Category: San Jose Barracuda

Wild edge Barracuda in overtime 4-3

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by Marko Ukalovic

DES MOINES, Iowa- A seasaw battle between the San Jose Barracuda and the Iowa Wild ended in a thrilling 4-3 overtime win for the Wild on Saturday evening at Wells Fargo Arena.

Louie Belpedio scored the game winner with one minute left in the overtime session as the Wild split their two game weekend series with the ‘Cuda.

The loss snapped the two-game winning streak for San Jose. Iowa evened their record to 3-3 against the Pacific Divison this season.

San Jose (14-20-0-2) jumped out to a early lead just 62 seconds into the first period while killing a penalty. A backhand pass by the Wild was knocked away by Nick DeSimone. Dylan Gambrell made a touch pass over to Evan Weigner and he outraced two Wild defenders before depositing a backhand shot through the 5-hole of Wild goalie Mat Robson for a short-handed goal, his seventh goal of the season.

The ‘Cuda doubled their lead midway through the opening frame when Lukas Radil led a 3-on-2 rush into the Wild zone. He fed a pass to the right over to Noah Gregor who quickly made a touch pass back over to the left to a wide open Gambrell who tipped the puck past Robson for his third goal of the season at the 9:24 mark.

Iowa (22-14-3-2) cut the deficit in half near the end of the period. Belpedio won a faceoff draw back to the Dmitry Sokolov who made a move toward the net and fired a wrist shot past ‘Cuda goalie Zachary Sawchenko for the first of his two goals on the night at the 16:32 mark.

The Wild scored the equalizer in the first five minutes of the second period. Luke Johnson sent a cross-ice pass over to a open Will Bitten whose shot was initially saved by Sawchenko. However the rebound trickled out to Kyle Rau and he slammed it home for his ninth goal of the season at the 4:23 mark.

Iowa gained its first lead of the game with under three minutes left in the middle frame. Belpedio found Sokolov open at the top of the right faceoff circle and he blasted a one-timer past Sawchenko for his second goal of the game and 11th of the season at the 17:17 mark.

Just when it looked like Iowa had the game locked up while on the power play with under two minutes remaining in the third period San Jose striked for the equalizer. Noah Gregor led a rush up the ice along with Jonny Brodzinki. Jonny on the spot then fed it to a trailing Jacob Middleton who buried a wrist shot the far side of Robson for his first goal of the season at the 18:25 mark.

His first goal of the season could not have come at a better time for San Jose as it snapped a 34 game goalless drought for the ‘Cuda defenseman.

Robson (8-7-4) stopped 23 of the 26 shots he faced to earn his eighth win of the season. Sawchenko had a good night in goal, despite suffering the loss, as he made 37 saves on 41 shots.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 0-for-2 on the power play. Iowa was 1-for-5

Weinger netted his team-leading second shorthanded goal of year.

Gambrell recorded his third multi-point game (one goal, one assist) over his last six games.

Saturday was the third time in franchise history in which the Barracuda scored two shorthanded goals in a game and the first since 3/26/17 at Tucson.

The announced attendance was 10,928.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda continue their roadtrip in Bakersfield to take on the Condors on Wednesday 1/22 at 6:30pm at Mechanics Bank Arena.

Barracuda third period outburst tames Wild 3-1

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by Marko Ukalovic

DES MOISES Iowa- Better late than never is the philosophy the San Jose Barracuda used in the third period as they scored three unaswered goals to defeat the Iowa Wild 3-1 on Friday evening at Wells Fargo Arena.

This was the first game San Jose has played outside the Pacific Division this season in the first of four games they will play against Iowa this season. The ‘Cuda have won two games in a row. The Wild are 2-3 against the Pacific Division this season.

The opening 20 minutes went scoreless with San Jose outshooting the Iowa 10-5. Each team had a power play opportunity with neither team not being able to cash in with the man advantage.

