Category: San Jose Barracuda

Special teams key in Barracuda’s 3-2 win over Gulls

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

San Diego may be America’s Finest City but it has been a House of Gorrors for the San Jose Barracuda for more than a year. Thanks to a late power play goal in the third period by Alex True, San Jose reversed their fortunes with a 3-2 regulation victory over the San Diego Gulls on Wednesday evening at Pechanga Arena.

It was the first victory in San Diego this season (1-3) and the first win since January 20, 2018. With the much-needed win, the Cuda have tied the Gulls for second place in the Pacific Division with 73 points.

True’s heroics came when Cavan Fitzgerald sent in a low shot from the point that gave captain John McCarthy a chance, but was initially stopped by the Gulls’ goalie Kevin Boyle. True pounced on the rebound and punched it in for his team-leading 23rd goal on the power play at 15:16 mark of the third period.

San Jose (33-20-3-4) drew first blood early in the first period. Jeffery Viel executed a big body check during a battle for a puck inside the Gulls’ zone that resulted in a loose puck gathered up by TJ Hensick. Hensick quickly fed it over to Dylan Gambrell, who snapped a wrist shot far side past Boyle (22-10-1) for his 18th goal of the season at the 6:30 mark.

The Cuda doubled their lead when Francis Perron fed a pass over to Nick DeSimone in the high slot. DeSimone wasted no time and fired a shot just underneath the glove of Boyle for his 12th goal of the season at the 13:44 mark.

San Diego (33-21-4-3) cut the lead in half with just three seconds left in the opening frame. Sam Carrick won a faceoff over to Chase De Leo, who fed it over to Ben Street, who wired a shot past Cuda goalie Antoine Bibeau (13-12-5) for his fifth goal of the season at the 19:57 mark.

The Gulls drew even late in the second period. Adam Cracknell was able to poke home a shot from close range for his 16th goal of the season at the 14:15 mark. The goal snapped six-game goal-less drought for Cracknell. Street and Brent Gates Jr. were credited with assists.

Despite outshooting the Gulls 13-5 in the middle frame, San Jose went into the second intermission tied up at 2-2.

In the third period, San Jose were in penalty trouble to start the third period. Their penalty kill unit responded by killing 1:18 of a 5-on-3 opportunity as Bibeau made some big saves to be the best penalty killer for the Cuda.

Bibeau, who played one of his best games of the season, was finally rewarded with a victory, making 23 saves on 25 shots to push his record to a game over the .500 mark. Boyle stopped 23 of the 26 pucks he faced in suffering the defeat.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 1/3 on the power play. San Diego was 0/3.

The announced attendance was 6,934.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda return back home to host the Ontario Reign on Friday, March 29 at 7:00 pm at SAP Center.

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Race in playoff standings tightening as Cuda battle San Diego tonight

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sjbarracuda.com photo: The score explains the results of the last game between the San Jose Barracuda and the Tucson Roadrunners. The Barracuda will be in San Diego tonight trying to get back into the win column.

On the Barracuda podcast with Marko:

#1 Marko in recent weeks the Barracuda have fallen from grace looking like a sure lock team for post season but fell on hard times will this be a scratch and claw how shaky is it now for them to make the AHL playoffs?

#2 Has promoting some of the key players they had from earlier this season to their parent club the Sharks taken away from their talent pool and as a result this is what you see now?

#3 Tough road trip so far they lost by a goal on Sunday 2-1 to the Tucson Roadrunners this is a game they really wanted to get but the Roadrunners are always a very vibrant and resisting club on their home ice and this was a late goal on a tip shot from the Roadrunners Michael Bunting that sank the Barracuda’s game.

#4 The Roadrunners have closed the gap now and are just four points behind the Barracuda and the Barracuda move onto San Diego tonight how crucial of a game is this with wiggle room getting less and less in the playoff race for San Jose?

#5 With some of the players getting promoted this season and you see the depth on defense changing how much pressure has this been put upon on goaltender Antoine Bibeau?

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

Roadrunners score late goal to edge Barracuda 2-1

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

by Marko Ukalovic

Just a few weeks ago, the San Jose Barracuda looked like a lock to make the playoffs, but now are looking a bit shaky after The Tuscon Roadrunners received a late goal to defeat them 2-1 on Sunday afternoon at Tuscon Convention Center Arena.

Micheal Chaput led a 2-on-1 rush and threaded a pass over to Micheal Bunting, who tipped a shot up and over Cuda goalie Antoine Bibeau (12-12-5) for his 17th goal of the season and the game-winning goal with only nine seconds left in the game to seal the Cuda’s fate.

