Category: AHL

Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By: Ana Kieu

The San Jose Barracuda and San Diego Gulls sequel was released Saturday at the Valley View Casino Center. In case you missed it, San Jose fended off San Diego’s comeback and escaped with a 3-2 victory last night.

The Barracuda’s starting lineup consisted of Rudolfs Balcers, Danny O’Regan, Marcus Sorensen, Jacob Middleton, Nick DeSimone and Antoine Bibeau.

The Barracuda’s Twitter account had some fun before the game. San Jose tweeted, “The national anthem is way more exciting when the audio and video don’t match up. #PregameThoughts.”

Former NHL player and first black NHLer, Willie O’Ree, did a spectacular job on his ceremonial puck drop.

It didn’t take long for the Barracuda to draw first blood, as DeSimone scored an early goal, just one minute into the opening period. Middleton and Filip Sandberg collected the assists on DeSimone’s goal.

The Gulls quickly responded with a game-tying goal from Nic Kerdiles. Kerdiles stood on the door step and banged in Dennis Rasmussen’s rebound for the equalizer.

The Barracuda-Gulls rivalry was in full effect, as Brandon Mashinter and Jaycob Megna dropped the gloves with each other for an action-packed fight.

Both teams were tied at one apiece after 20 minutes of play.

The Barracuda were apparently ready to rock in the second period. Meanwhile, the Gulls announced a scoring change: Rasmussen got credit for their first goal; the with assist came from Deven Sideroff.

Bibeau made a noteworthy save in the period, but did you expect anything less from this Barracuda goaltender?

The Barracuda took back their lead, 2-1, on the power play. Julian Bergman scores on a shot from the point. Sorensen and O’Regan collected the assists on Bergman’s go-ahead goal.

The Barracuda led the Gulls 2-1 after 40 minutes of play. Shots were 25-22 in favor of San Jose.

Bibeau came up big in the third period. Also, the Barracuda were a perfect 3-for-3 on the penalty kill. The Gulls guessed Bibeau was going to the AHL All-Star Game or something after witnessing Sam Carrick being denied on the breakaway.

The Barracuda had a huge opportunity on what turned out to be a wild power play. John McCarthy’s shot was denied and then Eric Fehr was denied on the other end.

The crowd in San Diego was reportedly loud and looking for a tie. In other news, O’Regan spent some time showing off his silky smooth handles behind the Gulls’ net.

The Gulls pulled their goalie Kevin Boyle for an extra attacker with 1:40 left in regulation. But their change didn’t help them out as the Barracuda escaped with a 2-1 win. The Sharks also beat the Penguins 2-1. That being said, it was a great day for both San Jose hockey teams.

Three Stars of the Game
1. Bibeau (28 saves)
2. DeSimone (1 goal)
3. Bergman (1 goal)

Notes
The Sharks recalled goaltender Troy Grosenick from the Barracuda.

SD Ducks Sled Hockey came out to the Gulls’ Diversity Night.

San Francisco 49ers assistant coach Katie Sowers attended the game.

Up Next
The Barracuda return to action when they host the Texas Stars Tuesday at 7:30 pm CT.

Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

The San Jose Barracuda (18-16-0-2) were finally able to take some revenge in their house of horrors known as the Valley View Casino Center as they escaped with a 3-2 victory over the San Diego Gulls (20-16-1-0). They snapped their nine-game losing streak in San Diego. It was their first regular season regulation win in San Diego since November 14th, 2015.

After allowing San Diego to score two unanswered goals in the third period to tie the score, the Barracuda didn’t take long to regain the lead. The tie would last just 16 seconds as Brandon Mashinter would get a gift from San Diego’s Brian Cooper whose backhanded attempt to clear the puck went right to Mashinter and he fired a shot in one motion past Gulls goalie Reto Berra (9-6-0) who wasn’t expecting the shot. The unassisted goal was his seventh goal on the season at the 5:38 mark to give the Barracuda a 3-2 lead.

San Jose took control of the first period as they outshot San Diego 18-8. Captain John McCarthy created one of the many scoring chances for the Barracuda when he created a turnover in the Gulls zone, but his shot was stopped by Berra. Barracuda goalie Antoine Bibeau (11-7-0) matched Berra a short time later making a nice save on a point blank shot attempt by Nic Kerdiles.

The Barracuda would cash in when Danny O’Reagan blasted a shot on goal that was stopped by Berra that created a rebound and a mad scramble in front of the net. Defenseman Redim Simek raced in from the blue line and scored his third goal on the season on a bang bang play snapping a shot past Berra at the 8:15 mark. Simek got off a big schneid as that was his first goal in the last 23 games. Filip Sandberg also received an assist on the play. It was the first time San Jose had a lead at the Valley View Casino Center this season.

