Category: AHL

sjbarracuda file photo: Expect to see more of these congratulations from San Jose Barracuda teammates on ice as the team now has improved to seven straight wins with a victory over the Bakersfield in a nail biter on Saturday night 4-3 in overtime

By: Eric He

Joakim Ryan scored the game-winning goal in overtime as the San Jose Barracuda (26-11-1-3) beat the Bakersfield Condors (19-18-5-1) 4-3 on Sunday. The win was the Barracuda’s seventh consecutive win and their sixth straight victory on the road.

Trailing 3-2 entering the third, San Jose evened the score early in the period on a backhand goal by John McCarthy. Though the Barracuda outshot the Condors 12-4 in the third, they couldn’t find the go-ahead goal.

It went to overtime, where Ryan finished off a 2-on-1 to win the game, moments after Mantas Armalis denied Jesse Puljurarvi on a breakaway.

San Jose trailed 2-1 after one period. Buddy Robinson and Josh Currie traded goals early in the contest, coming a minute and six seconds apart. Patrick Russell’s deflection on the power play at 15:20 put the Condors in front heading into the first intermission.

While Bakersfield opened up a two-goal advantage less than a minute in the second period on a breakaway goal by Puljurarvi, Robinson connected on his second goal of the game quickly thereafter.

The Barracuda held the Condors to just 20 shots on goal, with Armalis winning in his first start since Jan. 21.

Next up, San Jose will play the Reign at home on Sunday.

sjbarracuda.com photo: San Deigo Gulls center Chris Wagner (21) tries to shovel the puck past San Jose Barracuda goaltender Tony Grosenick (1) on Wednesday night at SAP Center

SAN JOSE— The San Jose Barracuda beat the San Diego Gulls 2-1 at SAP Center Wednesday night.

After combating a lengthy seven-game road trip, the Barracuda returned to San Jose to host the Gulls in a Pacific Division rivalry match.

Defense kept the Barracuda in the game as shots were even at seven apiece at 13:51 of the first period. On the fast break, Adam Helewka found the crease and a lack of defense allowed him to fire the slap shot stick side past Jhonas Enroth for an unassisted goal and his 11th of the season, giving his team a 1-0 lead.

“We haven’t had good starts lately,” Helewka said when asked about the importance of getting off to a good start. “We knew they (Gulls) kind of move fast, so we know how big it was to have a big and fast start.”

The Gulls received more scoring chances, edging the Barracuda in shots 11-9, but San Jose held a 1-0 lead over San Diego after 20 minutes.

As Nikita Jevpalovs stood at the doorstep, he picked up a pass from Tim Heed and stuffed the puck through traffic to give the Barracuda a 2-0 lead just 1:29 into the second period.

Jevpalovs recalled: “That was a good forecheck by the guys…Kind of a lucky bounce for me.”

Again, good defense kept the Barracuda in the game. Despite being outshot by the Gulls 24-22, San Jose carried a 2-0 lead to the locker room after 40 minutes.

The Gulls applied some pressure on the Barracuda in the third period.

A slip in the Barracuda defense allowed the Gulls to cut the lead in half at 12:26. Shortly after Nic Kerdiles was called for tripping, Chris Wagner ruined Troy Grosenick’s shutout bid with a short-handed goal for his eighth of the season.

The Barracuda (25-11-1-3) the Gulls (24-13-2-2) by a score of 2-1 for their sixth straight win. Grosenick finished with 38 saves in a San Jose victory.

“We treat every game the same,” Grosenick said. “It doesn’t matter if we’re at home or on the road. We have to keep the same identity, work hard and play fast.”

Enroth made 26 saves in a losing effort for San Diego.

“The first period was kind of like a chess match,” Barracuda head coach Roy Sommer commented. “There wasn’t a lot going on. We turned the puck over to the neutral zone, Grosenick made some big saves and then (Adam) Helewka put us ahead, but there wasn’t a lot going on in the first (period)…It started picking up later in the second period when both teams started going at it. Bottom line is, our goalie (Grosenick) was better than theirs (Gulls’ Enroth).”

The Barracuda head to Bakersfield to take on the Condors (19-18-4-1) at 6 p.m. Saturday. You can tune into the game on AHL Live and AM 1220 KDOW.