With the victory, Tuscon closed the gap to within four points behind both San Jose and Colorado for the final two playoff spots in the Pacific Division.

There was no scoring in the first period as Tuscon (30-25-5-2) outshot San Jose 14-11 as each team exchanged scoring chances, but neither team was able to get the puck into the back of the net, despite two power plays for the Roadrunners and one for the Cuda.

Like the opening frame, the second period also remained scoreless. San Jose (32-20-3-4) was outshot 11-9 by Tuscon as the middle frame was played penalty-less.

In the third period, Tucson controlled the period, firing 21 shots on Bibeau. They finally drew blood when Nick Merkley found Chaput, who snapped a wrist shot off the cross-bar past Bibeau for his 14th goal of the season at the 6:44 mark.

The Cuda pulled Bibeau for an extra attacker and were rewarded for their action when after a mad scramble in front of the crease. Alex True found the puck and poked it home past Roadrunner goalie Adin Hill (13-12-3) for the equalizer and his team-leading 22nd goal of the season with 56 seconds left.

Hill finished the game, stopping 32 of the 33 shots he faced to earn his 13th win of the season. Bibeau had an excellent game, making 44 saves on 46 shots in suffering the tough luck loss.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 0/1 on the power play. Tucson was 0/3.

The announced attendance was 3,519.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda continue their road trip in San Diego as they take on the Gulls on Wednesday at 7:00 pm at The Pechanga Arena.

Roadrunners edge the Barracuda 3-2 in OT

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By: Ana Kieu

Two points were on the line for the San Jose Barracuda, who got themselves in a tussle with the Tuscon Roadrunners in the Tuscon Convention Center Saturday night.

San Jose’s starting lineup featured Francis Perron, Alexander True, Dylan Gambrell, Jacob Middleton, Thomas Gregoire and Josef Korenar.

The Barracuda apparently weren’t afraid of the Roadrunners’ terrors. The Cuda got on the board first as Gambrell scored a power play goal at 12:54 of the opening period. Jeffrey Viel and TJ Hensick were credited with the assists. The Roadrunners’ Hudson Fasching was penalized for high-sticking at 13:01 of the period.

The Roadrunners tied the game 1-1 with 2:06 left in the period. Lane Pederson came in clutch and scored his team-leading 17th goal of the season. Jeremy Gregoire and Cam Dineen were credited with the assists.

The score was 1-1 after 20 minutes of play.

Cuda captain John McCarthy lifted the Cuda to a 2-1 lead with a short-handed goal just 2:16 into the second period. However, Tuscon tied the game once again. Pederson scored his second goal of the game to make it a 2-2 game with 8:39 left in the period. Brayden Burke and Robbie Russo were credited with the assists.

The score was 2-2 after 40 minutes of play.

No goals were scored on either end of the ice, which meant that the score remained in a 2-2 deadlock after 60 minutes of play, so the game went into a 4-on-3 overtime, but it wasn’t in favor of the Cuda. Pederson netted a hat trick with his third goal of the game just 59 seconds into overtime. Pederson now has 19 goals on the season. Russo and Michael Chaput were credited with the assists. The Roadrunners edged the Cuda 3-2 in overtime.

Adin Hill stopped 20 saves on 22 shots and allowed two goals in the Roadrunners’ win. Korenar allowed three goals and made 30 saves on 33 shots in a losing effort for the Cuda. Korenar played well, and so did the other Cuda players, but they were sort of overwhelmed in the third period.

Notes: The Sharks reassigned defenseman Nick DeSimone and center Dylan Gambrell to the Cuda Saturday morning.

Up Next: The Cuda conclude their weekend set with game two against the Roadrunners on Sunday at 4:05 pm.

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: After record-setting game against Eagles, Cuda start three-game road trip

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Photo credit: sjbarracuda.com

On the San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic:

#1 The San Jose Barracuda, in their record-setting 9-0 victory, got off quick with two goals to start the first period.

#2 The Colorado Eagles came in with a nine-game win streak and it was kind of amazing their streak got snapped with that kind of definition by the Barracuda.

#3 The Cuda are a in a three-way tie with the Eagles and the San Diego Gulls for second place with 70 points and 11 games left.

#4 The Eagles are 11 games over .500. How surprising after winning nine straight that they would have such a poor defensive game? Was it a matter that they were due for a bad game like this or were they tired and flat?

#5 The Cuda open a three-game road trip with the Tucson Roadrunners this Saturday and Sunday and San Diego next Thursday.