In the second period, the Gulls controlled play as they put pressure on the Barracuda early in the period. Bibeau made a brilliant save on Kerdiles five minutes into the frame. San Diego forced the Barracuda in taking consecutive penalties just moments before the midway point through the period.

However, Marcus Sorensen would turn the tables on the league-leading Gulls power play when he scored a short-handed goal on a 2-on-1 break with O’Reagan. Simek joined the play and took a pass from O’Regan, but his shot attempt was blocked. Sorensen was able to corral the puck and snipe it past Berra for his sixth goal of the season at 8:49 mark of the second period for a 2-0 lead.

In the third period, the Gulls would breakthrough early as they were able to keep the puck inside the Barracuda zone after a failed clearing attempt. Kevin Roy came on a fresh line change and was able to snap home a shot past Bibeau for his seventh goal of the season at the 3:26 mark. Dennis Rasmussen and Julius Nattinen assisted on the goal.

Roy would score again just under two minutes later and tied the game on the power play at the 5:22 mark after putting home a rebound off a mad scramble in front of the net after a shot hit off the crossbar. Roy was able to beat Barracuda defenseman Paul Martin to the puck and net his eighth goal of the season.

The Gulls had a goal waved off by Kalle Kossila with 3:50 left in the third period as the referees ruled the puck never crossed over the line. They had a chance to tie the game late in the game when Simek went into the sin bin for tripping with three minutes left and had a 6-on-4 advantage when they pulled Berra for an extra attacker, but could not get the equalizer.

Bibeau earned his 11th victory of the season on 27 shots on 29 shots. It was his third straight win. Berra took the loss on 43 saves on 46 shots.

GAMES NOTES: The game was chippy throughout the game with lots of post whistle scrums. San Jose’s Brandon Bollig and San Diego’s Ryan White exchanged fisticuffs in the first period. San Jose went 0/3 on the power play, while San Diego was 1/5.

UP NEXT: The two teams will do it all over again on Saturday night from Valley View Casino Center. Faceoff is at 7pm.

Photo credit: @goicehogs

By Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE—The Rockford IceHogs (21-15-1-2) scored two goals in under five minutes in the second period and held on for a 4-2 victory over the San Jose Barracuda (16-15-0-2) at the SAP Center on Friday night. Rockford snapped San Jose’s four-game home winning streak.

Rockford skated out to a fast start as they tilted the ice in their favor in the first 10 minutes of the first period. Matheson Iacopelli led a 2-on-1 break and was able to snipe a shot past under the arm of Barracuda goalie Troy Grosenick (5-6-2) inside the left post at the 5:40 mark. The unassisted goal was his ninth goal of the season.

San Jose couldn’t generate much offense in the opening period as they were constantly going into the sin bin. With the help of  a busy Grosenick, they were able to kill off all three power play opportunities for the IceHogs. Rockford dominated the shot clock by out shooting the Barracuda 14-4.

In the second period, Julius Bergman tied the game on the power play with his fourth goal of the season. Danny O’ Regan back handed a cross-ice pass to the defenseman who skated down the right wing and rifled a shot top shelf past Collin Delia (4-4-0) at the 5:36 mark.

Tyler Sikura got the momentum back for the IceHogs when was able to slam home his own rebound past Grosenick as a result of a 2-on-1 with Andreas Martinsen. His initial shot hit Grosenick in the mask before following up for his 10th goal of the season at the 9:10 mark of the second period.

Tanner Kero scored his third goal of the season into a wide-open net on the rebound when the IceHogs Anthony Louis’ shot from the point hit off of Grosenick and found a wide open Kero to tap it home for a 3-1 lead at the 14:02 mark. Rockford out shot San Jose 18-8 in the period.

San Jose wouldn’t go away quietly as they cut the deficit to 3-2 when Rudolfs Balcers banged home his team leading eighth goal of the season at 11:28 of the third period. Jacob Middleton’s shot from the point hit off Adam Clendening’s skate right over to Balcers who buried home the pack past Delia.

Kero finished off the scoring with an empty net, power play goal and his second of the game with just 39 seconds left in the game.

Delia earned the victory making 23 saves on 25 shots. Grosenick finished the evening with 39 saves on 42 shots in the defeat.

GAMES NOTES: It was the 500th career minor league hockey game for Barracuda forward Brandon Mashinter, who played last year for Rockford.

“Definitely wanted to be back for this one”, said Mashinter before the game. “Told the optometrist I am playing in this one.”

Mashinter returned to the lineup after suffering an upper body injury to his eye last weekend in San Diego.