Iowa (22-14-3-2) drew first blood near the end of the second period. Jacob Middleton slipped and fell while trying to clear the puck out of the ‘Cuda zone. Brandon Duhaime collected the puck and made a back hand pass over to Dmitry Sokolov who buried a shot top-shelf past ‘Cuda goalie Zachary Sawchenko for his ninth goal of the season at the 15:29 mark.

Despite outshooting Iowa 13-11 in the middle frame, San Jose still trailed 1-0 at the second intermission.

San Jose (14-20-0-2) began their comeback 33 seconds into the third period. Alexander True led a rush into the Wild zone. His centering pass deflected off a Wild defender onto the stick of Nikolai Knyzhov who quickly fed over to Jeffery Viel to the right of the net. Viel than tapped the puck into the empty net for the first of his two goals of the game and seventh of the season.

The ‘Cuda gained the lead when Jonny Brodzinski intercepted a clearing attempt by the Wild. He made a pass over to Trevor Carrick at the left slot and Carrick sent a cross-ice pass over to Sasha Chmelevski who buried a wrist shot to the short side of Wild goalie Kaapo Khakonen for his seventh goal of the season at the 6:22 mark.

Iowa pulled Khakonen for an extra attacker with two minutes remaining in an effort to score the eqaulizer but Viel dashed the Wild’s hopes of scoring the equalizer when he won a race to a loose puck inside the Wild zone and desposited the puck between two Wild defenders into the empty net for his eighth goal of the season and second of the contest at the 18:29 mark.

It was the first time in Viel’s career he has had a multi-goal game.

Sawchenko (3-1-0) stopped 23 of the 24 shots he faced to earn his third win of the season. Khakonen (14-5-1) allowed two goal on 29 shots in suffering the loss.

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

Prior to Friday, the Barracuda were just 3-16-0 when trailing after two periods.

After the win, the Barracuda are now 4-2-1 all-time against the Wild.

The announced attendance was 5,596.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda conclude their two game series with the Wild on Saturday 1/18 at 4:00pm at Wells Fargo Arena.

 

Barracuda power past Eagles 7-2, snap two game skid

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sjbarracuda.com photo: The score says it all as the San Jose Barracuda broke it wide open against the visiting Colorado Eagles at SAP Center on Wednesday night

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif- The San Jose Barracuda’s power play had been colder than an afternoon kickoff in December at Lambeau Field. It warmed up at the right time as San Jose scored three unaswered goals, two on the power play, in the second period and then put the game away with four unaswered in the third period to defeat the Colorado Eagles 7-2 on Wednesday evening at SAP Center.

With the win, the ‘Cuda snapped a two game losing streak and concluded their four-game homestand with a 2-2 record. Colorado is 2-3 in its last five games.

Colorado (19-12-3-1) drew first blood late in the first period. A.J. Greer centered a pass from beind the net over to the right slot where Shane Bowers skated in and snapped a wrist side to the short side past ‘Cuda goalie Josef Korenar for his seventh goal at the 13:42 mark. Sheldon Dries received the secondary assist and leads the Eagles in points with 26.

The Eagles could have been up 3-0 after the opening 20 minutes as Michael Joly hit the post after a chance off a turnover. And Martin Kraut’s short-handed breakaway chance ended with him shooting the puck to wide left of the net.

San Jose (13-20-0-2) had one good chance on the power play to even the score from Noah Gregor who skated in a mini-breakaway. His backhand shot was gloved by Eagles goalie Adam Werner. The ‘Cuda outshot Colorado 14-7.

The Barracuda scored the equalizer to open up the second period. Dylan Gambrell poked the puck over to Noah Gregor in the ‘Cuda zone. Gregor then flashed his speed as he raced down the ice and around Eagles defenseman Jacob MacDonald. The Edmonton native skated in on Werner and chipped the puck top-shelf for his sixth goal of the season at the 3:50 mark.

San Jose gained its first lead on their third power play opportunity with a pretty tic-tac-toe goal. Trevor Carrick sent a pass from the point over to the right to Maxim Letunov and he quickly sent a cross ice pass over to the left slot where Jayden Halbegwchas  sniped it past Werner for his 13th goal of the season at the 8:19 mark. The power play tally snapped an 0/13 skid with the man advantage for the ‘Cuda.

