Category: AHL

Halbgewachs OT winner lifts Barracuda in 5-4 victory

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by Marko Ukalovic

TUCSON, Ariz- A drama filled game that went back and forth ended with a big relief for the San Jose Barracuda as Jayden Halbgewachs scored with 28 seconds left in overtime to propell his team to a 5-4 victory over the Tucson Roadrunners on Saturday evening at Tucson Convention Center Arena.

Halbgewachs’ second goal of the game came when he was able to grab hold of the puck at the near post and lift a backhander from point blank range into the back of net for his 11th goal of the season.

Two streaks came to an end. San Jose’s four-game losing streak and Tucson’s two-game winning streak. The ‘Cuda are now 2-3 against the Roadrunners, who suffered its first overtime year of the season, this season. It was San Jose’s first win in Tucson since March 21, 2018.

Tucson (25-7-1-0) drew first blood early in the first period. A turnover by Keaton Middleton led to a centering pass from Michael Bunting over to Hudson Fasching who fired a one-timer past ‘Cuda goalie Zachary Sawchenko, who made his first career AHL start, for his 13th goal of the season at the 4:12 mark.

The Roadrunners doubled their lead when Beau Bennent made a back door feed to a wide open Jordan Gross who pounded the puck past Sawchenko for his sixth goal of the season at the 10:51 mark. The Roadrunner defenseman has scored in back-to-back games against the ‘Cuda.

San Jose (11-18-0-2) cut the deficit in half less than 30 second later. Ivan Chekhovich sent a back door feed over to Manny Weiderer and he buried a wrist shot past Roadrunners goalie Ivan Prosvetov for his first goal of the season at the 11:20 mark.

The ‘Cuda scored the equalizder on the power play less than two minutes later. After a faceoff win by Dylan Gambrell led to possession by Maxim Letunov. Letunov made a move to get Prosvetov out of position and he fed a pass over to Jonny Brodzinski who shoveled the puck into an empty net for his seventh goal of the season at the 13:13 mark.

San Jose grabbed their first lead when they scored its third unanswered goal of the period. Halbgewachs sent a wrist shot that took a weird bounce and skitted under the arm of Prosvetov for his first goal and 10th goal of the season at the 17:32 mark. Brodzinski and Nick Meloche received helpers on the goal.

Despite outshooting San Jose 14-9 in the opening frame, Tucson found themselves down by one goal at the first intermission.

The second period didn’t have any goals scored but featured both teams wasting a 5-on-3 power play opportunity. Tucson outshot San Jose 10-5 in the middle frame.

Tucson scored the equalizer when Gross scored his second of the game early in the third period. Gross sent a in a low shot from long distance that sneaked inside the left post for his seventh goal of the season at 3:12 mark.

Prosvetov was pulled before the third period began for an unknown reason. Brandon Halverson replaced Prosvetov to finish off the rest of the game.

San Jose looked to have scored the game winning goal with 1:45 left in the third period when Trevor Carrick sent a pass over to Maxim Letunov at the left faceoff circle and he fired a wrist shot top-shelf out of the reach of Halverson for his eighth goal of the season at the 18:15 mark. Letunov finished the night with a three-point game (1G, 2A).

The Roadrunners pulled Halverson for an extra attacker, a shot from Bunting was saved by Sawchenko. However the rebound was cleaned up by Bennent during a mad scramble as he tapped home the puck past a sprawling Sawchenko with 14 seconds remaining in the period. It was Bennent’s sixth goal of the season.

It was quite the first start in net for Sawchenko as he stopped 37 shots on 41 shots, including a great glove save on Lane Pederson in overtime on a 2-on-1 break, for his first professional win. Halverson made 10 saves on 12 shots in 23:36 minutes of action.

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

‘Cuda forward Evan Weinger returned the lineup after being a healthy scratch the last game.

The game’s start was delayed by 28 minutes while the maintainence crew needed to make repairs to the glass along the ice.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda host the Ontario Reign on Wednesday 1/8 at 7:00pm at SAP Center.

 

Roadrunners 3rd period outburst bury Barracuda 5-1

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by Marko Ukalovic

The Tucson Roadrunners are a team where if you give them an inch they will take a mile. This was the case as the Pacific Division leader scored five unaswered goals in a 5-1 victory over the San Jose Barracuda on Friday evening at Tucson Convention Center Arena.

