Category: San Jose Barracuda

Barracuda shoot down Gulls 5-2

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Barracuda responded with a statement game of their own against the San Diego Gulls. After getting spanked 48 hours earlier, San Jose served up some revenge in a 5-2 victory over their Pacific Division rival on Monday afternoon at SAP Center.

With the win, San Jose reclaimed second place in the Pacific Division with 62 points while San Diego is currently in third with 60 points. This is San Jose’s second win in seven contests against San Diego this season.

San Diego (27-15-3-3) drew first blood in a wild back-and-forth first period. Adam Cracknell sent a go-ahead pass to Sam Steel from the red line to create a breakaway. Steel skated in and made a quick deke before sliding the puck between the five-hole of Cuda goalie Joesef Korenar (16-5-1) for his 14th goal of the season at the 4:02 mark of the first period.

San Jose (27-12-2-4) received the equalizer when Vincent Praplan fed a pass back to the right point to Jeremy Roy. Roy then sent a wrist shot through traffic that took a tricky bounce past Gulls goalie Jeff Glass (8-6-2) into the back of the net for his fourth goal of the season at the 5:48 mark.  Evan Weinger received the secondary assist.

“I thought we played a helluva game tonight compared to the one we played other night,” said Cuda head coach Roy Sommer. “Big turnaround. I thought our details were a lot better. We were a lot harder to battle. We played a little reckless. You can win a lot more games than lose when you play like that.”

The Gulls regained the lead just 11 seconds into their first power play of the game. Keifer Sherwood sent a pass from the point over to the left slot where Cracknell one-timed the puck off the pads of Korenar. Sam Carrick was camped out in front to clean up the rebound for his team leading 25th goal of the season at the 8:13 mark.

San Jose would only need 18 seconds to even it back up on the very next shift. Jeffery Viel chased down the puck to the right slot, spun around and fired a cross-ice pass through the crease over to Alexander True, who buried the puck past Glass for his team-leading 16th goal of the season at the 8:31 mark. Anti Suomela received the secondary assist.

“I think it was another great team effort,” said True. “They helped me score some goals, (but) it was a team effort.”

True second his second goal of the game and 17th on the season on the power play. Francis Perron made a nice play to keep the puck in the Gulls zone during a clearing attempt. After skating around a defender, he fed a pass down low to Dylan Gambrell behind the net, who made a sweet backhand pass over to True, who one-timed a wrist shot past Glass at the 12:30 mark.

“To get that big goal was huge for us,” said Perron. “Then after that we just kept on going and kept it (the momentum) going playing a really good team.”

Maxix Letunov gave the Cuda a 4-2 lead with just a minute and half left in the period when he was able to redirect a Nick DeSimone wrist shot from the right point into the upper left corner of the net for his ninth goal of the season at the 18:31 mark. Praplan received the secondary assist for a two point afternoon.

In the second period, the Cuda had two quality chances to extend their lead only to be stoned by Glass. Weinger had a point-blank chance stopped in the first three minutes and Letunov’s wraparound attempt was denied by a sprawling Glass at the six-minute mark.

San Jose cashed in for the second time on the power play. Captain John McCarthy feathered a pass from the point toward the net that deflected off Rourke Chartier and onto the stick of Gambrell. Glass made the initial save, but wasn’t able to hold onto the puck as Chartier cleaned up the rebound top-shelf for his sixth goal of the season at the 10:38 mark.

There was no scoring in the third period as San Jose clamped down defensively only allowing five shots on goal by San Diego.

Tensions were high and things were chippy throughout the game with after the whistle skirmishes behind the net, including Glass taking exception to True barreling his way into him on a rush early in third period.

“We play these guys a lot and I’m sure we don’t like them and they don’t like us,” said True. “It’s going to get chippy out there sometimes and you saw that (out there) tonight.”

Korenar finished with 25 saves on 27 shots to earn his 17th win on the season. Glass made 33 saves on 38 Cuda shots in suffering the defeat.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 2/5 on the power play. San Diego was 1/4.

Gambrell played his first game since being reassigned by the San Jose Sharks. He now has 30 points in 32 AHL game this season (11G, 19A).

San Diego has out scored San Jose 29-16 in the last six head-to-head matchups.

The announced attendance was 6,027.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda travel out to Iowa to begin a three-game road trip as they take on the Wild on Thursday 2/21 at 5:00 pm at Wells Fargo Arena.

