22 going into the final period of play.

The third period did not get off to a great start for the Barracuda as far as penalties as they took two back to back to kick of the third.

San Jose’s penalty unit did come up big though and killed off both.

8:19 into the third period however Sampo Ranta scored his fourth goal of the season for the Eagles making it 4-2. Burke and David Farrance got assists on the goal.

Despite the goal Colorado also committed a couple errors also taking multiple penalties in the period.

On one of these penalties Guschin scored his seventh goal of the season to make it a one goal contest. Both Thomas Bordeleau and Eklund got assists on the play.

San Jose did push to tie it but it would not be enough as Colorado hung on to finish the game at 4-3.

The three stars of the game were: 1st: Spencer Smallman 2nd: Martin Kaut 3rd: Callahan Burke.

The shots at the end of the game still favored the Barracuda at 31-30.

San Jose will look to rebound tomorrow playing the Eagles once again in Colorado at 6 p.m.

Barracuda on the road blanked by Henderson Silver Knights 5-0

Photo courtesy of San Jose Barracuda Twitter. Brandon Coe gets warmed up before their game against the Silver Knights.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

On the road the Barracuda failed to find a goal getting blanked by the Henderson Silver Knights by a dominating 5-0 score.

The game got off to a quick start for the Silver Knights as just 3:06 into the first period Byron Froese got his fourth goal of the season. Both Gage Quinney and Sheldon Rempal got assists on the play.

Then not to long after Montana Onyebuchi would be assessed with a unsportsmanlike penalty and a ten minute misconduct.

On that same penalty Henderson would widen the margin to 2-0 with Mason Primeau getting his third goal of the season. The assists ended up going to both Brendan Brisson and Lukas Cormier.

At the 10:40 mark then Adam Raska decided to drop the gloves with Kyle Marino to try and get the Barracuda going.

It did not end up working and as a matter of fact the Silver Knights actually scored again this time Pavel Dorofeyev with his fifth of the season. Brisson and Ivan Morozov got assists on the play.

By the end of the first the shots actually favored San Jose at 15-11.

Heading into the second the Barracuda were looking for a response but rather the Silver and gold had something else in store. As just 27 seconds into the period Ivan Morozov scored his second of the season to increase the lead to 4-0.

On the goal both Dorofeyev and Brisson got assists.

Then not less than 20 seconds after the first goal of the period Froese got his second goal of the night to make it 5-0. Both Quinney and Lukas Cormier got assists on the goal.

After that goal the Barracuda would pull Eetu Makiniemi who had a rough night between the pipes.

With Aaron Dell in net the scoring stopped for the rest of the period.

The shots by the end of the second still favored San Jose at 24-23.

The third period would be a continued show of no offense for the Barracuda as they were only able to muster seven shots in the period.

They also were held off the scoresheet as Laurent Brossoit got a 31 save shutout.

With no goals from the Silver Knights either it was a pretty quiet final period.

The shots at the end of the game though did still favor San Jose at 31-30.

The Barracuda’s next game will be on the road against the Colorado Eagles on Friday at 6 p.m.

Wild score early then hang on to edge Barracuda 4-3

The Iowa Wild celebrate a goal along the bench against the San Jose Barracuda at Tech CU Arena on Tuesday NOV 29, 2022. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — The Iowa Wild scored three unanswered goals in the first period and then hung on at the end for a 4-3 victory over the San Jose Barracuda on Tuesday evening at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose had its two-game winning streak snapped. Iowa snapped its two-game losing streak with its sixth win in the month of November.

San Jose (10-8-0-1) drew first blood early in the first period. Andrew Agozzino intercepted a pass at the red line from a pass that exited the Wild zone. The ‘Cuda captain skated down the left wing and on a delayed penalty beat Wild goalie Jesper Wallstedt with a wrist shot from a tough angle for his fifth goal of the season at the 2:50 mark.

Agozzino has been streaking with points in his last seven of eight games.

Iowa (7-6-2-2) answered back three minutes later. Daemon Hunt fed a pass down to Joseph Cramarossa who slid a backhander past ‘Cuda goalie Strauss Mann for his third goal of the season at the 5:52 mark.

The Wild went ahead with a power play goal late in the opening frame. Joe Hicketts found Marco Rossi along the left slot and Rossi rifled home a wrist shot top shelf past Mann for his first goal of his AHL career at the 13:40 mark.

Iowa scored its third unanswered goal in the first period on its second consecutive goal with the man advantage. Sammy Walker blasted a shot from the point past Mann for his eighth goal of the season at the 15:27 mark. Rossi and Adma Beckman were credited with assists.