San Jose has lost four games in a row. Tucson has won back to back to games and have won 10 out of their last 12 games to lead the division by seven points over Stockton. They are now 3-1 against the ‘Cuda.

San Jose (10-17-0-2) drew first blood on the back end of a 5-on-3 power play midway through the first period. Lukas Radil fed a pass over to Nick DeSimone who set up Alex True. The Finnish forward blasted a one-timer past Roadrunners goalie Ivan Prosvetov on the shortside for his ninth goal of the season at the 11:30 mark.

The Barracuda had the iced tilted in their favor in the opening 20 minutes as they dominated for three-quarters of the period as they outshot the Roadrunners 18-5.

Tucson (24-7-0-0) had two power play opportunites in the first period but they weren’t able to get the puck past ‘Cuda goalie Josef Korenar.

The second period featured multiple trips to the sinbin. San Jose had two power play chances to extend their lead but Prosvetov made some key saves to keep the deficit at one goal.

Tucson, with the 11th ranked power play in the AHL, finally cashed in on their fourth power play opportunity right near the end of the middle frame. Andy Miele sent a cross ice pass over to Jordan Gross who slammed home the puck past Korenar from atop the near faceoff circle for his fifth goal of the season at the 19:05 mark.

The Roadrunners didn’t take long to get their first lead of the game to start the third period. Miele, the former Hobey Baker Award winner, set up a pass out to Aaron Ness. The defenseman fired a shot from the left point past Korenar for his first goal with the Roadrunners since being reassigned from the Arizona Coyotes at the :56 mark.

Tucson scored an insurance goal when Lane Pederson set a cross ice pass over to a wide open Hudson Fasching. The right winger skated in and snapped a wrist shot past Korenar over the left arm for his 12th goal of the season at the 10:42 mark.

The Roadunners scored two empty nets goals at the end of the game to seal the deal. Bradyen Burke netted his 16th goal of the season at the 17:33 mark. Then Michael Chaput scored his 11th goal of the season at the 18:28 mark.

Prosvetov was the number one star of the night stopping 38 out of the 39 saves he faced to earn his 11th victory over the season. Korenar 14 saves on 17 shots in suffering his seventh straight loss.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 1-for-5 on the power play. Tucson was 1-for-4.

‘Cuda forward Manny Weiderer returned back to the lineup after he missed the past three games dealing with a lower body injury.

The announced attendance was 3,372.

UP NEXT: The same two teams battle again on Saturday 1/4 at 6:05pm at Tucson Convention Center Arena.

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Cuda suffers 4-0 shutout loss; Can’they capitalize

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On the Barracuda podcast with Marko:

#1 The San Jose Barracuda got shutout for the first time this season, being a last place team that is struggling.

#2 To shutout the Barracuda the Stockton Heat’s goalie John Gillies stopped all of the Cuda’s shots for the shutout.

#3 The Barracuda failed to take advantage of four straight power play penalties issued to the Heat and still lost to the Heat.

#4 Austin Czarnik extended his goal streak to five games and point streak to six with a goal on Tuesday

#5 The Barracuda open a two game set with the Tucson Roadrunners starting Friday in Arizona.

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

 

 

Heat turn out the lights on Barracuda in 4-0 shutout win; Cuda on three game losing streak

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by Marko Ukalovic

STOCKTON, Calif- It’s not the way the San Jose Barracuda wanted to end the calendar year. The Stockton Heat continued their dominance over their NorCal rival in a 4-0  shutout victory on New Year’s Eve at Stockton Arena.

The Heat have won all six meetings against the Barracuda and currently sit second in the Pacific Division with 43 points. San Jose has lost three in a row and anchor the bottom of the division with 22 points.

Stockton (19-6-2-3) drew first blood just past the halfway mark of the first period. Rob Hamilton sent a home run pass up the ice from his own blue line that sprung Glenn Gawdin for a breakway. Gawdin skated in from left to the right before depositing the puck past Barracuda goalie Josef Korenar for his 11th goal of the season at the 9:41 mark.

The Heat outshot the ‘Cuda 13-9 in the opening 20 minutes as they had the ice tilted in their favor for most of the period.