Gulls dominate Barracuda in 8-3 win

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Diego Gulls took advantage of a change of momentum late in the first period and never looked back as they trounced the San Jose Barracuda 8-3 on Saturday afternoon at SAP Center.

San Diego is currently 5-1 against San Jose this season. The win also gave the Gulls 60 points as they moved into a tie for second place with the Cuda in the Pacific Division.

San Diego (27-15-3-3) drew first blood on a five-on-three power play late in the first period. With both Jacob Middleton and Jon Martin both off for hooking, Ben Street sent a cross ice pass over to Sam Carrick, whose one-timer beat Cuda goalie Antoine Bibeau (11-7-5) for his 23rd goal of the season at the 17:32 mark. Trevor Murphy received the secondary assist.

San Diego doubled their lead just seconds after their second power play ended. Carrick sent a shot on net that deflected off Chase De Leo for his 16th goal of the season at the 19:20 mark. Keifer Sherwood received the secondary assist.

Despite controlling the majority of the play in the opening frame and out shooting San Diego 16-10, San Jose (27-12-2-4) limped in to the first intermission down by two goals.

Gulls goalie Jeff Glass (8-6-2) was busy in the first period making key saves including one from point-blank range that kept the Cuda off the scoreboard.

San Diego kept their momentum going to start the second period. Ben Thompson fed a pass over to Murphy who skated across the slot past John McCarthy and Middleton and snapped a wrist shot past Bibeau for his eight goal of the season at the 3:17 mark.

Sam Steel picked up a loose puck along the boards and skated in and beat Bibeau through the five-hole for a 4-0 lead. The rookie forward’s goal was his 13th of the season at the 9:03 mark. Thomson and

San Jose finally got on the scoreboard just over a minute later. Alex True punched in a rebound off a Martin shot for his co-team leading 15th goal of the season at the 10:15 mark. Kyle Wood was credited with the secondary assist.

Carrick scored his second goal of the contest and 24th of the season on the power play when he took off on a breakaway and split two Cuda defenders to wrist one past Bibeau at the 11:05 mark.

Steel scored his second goal and 14th goal of the season on a two-on-one odd man rush with Korbinian Holzer. Steel skated in and blasted a shot that rung off the post into the back of the net for a 6-1 lead at the 15:24 mark. Kevin Roy was credited with the secondary assist.

San Diego dominated the third period. Corey Tropp scored when he was able to bang in his own rebound past Josef Korenar, who replaced Bibeau to start the third period, for his 16th goal of the season at the 12:29 mark. Jack Kopacka and Kalle Kossila received assists.

The Gulls continued their success on the power play. Roy sent a pass over to Alex Dostie and he wristed a shot into the back of the net for his second goal of the season at the 13:16 mark.

Rourke Chartier scored a goal on the power play in garbage time. Francis Perron sent a pass over to Chartier, who buried it past Glass for his fifth goal of the season at the 14:38 mark.

Keaton Middleton sent a shot from the blue line that sneaked past Glass over his right shoulder into the back of the net. The unassisted goal was Middleton’s sixth goal of the season at the 16:58 mark.

Glass was huge between the pipes for San Diego stopping 40 of the 43 shots he faced to earn his eight victory. Bibeau, who made his third consecutive start, made 14 saves on 20 after 40 minutes shots in suffering the defeat. Korenar made nine saves on 11 shots in mop up duty.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 1/7 on the power play. San Diego was 3/6.

Vincent Praplan was back in the line up after missing the past 12 games with an injury.

TJ Hensick made his debut with the Barracuda. The veteran of 630 AHL games was signed back on February 12th.

The announced attendance was 2,859.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda take on the Gulls on Monday 2/18 at 1:15 pm at SAP Center.

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Cuda glad losing streak is out of their system, end skid with win over Tucson

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sandiegogulls.com photo: The San Diego Gulls, who will face the San Jose Barracuda for two games starting Friday night, are shown here celebrating their win over the Colorado Eagles on Tuesday night in San Diego

On the Barracuda podcast with Marko:

#1 San Jose Barracuda (27-11-2-4) head coach Roy Sommer has to be relieved after the team snapped a three-game losing streak to the Tucson Roadrunners (24-15-4-2) last Tuesday night at the SAP Center.

