Category: AHL

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif—The San Jose Barracuda came back from two goals down in the second period to score three unanswered in the middle frame en route to a 4-2 victory over the Texas Stars on Saturday evening at SAP Center.

The Barracuda have won three games in a row and are three games over .500 for the first time all season. Texas coincidentally have lost three games in a row and are three games under the .500 mark. San Jose went 3-1 against Texas in the four-game series.

There was no scoring in the opening 20 minutes as Texas held a slim margin on the shot clock with a 7-6 edge over San Jose.

Texas (12-15-2-0) scored the icebreaker in the second period with the game’s first goal on the power play. Ben Gleason skated down the left wing and fired a shot on net that Cole Schneider redirected past ‘Cuda goalie Alexei Melnichuk for his eighth goal of the season at the 2:06 mark.

The Stars captain leads the team with five power play goals.

The Stars doubled its lead less than three minutes later. Thomas Harley’s shot from the point was initially saved by Melnichuk but the rebound went out to the left where a crashing Joseph Cecconi slammed home the puck into an empty net for his second goal of the season at the 5:14 mark.

San Jose (12-9-4-2) cut the lead in half on the power play. Ryan Merkley sent in a wrist shot from the right point and Scott Reedy tipped home the puck past Stars goalie Colton Point for his third goal of the season at the 12:56 mark.

The Barracuda rode a wave of momentum as they scored the equalizer 56 seconds later when Steenn Pasichnuk scored his second career AHL goal at the 13:52 mark. Zachary Gallant and Lean Bergmann were credited with the assists.

Bergmann now has a three-game point streak.

Just 22 seconds later, San Jose gained its first lead of the game when Ivan Chekhovich scored an unassisted goal, his second goal of the season, at the 14:14 mark.

Evan Weinger sealed the deal for the Barracuda with an empty net goal from his own defensive zone, his third of the season and second in as many games at the 18:38 mark.

Melnichuk (4-5-3) finished the evening stopping 24 of the 26 shots he faced to earn his fourth victory of the season. Point made 19 saves on 22 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose went 1-for-4 on the power play. Texas was 1-for-3.

Alex True played in his 200th AHL game.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Chekhovich 2) Schneider 3) S Pasichnuk

UP NEXT: The Barracuda continues its homestand with a two-game series with the San Diego Gulls on Tuesday 4/20 at 6:00pm at SAP Center.

The San Jose Barracuda celebrate their win over the Texas Stars on Fri Apr 16, 2021 at SAP Center in the first of a two game series (@ sjbarracuda photo)

#1 The San Jose Barracuda scored three unanswered goals that helped the Barracuda get a jump on the Texas Stars on Friday night at SAP Center in San Jose.

#2 San Jose has won two games in a row and are 2-1 in the four game series against Texas.

#3 The Barracuda (11-9-4-2) drew first blood early in the first period. A shot from Ryan Merkley led to a rebound loose in front of the cease where after a mad scrum, Lean Bergmann jammed home the puck underneath starting Stars goalie Colton Point for his first goal of the season at the 3:57 mark.

#4 The Barracuda scored three times in the third period which turned out to be a crucial period and something that head coach Roy Sommer would like to see in games when coming back is necessary.

#5 Marko it’s the Barracuda and the Stars once more Saturday night at SAP Center as the Barracuda have been playing .500 hockey and would like to get a sweep out of this series tonight.

Join Marko for the San Jose Barracuda podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif—The San Jose Barracuda scored three unanswered goals in the third period to take control of the game and defeat the Texas Stars 5-3 on Friday evening at SAP Center.

San Jose has won two games in a row and are 2-1 in the four game series against Texas. The Barracuda have 28 points on the season and still sit in fifth place in the Pacific Division as they trail the Colorado Eagles by five-one hundreds of a percentage point (.548-.543) for the fourth and final playoff spot. Texas have lost two games in a row.

The Barracuda (11-9-4-2) drew first blood early in the first period. A shot from Ryan Merkley led to a rebound loose in front of the cease where after a mad scrum, Lean Bergmann jammed home the puck underneath starting Stars goalie Colton Point for his first goal of the season at the 3:57 mark.

Texas (12-14-2-0) responded when Riley Tufte skated down from the left wing to below the endline. Tufte reversed course on Jakob Megna and backhanded a centering pass to an open Josh Melnick who beat ‘Cuda goalie Alexei Melnichuk to the far side for his seventh goal of the season at the 13:13 mark.