 

 

 

sjbarrcuda.com photo: San Jose Barracuda players go for the victory lap in front of their bench after scoring one of their three power play goals

By: Eric He

After losing the first two games of their season-long seven game trip by a combined nine goals, the San Jose Barracuda have suddenly become road warriors, winning their fourth straight away game on Friday.

The Barracuda beat the Manitoba Moose 4-1 at the MTS Centre, setting a franchise record with their fourth consecutive road win.

The power play keyed the win. San Jose tied a season-high with three goals on the man advantage, scoring on each of its opportunities.

John McCarthy scored twice on the power play in the third period, providing insurance for the Barracuda who led 2-1 after two. McCarthy was set up on both goals, the first from Patrick McNally and the second from Barclay Goodrow. The second goal came with less than five minutes remaining to give the Barracuda a 4-1 lead and essentially ice the game.

The game was tight for the first two periods. Nikolay Goldobin drew first blood for the Barracuda midway through the first with a backhander from in close, though Manitoba answered less than a minute later to even the score at 1-1.

The Barracuda took the lead for good late in the second period, as Goodrow tipped in a shot from the point by McCarthy on the power play.

San Jose outshot Manitoba 40-26, while goaltender Troy Grosenick made 25 saves in the win.

The Barracuda’s road trip ends with another matchup against the Moose on Saturday.

sjbarracuda photo: San Jose Barracuda forward Kevin Labanc (62) takes aim on Milwaukee Admiral goaltender Merek Mazanec (31)

By: Eric He

The San Jose Barracuda’s (22-11-1-3) seven-game road trip has taken them across the country to Wisconsin, where they defeated the Milwaukee Admirals (24-15-2-2) 4-2 on Saturday night.

Troy Grosenick made 20 saves in a winning effort and a return to his hometown, while Kevin Labanc scored just 36 into the game in his return to the AHL lineup.

The game, though, was tied 1-1 after one period. Nikolay Goldobin gave the Barracuda a 2-1 lead early in the second period, beating the goaltender through the five-hole skating down the left wing. Minutes later, Tim Heed ripped a shot from the right point to extend the lead to two goals.

The Admirals cut the lead back to one to begin the third period, but the Barracuda wrapped things up with an insurance marker from Barclay Goodrow, who finished off a pass from Labanc to put San Jose ahead 4-2.

San Jose is now 3-2 on this seven-game road trip, which continues Friday in Manitoba.

photo by sjbarracuda.com

by Ana Kieu

The San Jose Barracuda visited the Grand Rapids Griffins Friday for the first time this season, leaving Van Andel Arena with a 4-1 victory.

The Barracuda got on the board first when Barclay Goodrow buried a short-handed breakaway to make it a 1-0 game at the 13:44 mark.

The Barracuda held a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes, despite being outshot 14-8 by the Griffins.

The Barracuda capitalized with the man advantage in the second period. Matthew Caito was called for hooking at 10:58. Nikolay Goldobin fired it home from the circle for a power-play goal, giving the Barracuda a 2-0 lead 32 seconds later. With his eighth of the season, Goldobin ended his goalless drought dating back to Jan. 13 against the Ontario Reign at SAP Center.

The Griffins led in shots, 31-18, but the Barracuda carried a 2-0 lead to the locker room after 40 minutes.

Evgeny Svechnikov ruined the Barracuda’s chance at a shutout just 31 seconds into the third period. Barracuda head coach Roy Sommer challenged the play for intent to blow, but the goal stood, and Svechnikov scored his 13th of the season.

Goldobin scored his second of the game and ninth of the season to extend the Barracuda’s lead to 4-1 at 18:03. The rebound came off the post, went past Danny O’Regan and straight to Goldobin, who tapped it into the net.

Julius Bergman capped the scoring by firing a seeing-eye shot through traffic for his second of the season into the Barracuda’s eventual 4-1 road win over the Griffins. Troy Grosenick finished with 43 saves.

Cal Heeter made 24 saves in a losing effort.

The Barracuda head to University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee Panther Arena to take on the Milwaukee Admirals Saturday at 6:00 pm PST on AHL Live and AM 1220 KDOW.

 

sjbarracuda photo: San Jose Barracuda defenceman Travis Brown (45) and Stockton Heat right winger Mark Frattin (19) skate for the puck in the Barracuda 5-0 shutout at Stockton Arena Wednesday night

By Ana Kieu

The San Jose Barracuda shutout the Stockton Heat 5-0 at Stockton Arena on Wednesday night.