San Jose (10-17-0-2) had its chance to get back into the game with four straight power plays in the second period. Despite getting plenty of shots on net, Heat goalie Jon Gillies and the Heat penalty kill kept the ‘Cuda off the board. Despite outshooting Stockton 15-2, San Jose found itself trailing 1-0 at the second intermisson.

Stockton put the game away with three goals in the first five minutes of the third period. With San Jose on the power play, Gawdin fed a pass over to Buddy Robinson from the neutral zone. The former ‘Cuda foward skated in and buried the puck past Korenar for a short-handed goal, his 14th of the season 31 seconds into the period.

Austin Czarnik scored his fifth goal of the season at the 4:22 mark. Luke Philp and Byron Froese received assists on the goal.

The Heat completed the scoring when Eetu Tuulola received the puck at the Heat blueline and made a move around Trevor Carrick before firing a wrist shot to the far side past Korenar for his sixth goal of the season at 5:14 mark.

San Jose had three more opportunities on the power play in the final frame but ended up frustrated on the night thanks to work of Gillies.

Gillies stopped all 29 shots he faced for the shutout win, his eighth of the season, and is 4-0 against San Jose this season. Korenar made 22 saves on 26 shots in suffering the loss.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 0-for-7 on the power play. Stockton was 0-for-3.

  • Thomas Gregoire and Dylan Gambrell each put a team-high three shots on net.
  • Czarnik extended his goal streak to five games and point streak to six with a goal on Tuesday.
  • Robinson’s shorthanded goal was the sixth shorty against for San Jose this season.
  • Gawdin picked up a goal and an assist and is now third in the AHL in points with 33.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda continue their three-game roadtrip down to Tucscon to start a two-game weekend series with the Roadrunners on Friday 1/3 at 6:05pm at Tucson Convention Center Arena.

Condors offense too much for Barracuda in 7-5 victory

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sjbarracuda.com photo: The score says it all as the Barracuda lose another one on home ice on Sunday night to the Bakersfield Condors 7-5

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif- The Bakersfield Condors jumped out to a big lead and then hung on for dear life at the end in a 7-5 victory over the San Jose Barracuda on Sunday evening at SAP Center.

Bakersfield have won two games in a row and increased their cushion over San Jose to six points as they currently sit fifth in the Pacific Divison with 28 points. The ‘Cuda have lost two in a row and went 0-2 on this weekend’s homestand.

The Condors (12-13-3-1) jumped out early scoring two goals, two minutes apart in the first six minutes of the games. Colby Cave had possession of the puck near the blue line when he made two nifty moves around two Barracuda forwards and snapped a wrist from the middle of the faceoff circles shot past ‘Cuda goalie Andrew Shortridge for his sixth goal of the season at the 4:03 mark. Luke Esposito, who screened Shortridge on the shot, received the only assist.

Bakersfield doubled their lead on the power play at the 6:07 mark when Joel Persson centered a pass over to Brad Malone at the left slot. Malone turned around and fired a shot that pinballed off a two Barracuda defenders in front and into the back of the net for his sixth goal of the season. Ryan McLeod received the secondary assist.

San Jose (10-16-0-2) cut the decifit to one when Dylan Gambrell won a race to the puck behind the goal-line. He made a drop pass back to a trailing Jayden Halbgewachs, who buried home a one-timer past Condors goalie Stuart Skinner for his ninth goal of the season at the 8:34 mark.

Just when the ‘Cuda had the momentum on their side during a power play with under five minutes left, Nick DeSimone turned the puck over in his own zone to Esposito, who skated in a sent a wrist shot past the 5-hole of Shortridge for an unassisted short-handed goal. Esposito’s fourth goal of the season came at the 16:02 mark.

Bakersfield scored three goals on only six shots in the opening 20 minutes. San Jose registered only five shots on goal.

The Condors took control of the game early in the second period as they scored two goals in the first six minutes to jump out to a 5-1 lead. ‘Cuda killer Josh Currie lead a 3-on-2 rush into San Jose’s zone and he cleaned up the rebound off a Cooper Marody shot for his team leading 13th goal of the season at the 3:31 mark.

Then just over two minutes later Dmitri Samorukov sent a long pass up to center ice where Joe Gambardella quickly passed it over to Miles Koules at the ‘Cuda blue line. Koules skated in and snapped a wrist shot top-shelf into the upper left corner for his first goal of the season at the 5:39 mark.