#2 It was narrow though the game was tied and the Roadrunners are one of the best teams in the league, but the Cuda got the one shootout goal that got them back in the win column when Francis Perron scored the winner for the 2-1 victory.

#3 After two periods and the score tied 1-1, the Barracuda were doing everything they could to get in the back end of the net. After two periods, they led the Roadrunners out shooting the Roadrunners 28-13.

#4 One thing for sure neither team didn’t want to lose this one. It was tied after regulation. No one scored in the overtime stanza and they went three rounds to get the verdict in the Cuda win.

#5 The Barracuda and San Diego Gulls (26-15-2-3) open up a two-game series, starting Saturday night at SAP Center. The Gulls are no easy customer either and this series should be a battle in of itself.

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

Barracuda beat Roadrunners 2-1 in a shootout

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By: Ana Kieu

The San Jose Barracuda had hoped to snap a three-game skid and they did indeed do that Wednesday evening at the SAP Center with a 2-1 win over the Tuscon Roadrunners in a shootout.

The Barracuda (27-11-2-4) went with a starting lineup that featured the likes of Antti Suomela, Rourke Chartier, Francis Perron, Jake Middleton, Nick DeSimone and Antoine Bibeau. Meanwhile, the Roadrunners (24-15-4-2) decided on a starting lineup that showcased Giovanni Fiore, Emil Petersson, Jeremy Gregoire, Dakota Mermis, Jordan Gross and Adin Hill.

Only one thing was on the Barracuda’s mind tonight and that was to get back in the win column against a Pacific Division rival. Well, at least from the average fan’s perspective, anyways.

This was a low-scoring game, but the Barracuda was able to secure a win in the shootout. There was a decent amount of penalties, and of course, the scrums that occurred as a result. Anyways, the score was in a scoreless deadlock after the first period. San Jose held a 6-4 advantage in shots over Tucson at the end of 20 minutes. The deadlock remained in tact after the second period. The only difference was that San Jose led Tuscon in shots 28-13 at the end of 40 minutes.

The third period, however, was a back-and-forth affair. Sure, San Jose might’ve wished they had snatched the first lead (and goal) of the evening, but they managed to tie the score 1-1 and that was pretty much all that mattered. Tuscon finally got on the board when Gregoire scored his seventh goal of the season at the 18:41 mark of the third. Assists were handed to Pettersson and Robbie Russo. Just 1:04 later, San Jose got even with DeSimone’s ninth goal of the season, which was a power-play goal. Assists were credited by Suomela and Kyle Wood. DeSimone’s power-play goal happened following a Russo slashing penalty.

The score remained in a 1-1 deadlock after both teams played the mandatory three periods. San Jose led Tuscon in shots 35-23 at the end of the full 60 minutes.

As a result, it went into overtime, but neither team scored the go-ahead goal to pick up a win, so the final result was determined by a shootout. In the first round, neither Pettersson nor Chartier scored. In the second round, Lane Pederson was unable to score, but Alexander True managed to score. In the third round, Jordan Gross got the game-tying score, but the Barracuda broke through when Perron notched the game-tying score to lift his team to a 2-1 victory over Tuscon.

Bibeau earned the Barracuda victory by making 23 saves on 24 shots. Hill made 39 saves on 40 shots in a losing effort for the Roadrunners.

The Barracuda’s three stars of the game were Perron, DeSimone and Gregoire.

The Barracuda continue their homestand with the first of two home-and-home games against the rival San Diego Gulls (26-15-2-3) on Saturday afternoon at 1:05 pm PT.

Reign squeeze out late goal to beat Barracuda 4-3

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

In a game that went back and forth, the Ontario Reign scored the game-winning goal with just 38 seconds left in the game to defeat the San Jose Barracuda 4-3 on Sunday afternoon at Citizens Business Bank Arena. The loss was the third in a row for San Jose as they have lost three straight games for the first time this season.

Zach Mitchell moved every one away from the net and spun a backhand pass over to the slot to a wide-open Sam Herr, who buried the puck past Cuda goalie Antoine Bibeau for the game-winning goal at the 19:22 mark of the third period. It was Herr’s sixth goal of the season.

Ontario (15-23-4-2) drew first blood halfway through the first period on the power play. Kale Clague sent a pass over to Phillipe Maillet and his shot beat Bibeau (10-6-5) for his 10th goal of the season at the 10:07 mark. Matt Luff received the secondary assist.