San Jose cut Iowa’s lead down to one early in the second period. Luke Johnson beat Wallstedt with a show between the five-hole for his fourth goal of the season at the 4:38 mark. Ryan Merkley and Scott Reedy recorded assists on the team’s second goal.

It didn’t take long for Iowa to regain its two-goal lead. Damien Giroux set up Hunt at the left slot and the Wild defenseman roofed a wrist shot top shelf for his first goal of the season 38 seconds later.

San Jose closed the gap to a one-goal deficit with 58 seconds left in the third period with the man advantage. A shot from right slot by Tristan Robbins deflected off Reedy and was batted out of the air by C.J. Suess for his third goal of the season.

Wallstedt finished with 30 saves on 33 shots to earn the victory. Mann made 29 saves on 33 shots in the losing effort that snapped his two-game winning streak.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 1-for-5 on the power play. Iowa went 2-for-6.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Rossi 2) Hunt 3) Hicketts.

UP NEXT: San Jose and Iowa conclude their two-games series on Wednesday 11/30 at 7:00pm at Tech CU Arena.

Late goal propels Barracuda over Condors 2-1

Photo Courtesy of San Jose Barracuda Twitter. Eetu Makiniemi prepares himself before a game.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

In a low scoring game on the road the Barracuda found a way to pull off a win over the Condors by a final of 2-1.

Bakersfield got off to a great start at home as just 21 seconds in Luke Esposito scored getting his second goal of the season. Graham Mcphee and Olivier Rodrigue got the assists on the play.

Due to it being teddy bear toss night the goal lead to quite the delay as they had to clean the ice of teddy bears. Not only did they have to clean up the teddy bears but they also had to clean the ice as the fuzz messed up the ice.

Finally after the long delay they got back to play with the Condors already up.

Not long after the break Jeffrey Viel both got a penalty and dropped the gloves with a Condor player. The Barracuda were able to kill off the penalty.

Later in the period San Jose got an extra man opportunity of their own ending up in a five-on-three situation.

With the power play on fire the Barracuda extended their goal streak with Danil Gushchin sniping a shot from the point past the blocker of Rodrigue. The assists on the play went to both Thomas Bordeleau and Artemi Kniazev.

That would be all of the scoring in the period with the shots finishing heavily in favor of the Barracuda at 19-5.

The second period got kicked off with a penalty assessed to Andrew Agozzino for cross-checking giving Bakersfield another power play. San Jose killed this PP off as well keeping there penalty kill perfect on the night.

Overall it was a quiet period with no goals however the Barracuda did have four shots ring off the post.

The shots at the end of the second continued to favor San Jose at 36-17.

The third period was carefully played with each team trying not to make a mistake.

On the second night of back to backs San Jose towards the end of the third period began to look a little tired.

Despite the tiredness that may have begun to set in at the 1:53 mark C.J. Suess caught a wrist shot from the point dropped it in front of him and tucked it in past Rodrigue. On top of Suess snapping a long goal streak Jalen Smereck got an assist on the play in his debut with San Jose along with Kniazev getting an assist as well.

The Condors tried to make a comeback by pulling their goalie but it was not enough as San Jose held on for the win.

The three stars of the game were 1) Danil Gushchin 2) C.J. Suess 3) Olivier Rodrigue

San Jose’s next game will be at home against the Iowa Wild on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Barracuda beat rival Silver Knights on the road 5-2

Credit to San Jose Barracuda Twitter. Patrick McGrath skates away after finishing a fight with a Henderson player.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

On the road in Henderson the San Jose Barracuda (9-7-0-1) came out on top with a solid third period performance winning 5-2 over the Henderson Silver Knights (5-14-0-0) .

It was a battle between starter Laurent Brossoit for Henderson and Eetu Makiniemi for San Jose.

The PK unit for San Jose would have to be ready quickly in this game as just 1:36 into the first Billy Constantinou took a penalty for hooking.

Thankfully for the Barracuda the penalty unit came through with a solid kill and kept the score even.

At the 8:06 mark though with both teams at even strength Henderson found the back of the net with Jonas Rondbjerg getting his fifth goal of the season. It was a perfect rebound goal that he was able to tuck in with assists going to Bryon Froese and Pavel Dorofeyev.

Less than a minute later though Montana Onyebuchi responded with a slap shot from the right point that beat Brossoit to tie things up at one. Both Andrew Agozzino and Patrick Sieloff got the assists on Onyebuchi’s first goal of the season.

Besides the scoring there was also two fights between the rivals in the first period with McGrath and Onyebuchi both dropping the gloves.

That would end up being all the scoring for the first period with the shots finishing in favor of San Jose at 10-9.