“We talked about getting to the net a little more. I thought we did that tonight in the second and third (periods). Other than that I just liked our energy. I was happy with our effort,” said co-head coach Jimmy Bonneau.

The Barracuda made the Eagles pay for their fourth trip to the sinbin. A failed clearing attempt riccocet over to a wide open Carrick at the point. The ‘Cuda defenseman blasted a rocket past Werner on the far side for his eighth goal of the season at the 10:11 mark.

“It’s weird. It’s just been coming in waves for me this season,” said Carrick regarding scoring goals in back-to-back games and three in his last five. “Haven’t really changed a whole lot. Just been throwing the puck at net and they just happen to be going in.”

Colorado cut the deficit to a one-goal game in the first five minutes of the third period. T.J Tynan skated into the ‘Cuda zone near the right boards. He fed a drop pass back to the point where Mark Alt wired a slapshot past Korenar for his third goal of the season at the 4:09 mark.

San Jose regained their two-goal lead over two minutes later. Jacob Middleton sent a long pass from inside his own zone up to Jeffery Viel that sprung Viel on a breakaway. He skated in getting hooked on a delayed penalty call and sneaked through a shot past the 5-hole of Werner for his sixth goal of the season at the 6:26 mark.

The ‘Cuda blew open the game when Evan Weinger sent Halbgewachs on a breakaway. The 5’9″ foward made a quick move before burying the puck top-shelf in the upper left corner for his team-leading 14th goal and second of the game at the 9:56 mark.

Halbgewachs surpassed his career mark in goals in just 36 games. He ended his rookie campaign with 13 last season.

“That’s kind of my job. I gotta find ways to score each and every game. The goal for me right now is to find little ways to produce and make things happen offensively on the ice as well as play sound defensively,” said Halbgewachs.

San Jose scored the touchdown when a Nick DeSimone shot went wide of the net. Nick Meloche pinched down from the point and threw the puck into the middle of the crease where a crashing Alex True tapped the puck past Werner for his 11th goal of the season at the 13:50 mark.

The Barracuda closed out the scoring 40 seconds later. A faceoff win by Gambrell back to the point led a to a Jeremy Roy shot that Gambrell tipped as the puck rattled off both goal posts and into the back of the net for his first goal of the season at the 14:30 mark. Weinger was credited with an assist for a two-point night.

Korenar (8-13-2) made 23 saves on 25 shots to earn his 8th win of the sseason. Werner (13-6-1) stopped 32 of the 39 shots he faced in suffering the loss.

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

Letunov recorded two assists giving him his team leading 20th on the season. He also leads San Jose in points with 28.

Bowers has scored a goal in three straight games.

Colorado’s five-game road point streak was snapped with the loss.

The announced attendance was 2,143.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda travel out to Iowa in their first non-conference mathup of the season to take on the Wild on Friday 5:00pm at the Wells Fargo Arena.

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Coming off one goal loss to Stockton, Barracuda looking forward to puck drop with Colorado tonight

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stocktonheat.com photo: The San Jose Barracuda who hosted the Stockton Heat last Sunday will face off tonight against the Colorado Eagles the Colorado Avalanche AHL affiliate at SAP Center in San Jose tonight

On the Barracuda podcast with Marko:

#1 The game in Stockton was razor close a loss for the SJ Barracuda against the Stockton Heat 2-1 the Barracuda has been trying to get on track and it was frustrating to lose by a goal.

#2 Winning at home is important for co-coaches Jimmy Bonneau and Michael Chiasson for them it was a missed opportunity

#3 San Jose goaltender Josef Korenar (7-13-2) surrendered two goals and stopped 19 shots in the loss

#4 Austin Czarnik scored his seventh and eighth goals for the season which all that the Heat needed to win the game

#5 The Barracuda host the Colorado Eagles tonight at SAP Center in San Jose Marko tells us how he sees this match up

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

Heat upend Barracuda 2-1; Cuda drop their sixth out of last seven

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by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif- Ownage is ownage. The Stockton Heat put another notch on their belt regarding the San Jose Barracuda. Austin Czarnik scored two goals in the second period to help the Calgary Flames AHL affiliate defeat their NorCal rival 2-1 on Sunday afternoon at SAP Center.