San Jose (26-11-2-4) evened up the game five minutes later when Jayden Halbgewachs fired a shot on goal that banked off the shin guard of Jon Martin past Reign goalie Cal Petersen (6-12-3) for his ninth goal of the season at the 15:30 mark.

The Barracuda went up 2-1 under two minutes later. Nick DeSimone sent a pass over to defensive linemate Jacob Middleton at the left point and Middleton blasted a shot top-shelf past Petersen for his third goal of the season at the 17:24 mark. Jeffery Viel received the secondary assist.

San Jose was burned once again taking a trip to the sin bin. Just 16 seconds later after Middleton’s goal, Ontario evened it up six seconds into their second power play when Maillet scored his second goal of the game and 11th goal of the season at the 17:40 mark. Matt Roy and Luff received assists on Maillet’s second power play goal.

The Cuda had a short-handed opportunity halfway through the second period when Rourke Chartier and Anti Suomela led an odd-man rush. Chartier fed a pass over to DSimone whose shot was blocked. Chartier collected the rebound and his wraparound attempt was stoned by Petersen.

Despite being short-handed throughout the middle frame, San Jose outshot Ontario 20-7 in the second period, but weren’t able to break the deadlock heading into the second intermission.

Early in the third period, the Cuda had a great opportunity to take the lead when Martin led a four-on-two odd man rush, but his shot whistled off the post.

Francis Perron gave the Cuda the lead six seconds into a power play after Curtis McDemond went into the penalty box for boarding. Chartier won the face off over to DeSimone who passed it over to Perron on the left side and his wrist shot beat Reign goalie Cal Petersen for his team-leading 15th goal and seventh of the power play at the 12:36 mark.

Brad Sutter was credited with the equalizer as the puck bounced in off his body late in the third period. Ontario’s captain scored his 13th goal of the season at the 16:48 mark. Nikita Scherbak and Alex Lintuniemi received assists.

Petersen played on top of head as he stopped 52 of the 55 shots he faced. The 55 shots were not only a season-high, but a franchise record for San Jose. Bibeau finished with 33 saves on 37 shots, including a breakaway attempt by Maillet that prevented a hat trick, in suffering the tough luck loss.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 1/4 on the power play. Ontario was 2/5.

Manny Weiderer suffered an injury less than three minutes in the first period. He did not return to the game.

The announced attendance was 8,921.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda return home on Tuesday 2/12 to host the Tuscon Roadrunners at 7:00 pm at SAP Center.

Condors stay undefeated in 11 games with 3-1 win over Barracuda

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

When you are the hottest team in the AHL, you continue to find ways to win and the red-hot Bakersfield Condors scored three unanswered goals in the second period to come back and defeat the San Jose Barracuda 3-1 on Friday evening at the Rabobank Arena.

The Condors have won 11 games in a row while San Jose have lost their last two games in regulation. It was also Bakersfield’s first win in regulation against San Jose this season. Bakersfield closed within one point of San Jose for first place in the Pacific Division.

San Jose (26-10-2-4) drew first blood in the first period moments after their first power play opportunity expired. Nick DeSimone was able to keep in a failed clearing attempt by the Condors. He found Rourke Chartier in the slot, who drew a double team and sent over a pass over to a wide-open Anti Suomela, who banked the puck off the post into the back of the net past Condors goalie Shane Starrett (15-3-3) for his third goal with the Cuda at the 8:51 mark.

San Jose had the ice tilted in their favor in the opening frame as they outshot Bakersfield 12-8.

Bakersfield (27-15-2-1) came out determined to start and eventually dominate the second period as they gained the equalizer from Joe Gambardella in the opening minute. Ryan Spooner fed a cross-ice pass over to Gambardella, who back-handed the puck past Cuda goalie Josef Korenar (16-5-1) for his 22nd goal of the season at the 1:17 mark. Keegan Lowe received the secondary assist.

The Cuda had a golden opportunity to regain the lead when Josh Currie turned the puck over at the Cuda blue line. Francis Perron led a two-on-none break with Jacob Middleton. However, one too many passes led to Perron getting a weak shot on goal that Starrett was able to make the save.

Cuda killer Currie burned San Jose for the 18th time in his career against San Jose to give the Condors their first lead. His initial shot on goal was blocked, but regained his own rebound and fired a shot over the left shoulder of Korenar for his 20th goal of the season at the 9:11 mark. Currie’s first goal in three games was assisted by Cooper Marody and William Legesson.