San Jose outshot Texas 11-10 in the opening 20 minutes.

The two teams traded goals in the first five minutes of the second period.

A shot by Cole Schneider deflected off the glass and bounced back out in front of the crease where Riley Damiani was able to deflect the puck off Melnichuk into the back of the net for his seventh goal of the season at the 3:12 mark. Damiani snapped a 13-game goal-less draught.

San Jose answered back just over two minutes later with its fourth line once again. Zachary Gallant skated into Stars zone and the puck pinballed over to Steen Pasichnuk and he quickly fired a wrist shot past an unsuspecting Point to the far side of the net for his first career AHL goal at the 5:20 mark to even the game at 2-2.

That ended the night for Point as Stars head coach Neal Graham pulled him out of the game and replaced him with Adam Scheel for the rest of the contest after Point gave up two goals on 14 shots.

Texas out shot San Jose 12-11 in the middle frame.

The Stars opened the third period regaining the lead when a shot by Thomas Harley caromed off the back boards over to Melnick and he fired the puck past a sprawling Melnichuk for his second goal of the game and eighth of the season at the 3:32 mark.

San Jose scored the equalizer when Evan Weinger led a two-on-one odd man rush at the red line. Weinger skated in and fired a shot wrist shot through the five-hole of Scheel for his second goal of the season at the 6:28 mark. He snapped a 12-game goal-less draught.

The Barracuda regained its second lead of the game when Bergmann stripped Harley of the puck down below the endline and centered the puck out to a wide open Scott Reedy who wired a wrist shot top-shelf into the right corner past Scheel for his second goal and the eventual game winner at the 15:25 mark.

San Jose iced the game with an empty net goal from Alex True with 28 seconds left to seal the deal. Joachim Blichfeld received the primary assist on True’s eighth goal of the season, snapping a six-game goal-less draught.

Melnichuk (3-5-3) finished the game stopping 25 of the 28 shots he faced to earn his third victory. Scheel made 13 saves on 15 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose went 0-for-4 on the power play. Texas went 0-for-2.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Bergmann 2) Reedy 3) Gallant.

UP NEXT: Both team close out their four-game series on Saturday 4/17 at 6:00pm at SAP Center.

The San Jose Barracuda left winger Joachim Blichfeld (86) winds up for a shot against the Texas Stars goaltender Adam Scheel (31) at Solar4America Ice in San Jose on Wed Apr 14, 2021 (@ sjbarracuda photo)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif-Maxim Letunov scored two goals, including the eventual game winner halfway through the third period as the San Jose Barracuda beat the Texas Stars 4-2 on Wednesday evening at Solar4America Ice.

Despite the game being in Silicon Valley, the Barracuda were the away team as this was the makeup game from 2/16/21 that was postponed due to the huge snow storm the region suffered through. San Jose now has 26 points but currently sit in fifth place in the Pacific Division with a winning percentage of .520. Colorado is just three-hundredth of percentage points ahead in fourth place at .523.

Texas (12-13-2-0) drew first blood under a minute left in the first period. Seconds after the penalty to Alex True for cross-checking ended, Adam Mashcherin sent a cross ice pass over to Jerad Rosburg who fired a wrist shot into the top corner short-side beating ‘Cuda goalie Sam Harvey for his first goal of the season at the 19:38 mark.

It was Rosburg’s second career AHL Goal as the Stars outshot the ‘Cuda 14-9 after the opening 20 minutes.

San Jose (10-9-4-2) scored the equalizer near the halfway mark of the second period seconds after their power play had just ended. Brandon Coe found an open Ivan Chekhovich in the left slot and the Russian sniper buried a wrist shot past Stars goalie Adam Scheel for his first goal of the season since coming back from the KHL to play for the ‘Cuda at the 9:05 mark.

It was Chekhovich’s first goal since March 10, 2020 against the Stockton Heat. That game was the last game played before the Covid-19 pandemic cancelled the rest of the AHL season.

The Barracuda gained its first lead of the game just over two minutes later. Sasha Chmelevski sent a backhand pass out of his own zone that got behind Stars defenseman Dawson Barteaux and sprung Joachim Blichfeld on a breakaway. Blichfeld skated in and beat Scheel with a wrist shot to the far side for his 11th goal of the season at the 11:25 mark.

Blichfeld snapped a seven-game goalless draught.

Texas tied up the game on a 5-on-3 power play opportunity late in the middle frame. Anthony Louis found Ben Gleason down in the right slot. Gleason paused and then lasered a wrist shot top-shelf into the right corner for his second goal of the season at the 16:27 mark.