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

Barracuda set franchise record in 9-0 shutout win over Eagles

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By: Marko Ukalovic

The San Jose Barracuda reversed their fortunes in thundering fashion. They scored three-unanswered goals in the first period and never took their foot off the gas in an explosive 9-0 shutout victory over the Colorado Eagles on Sunday afternoon at SAP Center.

The Barracuda set a franchise record with their nine-goal outburst. The loss snapped the Eagles nine-game winning streak and with the win, the Cuda are in a three-way tie with the Eagles and San Diego Gulls for second place in the Pacific Division at 70 points with 11 games left in the regular season.

San Jose (32-19-2-4) struck first and often in the first period. John McCarthy led a 2-on-1, fed a pass over to Jeffery Viel and rifled a shot past Eagles goalie Pavel Francouz (25-14-2) for his eighth goal of the season at the 2:10 mark.

The Cuda doubled their lead over five minutes later when Lukas Radil sent a pass over to Nick DeSimone whose wrist shot was stopped by Francouz. DeSimone collected his own rebound and cashed in for his 11th goal of the season at the 7:42 mark.

The Cuda defense continued the scoring when Cavan Fitzgerald found his way on a breakaway just before the end of the opening frame. As he skated in, he fumbled the puck, regained possession and then made a nice deke in the crease and put the pack over the glove of Francouz for his fifth goal of the season at the 18:20 mark.

San Jose completely dominated Colorado (33-23-3-1) in the first period as they out shot the Eagles 17-7 and had the ice tilted in their favor.

Things got chippy to start the second period. Matching roughing penalties were issued to Fitzgerald and AJ Greer just 10 seconds in. Then, Jon Martin and Mark Alt exchanged some pleasantries with one another three minutes later that also resulted in matching roughing penalties.

The Cuda extended their lead by four goals when they were pressuring in the Eagles’ zone. TJ Hensick’s shot was stopped but not controlled by Francouz. Radil was on the far side to collect the rebound and lifted it over his left pad of a sprawling Francouz for his third goal of the season and second in back to back to games at the 5:24 mark. Jacob Middleton was credited with the secondary assist.

San Jose put the game away less than nine minutes remaining in the middle frame. Thomas Gregoire ripped a shot from the point that Francis Perron, who was able to get his stick on the puck to redirect it past Francouz for his 17th goal of the season at the 11:42 mark. Fitzgerald was credited with the secondary assist.

That would be the end of the afternoon for Francouz as he replaced by Spencer Martin. Francouz gave up fives goals on 25 shots in suffering the loss for the first time in his last eight games.

TJ Hensick joined the scoring party with 1:49 left in the middle frame when he received a pass from Radil and he sneaked a wrist shot past the Martin for his fourth goal of the season at the 18:11 mark. Maxim Letunov received the secondary assist.

San Jose added the extra point half way through the third period. Letunov sent a shot on a goal where defenseman Thomas Gregoire crashed the net and jammed home the rebound for his first pro goal at the 10:16 mark. Hensick had the secondary assist.

Gregoire wasn’t satisfied with just one goal as he gave an encore just 59 seconds later. He sent a wicked wrister from the right point that found its way past Martin for his second goal of the game at the 11:15 mark. Jon Martin and Perron received assists on the play.

Jayden Halbgewachs completed the scoring as the eighth different goal scorer for San Jose. He weaved through the high slot and snapped home a wrist shot past Martin his 11th goal of the season at the 12:24 mark. The goal ended an 18 game scoreless drought. Middleton and captain John McCarthy were credited with assists.

Cuda goalie Josef Korenar (20-8-1) stopped all 31 shots for his 20th win and fourth shutout of the season. The win snapped Korenar’s three-game losing streak. Martin made 11 saves on 15 shots in mop-up duty.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 0/4 on the power play. Colorado was 0/6.

The Cuda are 6-1 when wearing a specialty/throwback jersey. They wore green jerseys in honor of St. Patrick’s Day.

San Jose is 3-1-1-1 against Colorado this season.

The announced attendance was 4,051.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda go back on the road to start a three game road trip in Tuscon as the take on the Roadrunners on Saturday 3/23 at 7:05 pm at Tuscon Convention Center Arena.

Eagles edge out Barracuda in 3-2 win

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

by Marko Ukalovic

The Colorado Eagles are playing like a team that can’t lose. They scored three unanswered goals in the second period and then held on to beat the San Jose Barracuda on Saturday afternoon at SAP Center.

Colorado (33-22-3-1) has won nine games in a row and have jumped both San Jose and San Diego for second place in the Pacific Division with 70 points. The Cuda have lost five of their past six games.