Bakersfield closed out the middle frame with their third unanswered goal of the game. A failed clearing attempt was grabbed by Marody, who passed it over to Currie, who fired a shot on net, but Korenar wasn’t able to control the puck and Tyler Benson cleaned up the rebound for his seventh goal of the season at the 13:23 mark.

In the third period, San Jose had back to back opportunities on the power play, but weren’t able to cash in and cut into the lead. They also hit three posts during the game.

Starrett made 27 saves on 28 saves to earn his 15th win of the season. Korenar stopped 22 of the 25 pucks he faced in suffering the tough luck loss and has lost back-to-back games for the first time in his career.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 0/5 on the power play. Bakersfield was 0/4.

San Jose’s penalty is currently fifth best in the AHL at 84.1% and fourth best on the road at 84.9%.

The announced attendance was 5,111.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda head down to Ontario on Sunday, 2/10 to take on the Reign at 1:00 pm at the Citizens Business Bank Arena.

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Wild cool off Cuda with three unanswered goals; Cuda lose after two-game sweep

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iowawild.com photo: Iowa Wild forward Gerry Mayhew scores two goals, becoming team’s leading scorer. The Wild scored three unanswered goals on the San Jose Barracuda on Tuesday night at SAP Center in San Jose

Photo credit: sjbarracuda.com

On the San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko:

#1 It was a big win for the Iowa Wild on Tuesday night at SAP Center. Using 11 forwards and seven defensemen, it worked as the Wild defeated the San Jose Barracuda in a very difficult venue SAP Center in San Jose

#2 The 4-2 win keeps the Wild in a playoff position after losing three straight games. Did the Wild come in angry or was it a matter of the Cuda being unfamiliar with the Wild?

#3 Iowa wasted no time, scoring three unanswered goals.

#4 For San Jose, was it a matter of the defense didn’t protect the net for Antoine Bibeau or was Bibeau off his game?

#5 Next up for the Barracuda, a Friday night contest in Bakersfield. How does Marko see the Cuda faring against the Condors?

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

Wild run over Barracuda in 4-2 win

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Barracuda had not seen the Iowa Wild since 2016 and they didn’t care for what they saw on Tuesday evening at SAP Center. Iowa scored three unanswered goals to highlight a 4-2 victory over San Jose. The loss snapped San Jose’s four-game point streak at home.

Iowa (25-16-4-3) drew first blood on the power play more than half way through the first period. Dmitry Sokolov fed a pass over to Louie Belpedio at the left point and he wired a wrist shot top-shelf over the shoulder of Cuda goalie Josef Korenar (16-4-1), who was screened with traffic in front of the crease, for his fifth goal of the season at the 12:19 mark. Michael Kapla received the secondary assist.

The Wild dominated the opening frame as they controlled most of the play and outshot San Jose 12-8.

Iowa doubled its lead in the second period thanks to a failed clearing attempt by the Cuda. Will Bitten intercepted the puck and skated into the slot, where he fed a pass over Gerald Mayhew, who blasted a one-timer past Korenar for his 14th goal of the season at the 8:14 mark.

The Cuda looked shell-shocked after Mayhew’s goal as the Wild kept pouring on and scored 78 seconds later to go up 3-0. Colton Beck cleaned up a rebound on the right side of the net after Korenar initially stopped the shot by Matt Read along the left boards. Beck’s 13th goal of the season came at the 9:32 mark. Kapla received the secondary assist for a two-point evening.

“I think the chances (for Iowa compared to us) were 20-6,” said Cuda head coach Roy Sommer. “You’re going to have games like that. You can’t play .700 hockey all year, it’s pretty tough to do.”

San Jose (26-9-2-4) finally got on the board just over a minute later when Maxim Letunov intercepted a clearing attempt by Iowa and quickly fed a pass over to a wide-open Matt Fonteyne, who buried the puck in the back of the net, beating Wild goalie Kaapo Kahkonen (13-9-4) short side for his fourth goal of the season at the 10:38 mark.

Halfway through the third period, the Cuda had a chance on the power play to bring the deficit to a one-goal game, but Francis Perron had both of his point-blank chances in front of the crease denied by Khakonen.