That ended the night for Shortridge who gave up five goals on just 10 shots. Josef Korenar replaced him in between the pipes.

San Jose came back with two goals of their own in a wild middle frame that saw five goals scored in it. Sasha Chmelevski was a man possessed as he kept pressure inside the Condors zone. After a shot by Lean Bergmann went behind the net, Chmelevski skated around and threw the puck out in front where it banked off a Condors’ defender skate into the net for the Southern California native’s fifth goal of the season at the 9:00 mark.

The ‘Cuda cut the lead to 5-3 on the power play late in the second period. Chmelevski centered a pass over to Noah Gregor from the right boards. Gregor made two strides forward before launching a wrist shot top-shelf past Skinner for his third goal of the season at the 17:47 mark.

Bakersfield regained the momentum and their three-goal lead less than two minutes later when Cave led a 3-on-1 rush up the ice. A pretty give-and-go between Currie and Evan Bouchard led to Bouchard scoring his fouth goal of the season with 41 seconds left in the period.

San Jose didn’t go down quietly in the third period as they scored next two goals to make the game close. Halfway through the final frame, Jonny Brodzinski lit up the red light when he scored his sixth goal of the season at the 10:39 mark. Alex True and Jeffery Viel received assists on the goal.

The ‘Cuda once again made it a one-goal deficit on the power play. Maxim Letunov carried the puck into the Condors zone and made a nice backhand pass to the right point over to DeSimone. The ‘Cuda defenseman snapped a wrist shot toward the net where Gregor deflected it home past Skinner for his fourth goal of the season at the 18:41 mark.

That would be as close as their comeback attempt would get as Tyler Benson fed a pass up to Malone who skated in all the way to the net before tapping it home for an empty net goal, his seventh goal of the season with 36 seconds left in the game.

Skinner made 34 saves on 39 shots to earn his ninth victory of the season. Korenar suffered the tough luck loss as he stopped six of the seven shots he faced in mop-up duty.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 2-for-4 on the power play. Bakersfield was 1-for-4.

Brodzinski’s two-point night snapped a five-game scoreless streak for the forward.

Gregor’s two goals were the first points he scored since being reassigned back down to the Barracuda.

The announced attendance was 4,227 in the fourth annual Pucks and Paws Night. Fans were able to bring their dogs to the game for $5.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda end the calendar year traveling up to Stockton on Tuesday 12/31 to take on the Heat at 5:00pm at Stockton Arena.

Heat blast Barracuda in 8-1 blowout victory

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sjbarracuda.com photo: San Jose Barracuda assistant coach John McCarthy on Dec. 10, McCarthy, 33, suffered an Ischemic stroke due to a previously undetected hole in his heart. McCarthy immediately retired from the game and has been working behind the Barracuda bench. Here he is on Friday against the visiting Stockton Heat.

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif- The Stockton Heat proved why they are the top offensive team in the AHL this season. They exploded for five goals in the second period, including a hat trick from Alan Quine, en route to a 8-1 blowout victory over the San Jose Barracuda on Friday afternoon at SAP Center.

Stockton snapped their two-game losing streak and have won the first five meetings against their NorCal rival. For the ‘Cuda they have lost four of their last five games.

Stockton (18-5-2-3) drew first blood late in the first period when Quine stuffed home a puck that pinballed out in front of the crease past Cuda goalie Josef Korenar for his fourth goal of the season at the 16:02 mark. Glenn Gawdin and former ‘Cuda forward Buddy Robinson received helpers on the goal.

Despite controlling play for the most of the opening 20 minutes and outshooting Stockton 7-4, San Jose (10-15-0-2) found itself down 1-0 as they headed into the first intermission.

The Heat doubled their lead early in the second period. Corey Schueneman fired on net that Korenar made the initial save but the rebound jumped out to Quine all alone and he buried home the rebound for his second goal of the game and his fifth of the season at the 5:45 mark.

Stockton scored their third unanswered goal just under two minutes later. Zac Leslie found Matthew Phillips down low and he chipped it over the pad of Korenar for his team leading 14th goal of the season at the 7:21 mark.

Quine completed the hat trick when Robinson set him up on a 2-on-1 rush where the former sixth round pick of the Calgary Flames fired a one-time past Korenar for his sixth goal of the season at the 11:20 mark. Quines has scores in three straight games against San Jose.