San Jose (31-19-2-4) drew first blood late in the first period on a 3-on-2 odd man rush. Maxim Letunov sent a pass over to Lukas Radil, who played in his first game since being sent down by the San Jose Sharks, and Radil lasered a wrist shot past Eagles goalie Pavel Francouz (25-13-2) on the far side for his second goal of the season at the 19:00 mark.

In the second period, Colorado took control of the game. Max McCormick sent over a cross-ice pass over to Logan O’Connor on a 2-on-1 opportunity and O’Connor buried a one-timer past Cuda goalie Antoine Bibeau (12-11-5) for his 15th goal of the season at the 3:42 mark.

The Eagles went ahead two goals toward the end of the middle frame when AJ Greer from below the goal line sent a pass over to Igor Shvyrev, who blasted a wrist show over the glove of Bibeau for his sixth goal of the season at the 16:12 mark.

Then, just over a minute later, another 2-on-1 odd man rush led to a mini breakaway for Sheldon Dries, who made a nice deke going forehand-to-backhand as he slid the puck past Bibeau for his third goal of the season at the 17:28 mark for a 3-1 lead.

The Cuda looked like they would have a consecutive game with a third period comeback. Jayden Halbgewachs sent a zone-wide pass over to John McCarthy and the Barracuda captain fired a wrist shot past Francouz for his 10th goal of the season at the 4:47 mark.

However San Jose was not able to get the equalizer late in the period when they pulled Bibeau for an extra attacker.

Francouz stopped 23 of the 25 shots he faced to earn his 25th win of the season. Bibeau made 20 saves on 23 shots in suffering the tough luck loss.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 0/2 on the power play. Colorado was 0/3.

The announced attendance was 3,353.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda take on the Eagles on Sunday 3/17 at 3:00 pm at SAP Center.

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Cuda looking for next win as Colorado comes in for two

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sjbarracudapodcast.com file: San Jose Barracuda goaltender Antoine Bibeau (34) and the Cuda will host the Colorado Eagles this Saturday and Sunday at SAP Center in San Jose.

On the Barracuda podcast with Marko:

The way the game between the Stockton Heat and the San Jose Barracuda the Cuda looked like they were going to be on a five-game losing streak as they were able to snap the losing streak at four on Sunday 5-4 in a shootout.

It was one of those games where they were not playing good hockey. It was a game where the Heat scored the first two goals in the first period, and when you play catch up hockey like that, it’s not a good formula to win games.

Listen for more as Marko brings you analysis of San Jose Barracuda hockey each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Barracuda snap losing skid with 5-4 shootout victory over Heat

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

by Marko Ukalovic

The San Jose Barracuda had looked like the playing of a broken record in five straight games with the opposing team, scoring the first two goals in the first period to take control of the game. However, three unanswered goals in the third period paved the way for a 5-4 comeback shootout victory over the Stockton Heat on Sunday afternoon at SAP Center.

The Cuda desperately snapped their four-game losing skid and have won their third consecutive shootout (4-4). Francis Perron scored the only goal in the shootout as Cuda goalie Antoine Bibeau was perfect stopping all three Stockton attempts.

Stockton (25-26-4-2) drew first blood while short-handed in the first period. Ryan Lomberg led a 2-on-1 odd man rush Dillon Dube. Lomberg connected with Dube who beat Bibeau (12-10-5) for his 13th goal of the season at the 6:11 mark. Juuso Valimaki received the secondary assist on Dube’s second short-handed goal in consecutive games. It was the 16th short-handed goal for Stockton this season, which leads the AHL.

The Heat doubled their lead after taking advantage of a failed Cuda clearing attempt. Spencer Foo kept the puck in, fed a pass over to Tyler Graovac, who found an open Dube, who put the puck past Bibeau for his second goal and 14th of the season at the 9:04 mark.

San Jose (31-18-2-1) cut the lead in half early in the second period. Francis Perron was able to tip home a shot from the point by Kyle Wood, who broke his stick on the shot, past Heat goalie Jon Gillies (13-15-5) for his 16th goal of the season at the 2:47 mark. The goal broke a 10-game goal-less drought for Perron.

Stockton regained their two-goal lead when Foo scored his 15th goal of the season on the power play at the 8:36 mark. Dube and Valimaki were credited with assists.

Graovac made it 4-1 when he scored his 20th goal of the season at the 17:47 mark. Foo and Dube, who was involved in the scoring of all four Stockton goals, received assists.

The third period belonged to San Jose as they scored three unanswered goals to tie the game and force overtime.