At the 10:14 mark of the second period Tristen Robins on the power play ripped one in past a screened Brossoit to get his seventh goal of the season. The assists went to both Ryan Merkley and Andrew Agozzino.

Not to long after the power play goal by the black-and-blue Henderson responded with oner of their own as Byron Froese scored his third goal of the season. Daniil Miromanov and Sakari Manninen got the assists on the play that tied the game at two.

At the end of the second period the shots now favored Henderson 22-18.

The beginning of the third was a pretty methodical start with both teams trying not to give up that all important third goal.

At the 15:43 mark Thomas Bordeleau decided to play hero and tucked in a rebound out front to give the Barracuda a huge lead late in the third period. William Eklund and Onyebuchi got assists on the play with Montana’s assists giving him a Gordie Howe hat trick.

The Barracuda however were not done with just a one goal lead as Merkley sprang Agozzino on a breakaway with a beautiful pass. Agozzino tucked that pass home five hole and gave San Jose now a two goal lead with assists from Merkley and Scott Reedy.

The Silver Knights after those two goals were forced to pull their goalie but Jeffrey Viel scored on the empty cage to solidify the game at 5-2. Both Jasper Weatherby and C.J. Suess got the assists on the goal.

The shots at the end of the game still favored Henderson at 35-27. While the Barracuda’s power play went 1/3 and the Silver Knight’s power play went 1/5.

The Barracuda’s next game will be on the road against the Bakersfield Condors tomorrow at 7 p.m.

Barracuda come out flat against Reign lose 5-1

Photo credit to San Jose Barracuda Twitter. Defenseman Billy Constantinou makes his debut for the Barracuda against the Ontario Reign.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

After a win on Sunday the Barracuda followed it up with a loss on the road to the Ontario Reign by a final of 5-1.

The starting goalie for the Reign would be Pheonix Copley and for the Barracuda Eetu Makiniemi.

The game started off with a power play opportunity for the Barracuda as Jordan Spence headed to the box for delay of game. San Jose whiffed on the opportunity with Danil Guschin getting the lone shot.

Not too long after the Barracuda had their power play the Reign got one as well on a high sticking penalty by William Eklund.

On their chance the Reign capitalized with Samuel Fagemo getting his fifth goal of the season. Quinton Byfield and Jordan Spence both got assists on the play.

The momentum continued in favor of Ontario as Tobias Bjornfot buried one to get his second goal of the season. The assists on the play went to both Martin Chromiak and Samuel Helenius.

Barely two minutes later the Reign saw fit to tack onto the lead as Tobie Bisson got his first goal of the season. Cameron Gaunce and Nate Thompson both were credited with assists on the play.

The score at the end of the period finished at 3-0 with the shots also favoring the Reign at 16-5.

Unlike the first period the first big play of the period would be a goal for the Reign this time coming from Tyler Madden with his fifth goal of the season. The assists both going to Byfield and Alex Turcotte.

It would take a while for another goal to happen but it came again from the Reign this time Spence scored getting his first goal of the season. Byfield and Turcotte once again both got the assists on the goal.

With the score at 5-0 the Barracuda looked pretty much out of it with time dwindling in the second period.

However on the power play San Jose finally got one back as Tristen Robins would rip one in from the top of the right circle. Andrew Agozzino and Scott Harrington got the assists on the goal.

At the end of the period the shots finished still in favor of the Reign 26-14.

Only 1:25 into the first period San Jose would take a penalty as Artemi Kniazev got a penalty for tripping.

That penalty would be killed off as well as a collective five other penalties would be called. Four against the Barracuda and two penalties against the Reign.

At the end of the day there would be no scoring in the period with the final score coming in at 5-1.

The three stars would end up being Byfield, Spence, and Turcotte.

The Barracuda’s next game will be on the road against the Henderson Silver Knights on Friday at 1:00 p.m.

Bounce back game for Barracuda as they blank Roadrunners 6-0

Photo credit to San Jose Barracuda Twitter. The Barracuda celebrate a goal at Rondondo Tower Apartments in Tucson on Sun Nov 20, 2022

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

In the second of back to backs the Barracuda bounced back from their last game against the Roadrunners with a win by the score 6-0.

The first period between the two teams was a slow burn with no goals to speak of. Though three tripping penalties were given out two the Barracuda one to the Roadrunners.

The shots in the period finished at 12-8 in favor of the Barracuda.

In comparison to the first the second was a lot different with the offense coming alive for San Jose.

It began with Danil Guschin getting his third goal of the season and Brandon Coe assisting on the goal.