Despite San Jose having a huge shot advantage over Texas in the middle frame (21-9), they headed into the second intermission deadlocked at 2-2.

Letunov scored his eighth goal of the season, which proved to be the game winner when Chekhovich found Letunov open in between the faceoff circles. Letunov one-timed a wrist shot past Scheel at the 10:48 mark.

Letunov iced the game for the ‘Cuda with 20 seconds left in the game with an empty netter. He intercepted a pass by Gleason and fired it down the ice from his own zone for his second goal of the game and ninth of the season. He has three goals in his last two games.

Harvey finished the game stopping 29 of the 31 shots he faced to earn the victory. Scheel made 36 saves on 40 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose went 0-for-4 on the power play. Texas was 1-for-6.

Texas is now 6-1-1 after leading after the first period.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Blichfeld 2) Chekhovich 3) Scheel

UP NEXT: Both teams continue its four-game series on Friday 4/16 at 6:00pm at Solar4America Ice.

The San Jose Barracuda forward Jacob McGrew tries to stay ahead in the chase for the puck at Solar4America Ice in San Jose against the Texas Stars on Tue Apr 13, 2021 (@ sjbarracuda photo)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif- The Texas Stars scored four goals in the first period as they dominated the San Jose Barracuda in a 7-2 victory on Tuesday evening at Solar4America Ice as the teams began a four-game series.

The Stars are currently 2-4 on their eight-game roadtrip. San Jose has lost seven of its past 10 games.

Texas (12-12-2-0) opened up the scoring halfway through the opening 20 minutes. Riley Damiani skated out from behind the net and centered a backdoor pass out to Nick Baptisite who tapped home the puck right in front of the crease past ‘Cuda goalie Alexei Melnichuk for his 11th goal of the season at the 10:50 mark.

The Stars doubled its lead five minutes later. A turnover at the red line led to Cole Schneider centering a pass to a trailing Anthony Louis who buried a wrist shot past Melnichuk for his seventh goal of the season at the 15:51 mark.

Texas poured on the gas with two goals in 29 seconds late in the first period. First, a battle along the right boards led to the puck leaking out to the middle where Ben Gleason fired a wrist shot off of Melnichuk as the puck rolled into the back of the net for a power play goal, Gleason’s second goal of the season at the 18:37 mark.

The Stars capitalized on another ‘Cuda turnover for its fourth goal of the period. Jake Slaker came in on a two-on-one odd man rush and sent a rink wide pass over to Riley Tufte who finished off the play with third goal of the season at the 19:06 mark.

San Jose (9-9-4-2) regrouped and took advantage of a five-on-three power play opportunity in the first two and a half minutes of the second period.

A shot from the right wing by Joachim Blichfeld caromed off the back boards to the left slot where Robbie Russo quickly fired the puck past Stars’ goalie Adam Scheel for his second goal of the season at the 2:52 mark.

The Barracuda struck again on the power play just under two minute later to cut the Stars lead in half. Alex True centered a pass from behind the Stars net out to the right slot where Maxim Letunov’s one-timer trickled past Scheel for his seventh goal of the season at the 4:11 mark.

Texas regained a three-goal lead with its second power play goal of the game. Slaker made a back pass over to Louis and he sent a cross ice pass over to Adam Mashcherin who fired a shot off the near post and into the back of the net for his 14th goal of the season at the 9:35 mark.

The Stars went back up by a four-goal cushion as Baptiste drew three ‘Cuda defenders as he entered San Jose’s zone. The puck squirted out to a trailing Josh Melnick who skated in and beat Melnichuk with a backhander for his sixth goal of the season at the 17:07 mark.

Mashcherin closed out the scoring with his second goal of the game on the power play. Thomas Harley sent a pass over tp Mashcherin and he snapped home a wrist shot past Melnichuk for his 15th goal of the season at the 18:02 mark.

Mashcherin is second in the AHL goals, one behind Bakersfield’s Cooper Marody.

Scheel finished the game with 30 saves on 32 shots to earn the victory. Melnichuk made 20 saves on 27 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose went 2-for-3 on the power play. Texas was 3-for-4. They entered the game with only one power play goal in their last 36 chances.

The loss was the first for the Barracuda in regulation at home this season. The loss also snapped a seven-game point streak at home.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Mashcherin 2) Louis 3) Slaker

UP NEXT: The same two teams go back at on Wednesday 4/14 at 5:00pm at Solar4America Ice.