Stockton has won the first eight meetings against San Jose and currently have a three game winning streak. San Jose is still searching for an answer against Stockton and have lost six out of their last seven games.

San Jose (12-20-0-2) actually jumped out to the start they wanted a little more than halfway through the first period. Noah Gregor led an attack into the Heat zone. He made a pass over to Joachim Blichfeld at the left faceoff circle, who returned the favor to a trailing Trevor Carrick. The ‘Cuda defenseman fired a low one-timer to the left that beat Heat goalie Atryom Zagidulin for Carrick’s seventh goal of the season at the 11:57 mark.

Both teams had two power play chances in the opening 20 minutes but neither were able to capitalize thanks to strong penalty killing by both teams. San Jose outshot Stockton 8-2.

Stockton (23-7-2-3) scored the equalizer on Czarnik’s first goal of the contest at the 7:44 mark of the second period. Alan Quine made a spin move around Jeffery Viel and fired the puck at the net that found the stick on Czarnik and he tapped it home past ‘Cuda goalie Josef Korenar for his seventh goal of the season.

“We felt like we deserved a better fate. You look at the last five, six minutes I felt like we really drove the play. You give a team under 10 grade-A scoring chances and 19 shots against, you feel like have a pretty job of coming out with two points. But credit them,  they’re a good team, they’re well coached,” said co-head coach Michael Chiasson.

The Heat grabbed the lead on the power play with under four minutes left in the middle frame. Quine and Czarnik worked their magic once again for the game winning goal. Zac Leslie fed a pass from the point over to right faceoff circle over to Quine and he quickly found Czarnik with a cross ice feed and the Michigan right winger slammed home a one-timer from the left faceoff circle past Korenar for his second goal of the game and eighth of the season at the 16:12 mark.

Czarnik finished with four points (two goals, two assists) in the two-game weekend set.

San Jose had a chance to get even on the power play at the 8:04 mark of the third period when Corey Schueneman went into the sinbin for holding the stick. However the achilies heal known as the Barracuda power play weren’t able to cash in on the man advantage.

“I think overall as a whole there was a lot of positives that we should be able to take (away) from this and (be able) to build off for Wednesday’s game,” said Chiasson.

Zagidulin (13-3-2) made 27 saves on 28 shots in earning his 13th win and is now 4-0 against San Jose this season. Korenar (7-13-2) stopped 17 of the 19 shots he faced in the tough luck loss.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 0-for-5 on the power play. Stockton was 1-for-4.

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT! Viel and Eetu Tuulola exchanged fisticuffs at the 2:22 mark of the first period. Nicholas Meloche and Buddy Robinson danced the tango later at the 10:21 mark of the second period.

Quine tallied two assists in the win, giving him twelve points (four goals, eight assists) in 6 games against the Barracuda this season.

Carrick leads all Barracuda defensemen with seven goals after his first-period tally.

The announced attendance was 4,605.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda host the Colorado Eagles on Wendesday 1/15 at 7:00pm at SAP Center.

Heat continue dominance over Barracuda in 2-0 shutout win

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sjbarracuda.com photo: The San Jose Barracuda continue to struggle as they lost to the Stockton Heat on Saturday at SAP Center in San Jose

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif- The San Jose Barracuda have been looking for an answer all season against their NorCal rival the Stockton Heat. They were left with even more questions after getting blanked in a 2-0 loss on Saturday afternoon at SAP Center.

Stockton have won two games in a row and all seven meetings this season against the ‘Cuda. San Jose have lost five of their last six games.

Stockton (22-7-2-3) scored their first goal on the power play at the tail end of the first period. Zac Leslie fed a pass from the point over to Austin Czarnik at the right slot. Czarnik then sent a cross ice pass over to Alan Quine who snapped home a wrist shot past a sprawling Zachary Sawchenko for his eighth goal of the season at the 19:50 mark.