The Barracuda came back really hungry because they got a taste of their own medicine after suffering two straight blowouts, losing 5-1 to the San Diego Gulls Friday and 7-2 to the Ontario Reign Saturday.

The Barracuda jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the opening period.

Rourke Chartier put back the rebound of a John McCarthy shot to put the Barracuda on the board with his ninth of the season at 12:29.

Bryan Moore put a backhand past David Rittich for his first AHL goal, giving the Barracuda a 2-0 lead at 6:49.

Shortly after Moore’s tally, Jake Marchment started a fight, dropping the gloves with Mike Angelidis at center ice.

Danny O’Regan scored in his first game back from a right foot injury. O’Regan sprung on a breakaway after taking a centering pass from Mirco Mueller, beating Rittich for a 3-0 Barracuda lead with 2:02 left in the period.

The Barracuda led 3-0 and held a 10-8 shot advantage after 20 minutes.

If a trio of even-strength goals wasn’t convincing enough, the Barracuda continued to pour on the pressure in the second period, outshooting the Heat 20-16.

Morgan Klimchuk was called for delay of game just 24 seconds into the period. The Barracuda capitalized with the man advantage as Tim Heed blasted a shot past Jon Gillies for his 10th of the season and gave San Jose a 4-0 lead at 18:14.

Moreover, Marchment stood up for a hard hit on Nikolay Goldobin, dropping the gloves with Brandon Bollig in a second fight at 14:07. After failing to comply with the AHL’s two-fight rule, Marchment exited Wednesday’s game.

The Barracuda carried a 4-0 lead to the locker room after 40 minutes.

O’Regan went top-shelf on Gillies for his second of the game and 13th of the season, extending the Barracuda’s lead to 5-0 at 11:43. O’Regan currently leads the AHL in points, scoring 36 in 32 games.

The Barracuda (20-11-1-3) snapped a two-game losing skid with a 5-0 shutout win over the Heat (19-14-3-1) in Stockton. Grosenick stopped all 21 shots he faced for his sixth shutout of the season.

Rittich allowed three goals on 10 shots before being pulled after the first period. Gillies made 17 saves on the 19 shots he faced in relief.

The Barracuda continue their road trip with a stop in Michigan to take on the Grand Rapids Griffins (27-11-1-2) Tuesday night. You can tune into the game on AHL Live and AM 1220 KDOW.

 

 

 

sjbarracuda.com photo: San Jose Barracuda John McCarthy (17) who scored the first goal for San Jose in the first period was not enough as the Barracuda were overwhelmed by the Ontario Reign in a five goal loss

By: Eric He

ONTARIO–The Barracuda (19-11-1-3) allowed four goals in the third period and went o-for-5 on the power play in a frustrating 7-2 loss to the Reign (20-9-6-0) in Ontario on Saturday night.

San Jose trailed just 3-2 heading into the third period, but Mantas Armalis allowed four past him in the third to erase any hopes of a Barracuda comeback. Teddy Purcell, Vincent LoVerde, Johnny Brodzinski and Mike Amadio all scored for the Reign to put the game out of reach.

The game was close through two periods. The Barracuda’s Marcus Sorensen tied the game 2-2 in the second period on a redirect, but Brodzinski gave Ontario the lead right back minutes later on a power play.

Ontario also led 2-0 in this game. Sam Herr and Paul LaDue lit the lamp in the first period to stake out an early lead for the Reign. John McCarthy provided the lone goal for the Barracuda in the first period to close the deficit to 2-1.

By game’s end, though, the score would be much different as Armalis allowed seven goals on 33 shots.

The Barracuda’s next game will be Wednesday night in Stockton.

sjbarracuda.com photo: The San Diego Gulls Keaton Thompson (4) skates the puck up front with Gulls teammates Kalle Kossilla (14) and Antoine Laganiere (28) anticipating a shot or pass while the Barracuda Mirco Mueller (41) helps defend in front of the net with goaltender Tony Grosenick (1)

By: Eric He

Two minutes into their game against the Gulls (18-12-2-1), the San Jose Barracuda (19-10-1-3) found themselves trailing.

They never bounced back in a 5-1 loss in San Diego on Friday night in front of a crowd of 12,920 AHL fans at Valley View Casino Center.

Jordan Samuels-Thomas deposited the game’s first goal with a shot that went in from the left circle. Scott Sabourin gave the Gulls a 2-0 lead heading into the second with a goal late in the first period.