Evan Weinger jammed home his own rebound after his initial redirection of a shot from the point by Matt Fonteyne hit the right post. It was Weinger’s ninth goal of the season at the 10:11 mark of the third period. Nick DeSimone was credited with the secondary assist.

Alex True cut the deficit to a one-goal game. With Bibeau pulled for an extra attacker, True received the puck from Maxim Letunov, turned and fired the puck through a sea of traffic past Gillies for his team-leading 21st goal of the season at the 18:33. Jeremy Roy received the secondary assist.

TJ Hensick brought down the house with the game equalizer with 1:05 left in the game while the Cuda had a 6-on-4 advantage with Valimaki in the sin-bin for cross checking. DeSimone and Jayden Halbgewachs were credited assists on Hensick third goal of the season.

Stockton had a power play opportunity in the over time session but weren’t able to cash in, thanks to Bibeau making a few big saves to send the game to the shootout.

Bibeau made 16 saves on 20 to earn his 12th victory of the season. Gillies finished with 31 saves on 35 shots in suffering the defeat .

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 1/6 on the power play despite the Heat having the 30th ranked penalty kill in the league. Stockton was 1/5.

Jon Martin and Buddy Robinson exchanged fisticuffs late in the first period.

The announce attendance was 4,642. It was the second annual Pucks and Paws Day, where fans were able to bring their dogs to the game.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda host the Colorado Eagles on Saturday 3/16 at 1:15 pm at SAP Center.

Condors thrash Barracuda 7-1

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

by Marko Ukalovic

A different game on a different day and time, but the same dominant result. For the third consecutive game, the San Jose Barracuda weren’t able to slow down the red-hot Bakersfield Condors in a 7-1 loss to the Pacific Division leaders on Saturday evening at SAP Center.

The Condors have won 20 of their last 21 games (and the last five straight versus San Jose), while the Barracuda have lost their fourth in a row for the first time all season and are winless in the month of March.

Bakersfield (36-17-2-1) drew first blood in the first period. Logan Day fed a pass that led to a breakaway for Tyler Benson. Benson skated in and beat Cuda goalie Josef Korenar (19-8-1) with a wrist shot on the far side for his 11th goal of the season at the 4:34 mark.

The Condors doubled their lead late in the opening frame when William Lagesson received the puck at the left point from Luke Esposito and his shot went past a body of traffic and trickled through the five-hole of Korenar for his sixth goal of the season at the 14:48 mark.

San Jose (30-18-2-4) had a chance to break the seal four minutes into the second period. A big hit by Cavan Fitzgerald on Joe Gambardella in the middle of the ice led to a breakaway for Jayden Halbgewachs, but Condors goalie Shane Starrett (23-4-3) stoned his attempt.

The Cuda cut the lead in half when a mad scramble in the front of the net led to Maxim Letunov being the last one to touch the puck that slid past Starrett for his 10th goal of the season at the 5:31 mark. Alex True and TJ Hensick were credited with assists.

Less than a minute later, Bakersfield shell shocked San Jose by scoring two goals in 21 seconds. Benson found Cooper Marody in the slot and his one-timer beat Korenar for his 14th goal of the season at the 6:20 mark.

Then, Patrick Russell picked up a loose puck from a shot from the point by Lagesson that hit off a body in front and was able to bury the puck past Korenar with a turnaround shot for his 16th goal of the season at the 6:41 mark for a 4-1 lead.

Bakersfield scored their third unanswered goal of the period when Braden Christopher cashed home a rebound in the slot off a Ryan Stanton shot from the point for his fifth goal of the season at the 12:45 mark. Marody received the secondary assist.

Russell scored his second goal of the evening and 17th of the season on the power play in the third period. Gambardella fed a pass over to Russell, whose one-timer beat Korenar at the 7:00 mark. Ethan Bear recorded the secondary assist.

Evan Polei fired a slap shot past Korenar for his eighth goal of the season at the 15:07 mark to complete the scoring for Bakersfield. Mitch Callahan and David Gust were credited with assists.

Starrett 27 of the 28 shots he faced to earn his 23rd victory of the season and 16 of his last 17 games. Korenar made 25 saves on 32 shots in suffering the defeat.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 0/3 on the power play. Bakersfield was 1/3.

Bakersfield is now 4-3-1-1 in the season series against San Jose with one more game left between the two teams on March 30th.

The announced attendance was 8,415 set a franchise record and was the highest attendance of the season for San Jose at SAP Center.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda continue their five-game homestand as they host NorCal rival, the Stockton Heat, on Sunday 3/10 at 3:00 pm.