San Jose seized a bit of momentum in what only took two seconds to cut the lead to 3-2. With Korenar on the bench for an extra attacker with 2:57 remaining in the game, captain John McCarthy won a clean face off inside the Wild zone and the puck trickled out to Nick DeSimone, who rifled a shot top-shelf past Khakonen for his eight goal of the season at the 17:05 mark.

“It’s kind of a set play,” said McCarthy. “Obviously we don’t know where the puck is gonna go after the face off but we were in desperation mode and Desi (DeSimone) got an open look and made a nice shot.”

Mayhew iced the game for the Wild when he intercepted a puck at the point and was able to skate down the right boards and score an empty-netter for his second goal of the night and his 15th goal of the season at the 18:41 mark.

“Most of that game, (for) two periods of the game we were pretty bad,” said DeSimone. “We’re not going to win hockey games when we’re not playing our game for 40 minutes and they’re taking it to us. That’s on us and we know that.”

Khakonen made 24 saves on 26 shots to earn his 13th win of the season. Korenar had a busy night between the pipes as he made 34 saves on 37 shots in suffering the defeat.

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

San Jose is 5-1-0-1 against the Central Division this season and 21-11-2-1 all time.

Jon Martin and Hunter Warner exchanged fisticuffs with each other a minute and half into the third period. Both received fighting majors.

The San Jose Sharks recalled forward Dylan Gambrell on Monday for their four-game road trip that began in Winnipeg tonight. Gambrell currently ranks third on the Barracuda in points (31), goals (11) and assists (17) with San Jose

The announced attendance was 2,534.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda travel down south to take on the red-hot Bakersfield Condors to start a three-game road trip on Friday, February 8 at 7:00 pm at Rabobank Arena.

Barracuda sweep Heat with 4-2 victory

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

The San Jose Barracuda proved why they are the best team in the AHL. They had an answer for every Stockton Heat goal and swept the two-game home and home series with a 4-2 victory on Saturday afternoon at the SAP Center.

San Jose (25-8-42-4) drew first blood with a buzzer beater at the end of the first period. On the power play Calvan Fitzgerald sent a pass over to Kyle Woods with a few seconds remaining and Wood’s one-timer from the point went off Heat goalie Tyler Parsons’ (6-5-1) pad and past his five-hole into the back of the net with one-tenth of a second left on the clock. Anti Suomela received the secondary assist on Wood’s fourth goal of the season at the 19:59 mark.

Five minutes earlier, Stockton’s (18-21-4-1) best chance to get the game’s first goal belonged to Alan Quine and Buddy Robinson as they skated in on a 2-on-0 opportunity but would make one pass too many any Robinson’s shot on goal was quietly handled by Cuda goalie Antoine Bibeau (9-5-5) and the Heat were left frustrated.

Stockton tied the game up in the second period. Curtiz Lazar fed a pass over to Anthony Peluso and his fired a slap shot past Cuda goalie Antoine Bibeau (9-5-5) that hit off the cross-bar and into the back of the net for his third goal of the season at the 7:41 mark.

San Jose regained the lead when Jeffery Viel fed a pass over to spring Evan Weinger, who raced into the Heat zone, split two Stockton defenders and beat Parsons with a wrister to the short side of the net for his eighth goal of the season at the 11:58 mark.

Despite being out shot 12-8 in the middle frame, San Jose headed into the second intermission with a one-goal lead.

In the third period, Stockton continued their success on the power play as they tied up the game in the first five minutes. Rourke Chartier was stopped on a short-handed 2-on-1 break by Parsons, who then fed the puck up to Ryan Lomberg. Longberg found Spencer Foo and Foo’s wrist shot sneaked inside the near post past Bibeau for his 12th goal at the 4:48 mark.

It wouldn’t take long for San Jose to regain the lead as Calvan Fitzgerald, who just came out of the penalty box was at the right place at the right time as the puck came right to his stick from Dylan Gambrell and skated in and fired a slap shot past Parsons for his third goal of the season at the 7:23 mark.

Jon Martin wrapped up the game for the Cuda with an empty-net goal at the 18:57 mark. The unassisted goal was his eight goal of the season for Martin.

Bibeau made 28 saves on 30 shots to earn his 10th win of the season. Parson stopped 28 of the 31 shots he faced in suffering the loss.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 1/1 on the power play. Stockton was 1/2.

Cuda defenseman Jacob Middleton played in his 150th AHL game.

Alex True and Lazar exchanged fisticuffs with two minutes left in the second period.