Quine has become the latest ‘Cuda killer with 10 points (four goals, six assists) in five games against San Jose (12-19-0-2) this season.

The Heat had the ice tilted in their favor for most of the opening 20 minutes as they outshot the Barracuda 11-6.

“We had a few chances,” said co-head coach Michael Chiasson evaluating his team’s performance. “I wouldn’t say we had a lot of great chances. We gotta do a better job at getting to the net. We gotta have shot volume. There’s a lot of stuff we need to clean up in our game to get ready for tomorrow afternoon.”

Stockton doubled their lead at the 13:54 mark of the second period when Aleander Yelesin won a battle along the boards behind the goaline. He fed a pass to a wide open Byron Froese who skated out from behind the net, looked out in front before sneaking in a nifty backhand shot top-shelf on the short side past Sawchenko for his 12th goal of the season. Czarnik received the secondary assist for a two-point afternoon.

San Jose had two opportunities on the power play in the third period to get back into the game but Stockton’s penalty kill along with goalie Artyom Zagidulin kept the ‘Cuda off the scoresheet.

“Sawchenko played well tonight. Other than that I don’t think there’s a whole lot we can take from this game. I think there’s a lot of learning we need to do before tomorrow’s game,” said Chiasson.

Zagidulin stopped all 26 shots for the shutout and his 12th win of the season. He is currently 3-0 against San Jose this season. Sawchenko made 20 saves on 22 shots in the tough luck loss.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 0-for-4 on the power play. Stockton was 1-for-3.

The shutout loss was the second-straight shutout against the Heat and third on the season for the Barracuda.

Czarnik with his two assists, now has thirteen points in eleven games with the Heat this season.

Jonny Brodzinski led both teams with five shots on net.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda conclude their four-game homestand against the Heat on Sunday 1/12 at 3:00pm.

Barracuda match franchise record for goals in 9-0 blowout victory

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by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif- The San Jose Barracuda made a huge statement to start their four-game homestand. A five-goal second period was just one of the highlights in a 9-0 shutout pounding over the Ontario Reign on Wednesday evening at SAP Center. The nine goals matched a franchise record they set earlier this season in a 9-2 win against the same Ontario team back on December 6th, 2019.

San Jose has won two games in a row after dropping their previous four games and they also snapped a four-game losing streak at home. Ontario have lost two games in a row as they ended a five-game road trip.

San Jose (12-18-0-2) drew first blood early in the first period. Jayden Halbgewachs fed a pass back up to the point where a trailing Dylan Gambrell fired a shot wide right. A pinching Trevor Carrick collected the puck off the boards and banked it off Reign goalie Cal Petersen for his sixth goal of the season at the 2:42 mark.

The ‘Cuda came out with a ton of energy in the opening 20 minutes as its forecheck kept Ontario on their heels for the first 13 minutes and ended outshooting their SoCal rival by a 17-9 margin.

San Jose had a huge 5-on-3 penalty kill midway through the opening frame where Ontario had almost a full two minutes on the two-man advantage due to the double minor penalty to Danil Yurtaykin for high sticking.

“It was definitely a momentum changer for sure,” said co-head coach Michael Chiasson of his team’s penalty killing on the night. “I think it was great for our group. I think we had three, four or maybe five big time blocks on that kill. It just shows the guys were committed to the PK tonight and guys were committed to the win.”

The ‘Cuda doubled its lead near the end of the first period when Yurtaykin won a battle along the boards behind the Reign net. Sasha Chmelevski swooped in behind the net and centered a pass out to a wide open Noah Gregor who buried the puck top-shelf to the left side for his fifth goal of the season at the 16:09 mark.

San Jose then tripled its lead 18 seconds later on a play almost exactly similar to Gregor’s goal. Another battle along the boards behind the net led to Manny Weiderer retrieving the puck then skating to the left where he centered the puck to a crashing Alex True. True one-timed it past Petersen for his 10th goal of the season. Jeffery Viel was credited with the secondary assist.