Not too long after the first goal William Eklund tacked on to the lead with his fourth goal of the season. Assisting on the goal was both Andrew Agozzino and Montana Onyebuchi.

After a brief break in the offense a shorthanded opportunity presented itself for Artemi Kniazev and he capitalized on it. With Tristen Robins and Ryan Merkley getting the assists.

With the lead up to 3-0 Thomas Bordeleau saw fit to add on to it with his fifth goal of the season. Robins and Eklund both got assists on the goal.

The shots at the the end of the second period also favored San Jose at 16-7.

Bordeleau entering the third period was not done as at the 6:17 mark he got his second goal of the game on the power play. The assists going to both Kniazev and Scott Reedy.

Much later in the period Bordeleau would complete the hat trick at the 16:47 mark. Eklund tacked on another assist along with Onyebuchi.

Six would end up being enough as Tucson was shutout by Eetu Makiniemi who made 28 saves on the night.

The shots in total finished in favor of the Barracuda at 40-28.

The Barracuda power play would also go 1/4 while the Roadrunners power play went 0/6.

The Barracuda’s next game will be against the Ontario Reign on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m at the Toyota Center in Ontario

Barracuda drop road game against Roadrunners 6-3

(Photo credit San Jose Barracuda) Montana Onyebuchi (79) throws down with Tucson Roadrunner Ryan McGregor (16) in the first period in Tucson.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

On the road the San Jose Barracuda did battle with the Tucson Roadrunners and came out on the losing end by a final of 6-3.

The first period took a minute for either team to find a goal but at the 10:33 mark William Eklund got his third goal of the season on the power play. Jasper Weatherby and Ryan Merkley both got apples on the goal as well.

The Eklund goal seemed to awaken something in the offense for the Barracuda as less than a minute later Scott Reedy during a power play potted his fourth of the season. Thomas Bordeleau and Danil Guschin contributed with assists on the goal.

Seeing an opportunity to add on to the lead Andrew Agozzino put the biscuit in the basket for this third goal of the season. Montana Onyebuchi contributed the lone assist.

Looking for a response in an otherwise dominant Barracuda period Adam Cracknell did just that scoring his fourth goal of the season. Bringing the game back to a 3-1 score Nathan Smith and Michael Carcone got the assists.

At the end of the second period the shots were 11-5 in favor of the Tucson.

Similar to the first period the second also took a minute to find a goal but that silence would be broken by Carcone making the score 3-2. Jan Jenik and Jean Sebastien Dea both got assists on the power play goal.

The power play continued to click for the Roadrunners as Milos Kelemen scored his fourth goal of the season. The assists going to Ben McCartney and Laurent Dauphin.

That would be all of the scoring in the first period with the shots finishing in favor of Tucson at 8-6.

In the third period the collapse began at the 12:29 mark with Keleman getting his second goal of the game. Victor Soderstrom and Carcone both got assists on the goal.

Adding on to the momentum for the Tucson Nathan Smith scored his third goal of the season. Connor Timmins and Vladislav Kolyachonok both contributed to the goal.

In desperation the Barracuda pulled their goalie to try to bring the game back to even.

It would not work though as Keleman would get the hat trick on the empty net. Sebastian Dea would get the lone assist on the goal.

On the night starting goalie for San Jose Aaron Dell would finish the night with a 5.22 GAA and 0.853 SV%

The Barracuda’s next game will be against Tucson again at Tucson Arena Sunday at 3 pm PST

Johnson’s overtime winner gives Barracuda 2-1 win over Eagles

The San Jose Barracuda celebrate their win over the Colorado Eagles at Tech CU Arena on Saturday Nov 12, 2022. (San Jose Barracuda

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Luke Johnson scored the game winning goal 40 seconds into overtime to give the San Jose Barracuda a 2-1 victory over the Colorado Eagles on Saturday at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose has won two games in a row. Colorado had its three-game winning streak snapped.

Colorado (6-5-1-0) drew first blood just past the halfway mark of the first period. Charles Hudon picked up a rolling puck in front of the crease and roofed a shot top shelf past ‘Cuda goalie Aaron Dell for his sixth goal of the season at the 11:04 mark. Jean-Luc Foudy and Alex Galchenyuk received assists.

San Jose (6-4-0-1) answered back almost three minutes later. Ozzy Wiseblatt fed a cross ice pass over to Japser Weatherby who buried a one-timer past Eagles’ goalie Justus Annunen for his first goal of the season at the 13:58 mark.

Both teams played a tight defensive battle for the final 40 minutes of regulation as neither goalie allowed a goal sending the game to overtime.