The goal ended the afternoon for Kornear who gave up four goals on just 12 shots in 31:20. Andrew Shortridge replaced Korenar between the pipes.

The Heat kept their foot on the gas pedal when Leslie sent an outlet pass up the ice that led to a breakaway for Gawdin.  Gawdin skated in and beat Shortridge with a wrist shot over the glove on the short side for his 10th goal of the season at the 14:11 mark. It was the first shot Shortridge faced after replacing Korenar.

Stockton made it 6-0 right before the end of the middle frame when Phillips set up Austin Czarnick and he snapped a wrist shot past Shortridge for his third goal of the season at the 18:05 mark.

The Heat continued their dominance in the third period when Quine returned the favor when he fed Schueneman from the point and he blasted a low slapshot past Shortridge for his first goal of the season at the season at the 3:50 mark. Quine ended the afternoon with a five-point game. (3G,2A).

San Jose spoiled the shutout bid for Heat goalie Jon Gillies on the power play. Maxim Letunov fed a pass over to Sasha Chmelevski and he fired a wrist shot to the farside under the cross bar past Gillies for his fourth goal of the season at the 10:58 mark.

The Heat concluded the scoring when Gawdin led a 2-on-1 break and fed a pass over to Robinson and he joined the goal scoring party when he buried a shot past Shortridge for his 13th goal of the season at the 12:48 mark.

Gillies made 25 saves on 26 shots for his seventh win of the season. He is 3-0 versus the ‘Cuda this season. Shortridge made three saves on seven shots in mop-up duty.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 1-for-2 on the power play. Stockton was 0-for-0.

Captain John McCarthy announced his retirement from the game of the hockey earlier in the morning due to a medical condition. He will be joining the ‘Cuda coaching staff immediately and will join co-head coaches Jimmy Bonneau and Michael Chiasson on the bench during games. McCarthy, 33, holds all major Barracuda records including games played (275), goals (62), assists (76), points (138) power play goals (17) and short-handed goals (5).

Forward Joel Kellman was called up by the San Jose Sharks. Forward Noah Gregor and defenseman Jacob Middleton were reassigned back to the Barracuda.

Quine now has five career hat tricks. He is the first player to have five points against the ‘Cuda this season.

Leslie had four assists in the game.

Joachim Blichfeld had his five-game point streak snapped.

The announced attendance was 3,036.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda host the Bakersfield Condors on Sunday 12/29 at 5:00pm at SAP Center.

 

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Barracuda hope to keep winning face Stockton Friday night at SAP Center

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photo from @sjbarracuda: San Jose Barracuda sweaters hang in the San Jose dressing room before Dec 11th’s game commemorating the shooting victims of last year’s Gilroy Garlic Festival. The sweaters will be auctioned off until Mon Dec 30th

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko:

#1 The San Jose Barracuda picked up a big win over the San Diego Gulls 4-2 in a third period comeback last on Friday

#2 Andrew Shortridge in goal for the Barracuda on Friday stopped 25 of 27 shots allowed two goals in the win.

#3 Joachim Blichfield scored a team leading 11th goal in the win on Friday extending his point streak to five games

#4 Michael Chiasson and Jimmy Bonneau co-coaches picked up their first win on Friday since taking over the helm after former head coach Roy Sommer joined the parent club Sharks on Dec 11th

#5 Marko sets up the Barracuda-Stockton Heat match up this Friday afternoon at SAP Center

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

Barracuda use third period outburst to shoot down Gulls 4-2

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

The San Jose Barracuda are the worst third period team in the AHL with a goal differential of -16. They made a step to reverse that trend by scoring four unanswered goals in the final frame for a 4-2 come-from-behind win over the San Diego Gulls on Friday evening at Pachenga Arena.

The Cuda snapped their three game losing streak, while San Diego has lost three games in a row. The Cuda are now 3-2 against San Diego this season. The two teams both have 22 points each as they sit at the bottom of the Pacific Divison.

San Diego (10-12-1-1) drew first blood right at the end of a power play that included 50 seconds of a 5-on-3 in the first period. Ryan Johnston fired a shot that banked off a skate that deflected over to a wide-open Blake Pietila, who punched home the rebound for his fifth goal of the season at the 13:16 mark.