Ontario’s (16-16-3-1) frustration boiled over multiple times in the last five minutes of the period as Chaz Reddekopp and Thomas Gregoire exchanged fisticuffs at the 14:54 mark. There were multiples bouts of pushing and shoving between both teams at the end of the first period. Boko Imama received an unsportsmanlike conduct peanlty after the period expired.

San Jose jumped out to a 4-0 lead on the power play just 57 seconds into the second period. Carrick sent a pass over to Joachim Blichfeld from the point. Blichfeld skated to right faceoff circle snapped a wrist shot past the five-hole of Petersen for his 12th goal of the season.

“We were hoping we were going to get some (offensive) production. It’s good for a lot of guys to get some points, but it’s good for guys to play the right way too,” said Chiasson.

Less than three minutes later after a shot attempt from Lukas Radil on a 2-on-1 rush sailed along the left boards, Carrick threw a shot at the net that was redirected by Blichfeld for his second goal of the game and team-leading 13th of the season at the 3:52 mark.

“I think I had a pretty slow start (to the season). I think when I get more comfortable, I play even better. Just being comfortable is what I think makes me a good hockey player,” said Blichfeld.

The ‘Cuda made it 6-0 with a 4-on-4 goal. Gambrell tossed a pass over to Halbgewachs and he buried a wrist shot past Petersen for his 12th goal of the goal at the 6:06 mark.

The would end the night for Petersen who gave up six goals on 23 shots. He was replaced by backup netminder Matthew Villalta.

Chemelevski joined the scoring party after he collected a turnover inside the Reign defensive zone. He skated in from the left shot and lasered in a shot just inside the post to make it 7-0 at the 15:07 mark.

San Jose scored their fifth goal of the middle frame when Jonny Brodzinski battled for the puck at the top of the right faceoff circle. The puck leaked out to Gambrell and he skated around Brodzinski and snapped home a backhand shot for his first goal as a member of the Barracuda at the 16:25 mark.

“I think it (this result) sends a bit of message that we’re coming together. We’re playing the right way. We gotta keep it going,” said Gambrell.

The ‘Cuda weren’t done with their onslaught to start the third period. Weiderer connected on an outlet pass up to center ice to Viel who skated in on a breakaway and his wrist shot beat Villalta for his fifth goal of the season at the 3:00 mark. It snapped a 13-game goal-less draught for Viel.

‘Cuda goalie Zachary Sawchenko, who made just his second career start, did not have quite the busy night his counterparts did as he stopped all 24 shots he faced for his first career shutout and second win of the season. Villalta made 19 saves on 22 shots in mop up duty.

“I think the biggest thing is when you’re called upon is doing your job,” said Sawchenko discussing his transition from the ECHL to the AHL. “You gotta do your job right? If I gotta face 45 (shots), if I gotta face 24, at the end of the day my job is to stop the puck.”

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 1-for-3 on the power play. Ontario was 0-for-6.

San Jose had nine players with multi-point games.

Gambrell recorded his first career four-point game (1G, 3A). The last ‘Cuda player to record a four-point game was True back on 12/16/18.

The announced attendance was 2,563.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda continue their four-game homestand when they host the Stockton Heat on Saturday 1/11 at 1:15pm at SAP Center.

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Barracuda host Ontario tonight at SAP Center; Cuda looking to win two straight

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SJ Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic:

#1 The San Jose Barracuda opened up early on the Tucson Roadrunners last Saturday with three goals in the first period to set the tone early.

#2 In the third period the Roadrunners scored twice and the Barracuda once which tied up the game at 4-4 and force a shootout.

#3 The Barracuda win snapped a four game losing streak and it had to be a relief for co-coaches Jimmy Bonneau and Michael Chiasson to back in the win column

#4 Marko talks about Barracuda goalie Zachary Sawchenko (1-0-0) who made 37 saves in getting the win.

#5 The Barracuda face off tonight against the Ontario Reign the puck drops at SAP Center at 7:00pm

Join Marko Ukalovic for exclusive beat coverage of the San Jose Barracuda tonight following the game at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

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.