Bergman’s power play goal snapped an 0-27 streak by the Barracuda that spanned six consecutive games.

Overall, San Jose was 1/3 on the power play, while Rockford was 1/6.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda take on the Bakersfield Condors on Monday afternoon (1/15) at 1:15 pm PT at the SAP Center.

Photo credit: @kavinm95

On the Barracuada Podcast with Marko Ukalovic:

1 The San Jose Barracuda (20-15-0)  after getting swept in a two game series by San Diego sent the San Antonio Rampage down to defeat (16-14-2) at San Jose 2-1 for their 20th win of the season.

2 Manny Wiederer who scored the game winning goal for San Jose on a failed clearing attempt by the Rampage goaltender Ville Husso that allowed Wiederer to score on teammate Brandon Boilig’s screen

3 Wiederer tried to set a pass up to Boilig, but took the shot himself he was aware of the fine job Husso was doing and took his chances succeeding on a blind side goal

4 The first period gave an indication that this was going to be a defensive game with no scoring

5 The Barracuda host the Rockport Ice Hogs for a 7 pm face off on Friday night the second of four home games at SAP Center

Marko Ukalovic does the Barracuda podcasts every Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

 

Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE—-The San Jose Barracuda (20-15-2-0) were able to get the bad taste of the San Diego Gulls out of their mouth with a gritty 2-1 victory over the San Antonio Rampage (16-14-0-2) Tuesday night at SAP Center. Their 20th victory of the season broke their two-game losing streak.

Manny Wiederer was the hero for the  Barracuda when he scored the game-winning goal, thanks to a failed clearing attempt by the Rampage. He was able to take advantage of a Brandon Bollig screen in front of Rampage goalie Ville Husso (7-6-0) as his wrist shot sailed past Husso for his fourth goal on the season at 8:28 of the third period.

“Bollig was going to the net and I tried to pass it to him,” Wiederer said after the game. “Luckily, the goalie didn’t see it and didn’t get it and it went right in.”

The first period saw no scoring, but each team had their own chances to draw first blood as each had a power play opportunity, but neither could convert. Barracuda forward Danny O’Reagan’s line created a flurry of chances with six and a half minutes left in the first period. His wraparound attempt was stopped by Husso. Both teams would get a chance late in the period when Rampage foward Kim Klostin’s shot from the slot trickled past Antoine Bibeau (9-7-0) but the San Jose goaltender was able to reach back with no further damage done with 54 seconds left. While San Jose captain John McCarthy pick pocketed Rampage defenseman Chris Butler at his own blue line that led to a breakaway chance but his back hander would be thwarted by Husso with just under 30 seconds left. San Jose outshot San Antonio 15-7.

Barracuda forward Tim Clifton broke the deadlock at 2:53 of the second period when he was able tip in a shot by Rudolfs Balcers. Balcers was able to keep the puck in at the blue line and let a wrist shot go from the left point into a body of traffic in front of Husso that Clifton’s stick was able to get a piece of the puck and past the short side for a 1-0 lead. It was his second goal of the season.

“Everyone chipped in tonight,” said head coach Roy Sommer, describing his team’s performance on the night. “Some unknown guys got goals. We told them to get to the net and good stuff would happen.”

San Jose had a chance to extend their lead two minutes later when Rampage forward AJ Greer was assessed an extra minor for roughing when he got into a scuffle with Cuda defenseman Micael Brodzinski along the boards at 4:46. . However McCarthy’s back hand attempt on a rebound almost trickled past Husso before the goalie was able to pounce on the puck. Filip Sandberg’s breakaway attempt was stoned by Husso, just seconds after the power play was over.

With O’Reagan in the sin bin for hooking, the Rampage would tie the game on the power play when forward Alex Belzile was able to back hand home a rebound past Bibeau after Rocco Grimaldi’s shot hit off the back post and found a wide open Belzile camped out in front of the crease for his seventh goal of the season. Jordan Schmaltz also received an assist. Despite San Jose out shooting San Antonio 14-6 in the second period, the teams headed into the second intermission tied at 1-1.

Bibeau made 24 saves, including some critical saves in the final two minutes when San Antonio pulled Husso for an extra attacker on 25 shots for the victory. Husso suffered the defeat on 36 saves on 38 shots.

GAME NOTES: The power play woes continued for San Jose as they went 0/4 on the power play while San Antonio was 1/2. San Antonio out shot San Jose 12-9 in the 3rd period.

Barracuda forward Brandon Mashinter missed his second consecutive game with an upper body injury he suffered this past Friday night in San Diego when he took a stick to his eye.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda host the Rockford Icehogs on Friday night at 7 pm PT.