The goal snapped a streak by the anemic San Diego power play as they were 1-for-35 in their last 10 games before Pietila’s goal.

Both goalies put on a clinic in the opening 20 minutes. Gulls goalie Anthony Stolarz stopped San Jose best chance, a shot by Alexander True on a 2-on-1 rush with Jonny Brodzinski. ‘Cuda goalie Andrew Shortridge stopped 10 of the 11 shots he faced

San Jose (10-14-0-2) opened up the second period on a power play as Josh Mahura went into the sinbin for interference with four seconds left in the first period. However, the Gulls penalty kill kept them off the scoreboard.

The ‘Cuda outshot the Gulls 13-7 but it was Shortridge who made a momentum changing save with under a minute left in the middle frame when he stoned away a shot by Alex Dotsie on a 2-on-1 rush as he lunged from his right to left to frustrate Dotsie.

San Jose scored the equalizer early in the third period. True found Joachim Blichfeld in the Gulls zone. Blichfeld fired a low wrist shot off the post and into the back of the net for team leading 11th goal of the season at the 5:32 mark. Nick DeSimone received the secondary assist.

Blichfeld is also the current leader in points for San Jose with 22.

Keaton Middleton gave the Cuda its first lead after taking a pass from Nick Meloche and he sniped a wrist shot from above the left faceoff circle short side under the crossbar for his second goal of the season at the 9:54 mark.

San Jose scored a late insurance goal when Jayden Halbgewachs and Dylan Gambrell led an odd man rush into the Gulls zone. The duo had a pretty give-and-go with each other as Halbgewachs buried the puck past Stolarz for a tic-tac-toe goal, his eighth of the season, at the 18:09 mark.

True scored an empty-net goal with 38 seconds left in the game. It was his eighth of the season for the Danish forward.

Jack Kopacka capped off the scoring with his fourth goal of the season with two seconds in the game.

Shortridge finished the evening with 25 saves on 27 shots for the Alaskan native’s third victory of the season to earn the victory. Stolarz made 33 saves on 37 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 0-for-4 on the power play. San Diego was 2-for-4.

Blichfeld extended his point streak to five games. He now has goals in back-to-back games since being reassigned back to the ‘Cuda.

Three stars of the game:
1) Shortridge
2) True
3) K. Middleton

The announced attendance was 7,519.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda host the Stockton Heat on Friday 12/27 at 1:15 pm at SAP Center.

Reign edge Barracuda 4-3

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The Ontario Reign have had their way with the San Jose Barracuda this season. Their success continued once again in a 4-3 victory over their Pacific Divison rival on Wednesday evening at SAP Center.

The loss is the third in the row for San Jose, while Ontario has points in five straight games and are now 4-1 against the ‘Cuda this season.

This was the first game featuring the three players that were sent down by the San Jose Sharks: Noah Gregor, Joachim Blichfeld and Dylan Gambrell. All three were on the number one line together set by assistant head coaches Michael Chiassson and Johnny Bonneau.

Ontario (13-11-3-1) drew first blood just under eight minutes in the first period. Chaz Reddekopp sent a cross ice pass from left point over to the right where Paul LaDue snapped a wrist shot past Cuda goalie Josef Korenar for his second goal of the season at the 7:41 mark.

San Jose (9-14-0-2) scored the equalizer under a minute later when Maxim Letunov led a rush into the Reign defensive zone and fed a pass up to Lukas Radil near the right slot. Radil then fed it back up to Nick DeSimone at the right point. DeSimone surveyed the ice before sending a shot through a sea of traffic that went past the five-hole of Reign goalie Cal Petersen for his third goal of the season at the 8:32 mark.

Ontario had a chance to extend their lead while on the power play when Nich Meloche went into the sinbin for slashing. Korenar came up huge stopping a shot from the point and then the immediate rebound chance from Brett Sutter as he slid over to the left with a pad save to keep the score even at 1-1.

The Reign outshot the ‘Cuda in 15-10 in the opening 20 minutes as they controlled play, outshooting San Jose 15-5 after the first two minutes.

San Jose gained the lead early on the power play early in the second period. Jonny Brodzinski did a spin-a-round cross-ice pass over to Blichfeld. The Danish native touched passed into the middle where Kellamn tapped home the puck into an empty net for a tic-tac-toe goal, his fourth of the season at the 3:19 mark.