The Barracuda wouldn’t find the back of the net until late in the third period on a goal by Patrick McNally. By that point, the game was out of hand. Nick Sorensen gave San Diego a 3-0 lead heading into the third period, and the Gulls extended the lead to 4-0 in the third.

Goaltender Troy Grosenick allowed four goals on 34 shots.

San Jose plays Ontario on the road on Saturday to continue its seven-game road trip.

photo by sjbarracuda.com: The San Jose Barracuda forward Rourke Chartier (60) chases puck and the Bakersfield Condors defenceman Mark Fraser (2) chases Chartier in Monday night AHL action at SAP Center

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Barracuda crushed the Bakersfield Condors 7-1 at SAP Center on Monday.

The Barracuda applied consistent pressure on the Condors in the first period.

Julius Bergman sent a pass to Nikita Jevpalovs, who used his speed to rush the puck from the top right corner and into the net past Nick Ellis to get the Barracuda on the board 1-0 at 6:08.

Condors head coach Gerry Fleming challenged Jevpalovs’ goal, but the call stood. Jevpalovs scored his sixth of the season, extending his point streak to four games with three goals and one assist.

Adam Helewka intercepted Jesse Puljujarvi’s pass in the defensive zone and skated in alone to slide it through Ellis’ five-hole to make it 2-0 Barracuda at the 13:55 mark.

Ryan Carpenter gathered the puck in the middle of the ice and delivered a wicked wrist shot that  beat Ellis to extend the Barracuda’s lead to 3-0 at 19:49. Carpenter’s eighth goal of the season was a part of the complete, 60 minute game.

The Barracuda let a perfect lead slip away shortly after Alex Schoenborn took a hooking penalty with just three seconds left in the period. Jesse Puljujarvi took the faceoff win and fired a shot past Mantas Armalis for his first AHL goal on the Condors’ third shot on goal.

The Barracuda continued to lead 3-1 after 20 minutes, limiting the Condors to just three shots on goal in the first period.

There was quite a lot of action in the second period. It all started when Adam Helewka hauled down Patrick Russell, but referee Ryan Hersey caught him in the act, which led to a hooking penalty at 6:07.

Marcus Sorensen dropped the gloves and had a brief argument with Russell that resulted in a draw. Sorensen’s hit on Josh Currie sparked another fight between the two teams. Currie was helped off the ice with alleged upper-body discomfort.

“It was me who hit him (Currie),” Sorensen admitted, laughing.

Sorensen has never fought in the Swedish Hockey League, adding: “This is my first time ever. If you dropped the gloves, you would get suspended.”

After all the fights and hits, Jon Martin found Marcus Sorensen in front of the net. Sorensen blasted a shot through traffic past Ellis for his 10th of the season, expanding the Barracuda’s lead to 4-1 at 14:59.

The second period was a little slow, but the Barracuda outshot the Condors 27-12 and led 4-1 after 40 minutes.

The Barracuda didn’t waste any time getting ahead.

Barclay Goodrow completed a tic-tac-toe play from Carpenter and Tim Heed just 32 seconds into the third period to score his 12th of the season and give his team a 5-1 lead.

“Everyone was skating in all four lines,” Goodrow asserted. “We played how we wanted to play, except for the last few seconds of the first period, but it was exactly the start we wanted.”

Sorensen chipped in a loose puck from the left circle for his second of the game and 11th of the season to put the Barracuda up 6-1 at 4:11.

The Barracuda took a 7-1 lead at 16:30 when John McCarthy skated around a fallen Frankie Simonelli, outwaited Ellis and slid the puck into the net for his sixth of the season.

The Barracuda (19-9-1-3) extended their winning streak to two games with a 7-1 victory over the Condors (14-14-4-1) at home. Armalis finished with 22 saves in a San Jose victory.

Ellis made 29 saves in a losing effort for Bakersfield.

When I asked Barracuda head coach Roy Sommer about how he would keep his team from getting too high after a one-sided win, he told me: “I wouldn’t say they’re getting too crazy about themselves, but they got themselves a day off tomorrow, so that’s a good thing…We got some bumps and bruises, but it won’t hurt them. We’ll go back to work on Wednesday.”

The Barracuda head to Valley View Casino Center to face the San Diego Gulls (17-12-2-1) on Friday at 7:00 pm PST. You can tune into the game on AHL Live and AM 1220 KDOW.