In overtime, CJ Suess led a three-on-two counterattack up the ice. Derrick Pouliot found Johnson in between the faceoff circles and Johnson blasted a shot past Annunen for the game winner, his third goal of the season.

Dell stopped 35 of the 36 shots he faced to earn the victory. Annunen made 21 saves on 23 shots in the losing cause.

GAME NOTES: San Jose 0-for-2 on the power play. Colorado went 0-for-5.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Johnson 2) Dell 3) Weatherby

UP NEXT: San Jose and Colorado conclude their two-games series on Sunday 11/13 at 3:00pm at Tech CU Arena.

Barracuda snap losing skid with 4-3 shootout win over Reign

San Jose Barracuda forward Ozzy Wiseblatt celebrates his first goal in a ‘Cuda uniform against the Ontario Reign at Tech CU Arena on Thursday NOV 10, 2022. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Ozzy Wiseblatt picked as good a time as ever to score his first professional goal.

Wiseblatt’s goal in the third period gave the San Jose Barracuda their first lead of the game as the eventually defeated the Ontario Reign 4-3 in a shootout victory on Thursday evening at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose snapped its five-game winless draught after starting the season 4-0. Ontario has lost two games in a row after winning their previous six.

Wisebatt, the San Jose Sharks 2020 first round pick (31st overall), made his debut with the ‘Cuda after being called up from the Wichita Thunder of the ECHL, where he began the season. Brandon Coe set up Wiseblatt with a quick backhand pass from behind the net and Wiseblatt buried a wrist shot top shelf past Reign goalie Phoenix Copley for his first goal professional goal at the 6:10 mark of the third period.

“I just want to showcase what I can do. I think most importantly I wanted to win the game. I’m thrilled that it happened. I’m pretty happy,” Wiseblatt said.

The goal gave San Jose (5-4-0-1) its first lead of the contest after falling behind two goals to their Socal rival early in the second period.

After a scoreless first period, Ontario (7-2-0-1) jumped out to a 1-0 lead 38 seconds to start the middle frame. Lias Andersson scored his fifth goal of the season from the right wing that beat ‘Cuda goalie Strauss Mann. Jacob Moverare and T.J. Tynan registered assists.

Tyler Madden doubled the lead for the leaders of the Pacific Division at the 3:02 mark. Taylor Ward and Akil Thomas recorded assists on Madden’s second goal of the season.

Jeffery Viel, known as an agitator on the ice, singlehandedly led the comeback for San Jose as he scored the next two goals. His first one came more than halfway through the second period. Viel, who camped himself in front of Copley, redirected a shot from the point by Santeri Hatakka for his first goal of the season at the 12:55 mark.

Early in the third period, Viel intercepted a clearing attempt by Moverare inside the Reign zone. Viel skated in on Copley and deposited a backhander into the back of the net for his second goal of the game.

“I’m glad I scored some goals. I’m trying to get my offense back a little bit. (I’m getting) a little more playing time down here so I guess it feels good,” Viel said.

San Jose had its first big test of adversity of the young season when Adam Raska was given a five-minute major penalty when he hit Quinton Byfield up high with a hit from behind that injured Byfield who was slow to get up off of the ice before skating back to the bench under his own power.

“Aversity is a great teacher,” said ‘Cuda assistant coach Louis Mass on his team’s big penalty kill. “It’s something that glues teams together when you can go through those moments. It’s something where if you get into those situations in the future, you feel like you’re a little more resilient and you can handle that.”

While killing off the major penalty Luke Johnson was sent off for a delay of game penalty as he shot the puck into the stands, giving Ontario a 5-on-3 advantage with 3:39 remaining on Raska’s penalty.

Mann, who was just recalled from Wichita the day before, and the number one penalty killing unit in the AHL, held down the fort killing both penalties as Mann made two big saves during the kill.

The Reign didn’t go down quietly as Ward scored the equalizer from between the faceoff circles with 56 seconds left in the third period with a rebound shot that he roofed over Mann for his third goal of the season.

Mann stopped 32 of the 35 shots he faced in regulation and overtime and then stopped two out of the three shots in the shootout to earn his first win of his professional career. Copley made 18 saves on 21 shots (and was one for three in the shootout) in the losing effort.

“It’s good to get back home and get settled. I know it’s been tough here the past couple of weeks. There’s a great group of guys and it was really nice to have them support me, and they played great in front of me too. I couldn’t have done it without them either,” Mann said.

GAME NOTES: Both teams finished 0-for-4 on the power play.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Viel 2) Ward 3) Wiseblatt

UP NEXT: San Jose continues its homestand when they host the Colorado Eagles for a two-game weekend series on Saturday 11/12 at 6:00pm at Tech CU Arena.