“I think I’m more comfortable out there,” said Blichfeld regarding how his game has evolved this season. “I’m making more plays with the puck, yeah feeling more comfortable.”

Like in the first period, the lead didn’t last long as Ontario returned the favor 50 seconds later. Jaret Anderson-Dolan won a faceoff draw back up to Austin Strand from just above the right faceoff circle. Strand delayed a bit before firing a slap shot just under the arm of Korenar for his fifth goal of the season at the 4:09 mark.

“Our 5-on-5 play we gotta do a better job. We had great O-zone possession. We gotta do a better job at getting inside, whether that’s (generating) traffic or it’s taking the puck to the net,” said Chiasson.

Korenar bailed out his team twice in the middle frame when defensive breakdowns led to golden scoring opportunities for Ontairo. A loose puck jumped on to the stick of Johan Sodergren, whose point-blank shot was stoned away by the Czech goaltender with under 13 minutes remaining. Then he spoiled a 2-on-0 break when he absolutely robbed Anderson-Dolan with a left pad save.

“Like always he tries to keep us in the game and most nights he does. When we get the chances, we gotta score on those when he keeps making save after save for us,” said Blichfeld.

Ontario regained the lead on the power play late in the period. Boko Imama picked up the puck at the right faceoff circle. He then skated back up to the middle of the slot where he snapped a wrist shot that was tipped past Korenar by Sutter, who was camped out in front of the crease. The second goal of the season for the Reign captain, that came at the 16:10 mark, snapped an 18-game goal-less drought for Sutter.

“They were getting pucks to the net, getting bodies to the net, getting rebounds. And that’s something we just weren’t doing. We had a lot of offensive zone time, it looks pretty but it’s not really effective,” said Brodzinski.

Ontario scored an insurance goal right at the 6:00 mark of the third period. Imama snapped a wrist shot on goal from the right slot. Korenar wasn’t able to freeze the rebound as Mason Bergh slid the puck underneath the right pad of Korenar for his second goal of the season. Bergh snapped a seven-game goal-less drought.

San Jose cut the lead to one-goal deficit with Korenar pulled for an extra attacker. Thomas Gregoire fed a pass over to Blichfeld just above the right faceoff circle. Blichfeld then lasered a wrist shot past Petersen into the far side of the net for his 10th goal of the season at the 17:56 mark.

“I think when Butchie (Blichfeld) has a shooting mentality, when the puck is on his stick and he’s looking to shoot, he’s a threat,” said ‘Cuda co-head coach Chiasson.

The calls seemed to be one-sided throughout the game as San Jose was frustrated with the lack of calls against Ontario. Jeffery Viel received a game misconduct penalty with under a minute remaining in the second period for unsportsmanlike conduct after arguing with the officials.

Petersen made 29 saves on 32 shots to earn his 12th win on the season. Korenar, who was arguably the best player on the ice for the ‘Cuda, made 33 saves on 37 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 1-for-2 on the power play. Ontario was 0-for-3.

‘Cuda defenseman Jacob Middleton was also reassigned back down by the Sharks and played in the game.

Letunov, with the assist on DeSimone’s goal, extended his home point streak to eight games and has points in 12 of his last 13 games overall.

The announced attendance was 2,892.

UP NEXT: San Jose travel down to San Diego to take on the Gulls on Friday 12/20 at 7:00 pm at Pachenga Arena.

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Barracuda battling to get out of cellar, try for win tonight against Ontario

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

On the San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko:

#1 The Stockton Heat in Saturday’s game at Stockton Arena put the game away against the San Jose Barracuda in the third period scoring two goals and the Barracuda went down losing by three 5-2.

#2 The Barracuda put 49 shots on net against the Heat, but weren’t able to capitalize a lead for much of the game. Lots of shots, but no conversions.

#3 What’s worse for San Jose, they have lost three of their last four games and got swept Friday and Saturday by the Heat.

#4 Would you say that former Barracuda head coach Roy Sommer’s promotion to the parent club Sharks is one of the reasons why the Barracuda have struggled without his presence?

#5 The Barracuda are home tonight against the Ontario Reign. The Cuda will have to work hard to get this one as they try to get out from last place in the Pacific Division in the AHL.

Marko Ukalovic is a San Jose Barracuda beat writer and does the Barracuda podcasts each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com