San Jose wore a throwback jersey of the Kentucky Thoroughblades, one of the former minor leagues affiliates of the San Jose Sharks from 1996-2001.

Former San Jose Sharks Evgeni Nabokov and Dan Boyle served as honorary captains.

San Jose is 16-6 against Stockton at SAP Center.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda host the Iowa Wild on Tuesday, February 5 at 7:00 pm at SAP Center.

Barracuda take down Heat 6-4

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

Alex True has been the best player for the San Jose Barracuda in the past two and a half months. His second goal of the contest proved to be the game-winning goal with seven minutes left to help San Jose defeat the Stockton Heat 6-4 in a wild game on Friday evening at Stockton Arena. San Jose has the best winning percentage in the AHL.

True skated in on a wide angle and with backu goalie Tyler Parson, in relief for starter Jon Gillies, going from left to right, True wrapped around the puck through the five hole for his 14th goal of the season at the 12:59 mark of the third period. He is now tied with Francis Perron for the team lead in goals and leads the teams in points with 34.

San Jose (25-8-2-4) drew first blood early in the first period. Captain John McCarthy fed a pass over to Jeffery Viel, who skated in and sent a wrister past Heat goaile Jon Gillies (6-12-4) just inside the right post for his seventh goal of the season at the 6:12 mark. Viel’s goal broke a 12-game goalless drought. Evan Weinger received the secondary assist.

The Cuda doubled their lead just over a minute and half later. Jon Martin sent over a pass over to the red-hot True, who fired a shot top self on the far side over the shoulder of Gillies for his 13th goal of the season at the 7:56 mark. Antti Suomela received the secondary assist. The Cuda scored two goals on the first six shots.

Stockton (18-21-4-1) cut the lead in half late in the opening frame. Kerby Rychel’s attempted shot on net was blocked by a San Jose defender, but the rebound went right to the stick of Curtis Lazar, who one-timed the puck past Cuda goalie Joesf Korenar (16-3-1) for Lazar’s 15th goal of the season at the 15:02 mark. Juuso Valimaki received the secondary assist.

In the second period, San Jose dominated the Heat scoring the next two goals. Rourke Chartier worked the puck below the end line and fed a perfect pass over to Francis  Perron, who buried a one-timer past Gillies for his 14th goal of the season at the 1:49 mark, snapping a seven-game goalless drought. Dylan Gambrell received the secondary assist.

San Jose gained a 4-1 lead as Perron returned the favor to Gambrell. Gambrell wired a one-timer passed Gillies for his 10th goal of the season at the 6:21 mark. That would be the end of Gillies’ night as he was sent to the showers and replaced by Tyler Parsons (6-5-1) after giving up four goals on 17 shots. Calvan Fitzgerald received the secondary assist.

Stockton once again cut the lead in half late in the period, this time on the power play. After a failed clearing attempt by San Jose, Stockton took advantage when Tyler Graovac redirected a Rinet Valiev shot from the point over the left shoulder of Korenar for his 14th goal of the season at the 17:03 mark. Dillon Dube were credited with the secondary assist.

Stockton tilted the ice in the favor in the third period. Spencer Foo threaded a pass to Dube, who beat Korenar under the right arm with a wrist shot into the back of the net for his for his fifth goal of the season at the 9:31 mark.

The Heat tied the game just under two minutes later. A defensive break down left the rookie defenseman Valimaki all alone and he buried his chance past Kornear for his first professional goal of his career at the 11:15 mark.

Korenar stopped 32 of the 36 shots he faced to earn his 16th victory of the season. His is currently 5-0 against Stockton this season. Parsons made 20 saves on 22 shots suffered the tough luck loss in relief duty.

Gambrell gave the Cuda some insurance when he tipped in a shot from the point off the stick of Kyle Wood past Parsons for his second goal of the evening and 11th of the season at the 16:30 mark. Perron received the secondary assist.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 0/1 on the power play. Stockton was 1/2. The Cuda had killed off 13 penalties in a row before Valiev’s power play goal.

Cuda head coach Roy Sommer earned his 750th career win in the AHL.

San Jose is now 8-1 against Stockton, including 5-0 (and the last seven straight dating back to last year) in the Stockton Arena, this season.

The announced attendance was 4,532.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda take on the Heat on Saturday, February 2nd at 1:15 pm at SAP Center.