Category: San Jose Barracuda

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Cuda get scored on with 3 unanswered goals in Grand Rapids for loss; play in Stockton Friday

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On the San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko:

#1 In a two-game series, the Grand Rapids Griffins took game two as they edged the visiting San Jose Barracuda last Saturday 3-2.

#2 The Cuda jumped out ahead with an early 2-0 lead with goals from Alex True and Rourke Chartier. That would be all the scoring San Jose would get for the rest of the evening.

#3 Flilp Zadina and Carter Camper both scored for Grand Rapids to tie it up 2-2 and the Griffins’ Matt Puempel scored the game-winner in the shootout.

#4 The Griffins’ goaltender Harri Setari stopped 24 of 26 shots and the Barracuda Antoine Bibeau stopped 30 of 32.

#5 The Barracuda head to Stockton for this Fri Feb 1st’s contest with the Stockton Heat.

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

Griffins edge the Barracuda in 3-2 shootout win

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By Marko Ukalovic

The San Jose Barracuda weren’t able to sustain a two-goal lead and then ended up falling in the shootout in a 3-2 loss to the Grand Rapids Griffins on Saturday evening at Van Andel Arena.

San Jose (24-8-2-4) jumped out to the early the start they wanted when Alex True, who is having a career year, scored his 12th goal of the season when he beat Griffins goalie Harri Sateri (15-7-2) at the 7:49 mark of the first period. Anti Suomela and Cuda goalie Antoine Bibeau received assists.

The Cuda doubled their right before the end of the period on the power play when Rourke Chartier got back on the score sheet with his fourth goal of he season at the 19:36 mark. True and Jayden Halbgewachs tallied assists.

Grand Rapids (25-14-3-4) got itself right back into the game just over a minute into the second period. Flilp Zadina received a pass from Chris Terry and buried the puck past Bibeau (9-5-5) for his 11th goal of the season at the 1:18 mark.

The Griffins tied it up late in the middle frame when Colin Campbell sent over a pass to Carter Camper who was able to beat Bibeau for his 11th goal of the season at the 18:57 mark.

Neither team could muster a game-winning goal in the third period. Despite having an early power play opportunity and outshooting San Jose 15-8, Grand Rapids would be stoned by Bibeau.

In the shootout, Matt Puempel scored the only goal for the game-winner as San Jose went 0/3 in their attempts.

Sateri stopped 24 of the 26 shots he faced to earn his 15th victory of the season. Bibeau made 30 saves on 32 shots in suffering the tough luck defeat.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 1/6 on the power play. Grand Rapids was 0/5.

The announced attendance was 10,834.

UP NEXT: San Jose ends their three game road trip up in Stockton to take on the Heat on Friday, February 1 at 7:00 pm at Stockton Arena.

Barracuda dominate Griffins in 4-0 shutout win

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By Marko Ukalovic

Josef Korenar was back to his All-Star form in stopping all 29 shots he faced and received enough goal support from his offense as the San Jose Barracuda shutout the Grand Rapids Griffins 4-0 on Friday evening at Van Andel Arena.

Korenar (15-3-1) was tested throughout the first period as he faced an aggressive Grand Rapids (24-14-3-4) team that attempted 12 shots on net that ended with a scoreless opening 20 minutes.

San Jose (24-8-2-3) drew first blood early in the second period. Maxim Letunov took advantage of a face off win when he chipped in a loose puck from close range past Griffins goalie Patrik Rybar (10-7-5) for his eighth goal of the season at the 3:38 mark. Jayden Halbgewachs and Manny Wiederer received assists.

Halbgewachs helped double the Cuda’s lead when sent a perfect pass to his linemate Weiderer that sent him all alone on a breakaway where he buried the puck past the five-hole of Rybar for his ninth goal of the season at the 7:50 mark.

San Jose’s Nick DeSimone fed a pass over to Jon Martin, who beat Rybar to the short-side of the net for a 3-0 lead. Martin’s seventh goal of the season came at the 16:05 mark to close out the three unanswered goals in the middle frame.

DeSimone closed out the scoring for the Cuda on the power play just past the half way point of the third period. He was able to tip-toe the blue line with the puck and fire a wrist shot from the point and beat Rybar to the short side for his seventh goal of the season at 10:58 mark.

Rybar stopped 22 of the 26 shots he faced in suffering the defeat.

GAME NOTES: San Jose 1/3 on the power play. Grand Rapids was 0/5.

The announced attendance was 8,826.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda conclude their two-game series with the Griffins on Saturday 1/26 at 4:00 pm at Van Andel Arena.

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Back-and-forth battle in Barracuda’s one-goal loss vs. Bakersfield at home

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On the San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko:

#1 The Barracuda have been running hot as one of the hottest teams in the AHL, but when you’re running hot, everybody is out to beat you and that’s what the Bakersfield Condors did with a 6-5 victory on Monday night at SAP Center.

#2 Bakersfield All-Star Joe Gambardella drove to the net from the half-boards and beat Cuda goalie Antoine Bibeau (9-5-4) with a wrist shot top-shelf for his 16th goal of the season at the 1:55 mark of the overtime for the game-winner.

#3 The Condors wasted no time getting on the board to open the game in the first period at 13:38 when David Gust’s shot deflected off a Cuda defender for the game’s first goal.

#4 The Condors had control of the game with a two-goal lead twice and came back from behind after the Cuda scored twice to take the lead. There is little doubt the Condors studied the Cuda film carefully and came into this game well-prepared.

#5 The Cuda will shake this one off and open a two-game set, starting Friday night in Grand Rapids. The puck drops at 4:00 pm.

Marko Ukalovic is a San Jose Barracuda beat writer and does the Barracuda podcasts each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Condors edge Barracuda 6-5 in overtime

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By Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Barracuda came back from a three two-goal deficits, but weren’t able to close out their five-game home stand on a winning note as the Bakersfield Condors defeated San Jose 6-5 in overtime on Monday evening at SAP Center.

Bakersfield All-Star Joe Gambardella drove to the net from the half-boards and beat Cuda goalie Antoine Bibeau (9-5-4) with a wrist shot top-shelf for his 16th goal of the season at the 1:55 mark of the overtime for the game-winner. Logan Day and Tyler Benson received assists.

Bakersfield (21-15-2-1) drew first blood in the first period when David Gust attempted pass off the half right way deflected off a Cuda defender into the net for his 11th goal of the season at the 13:38 mark.

The Condors extended their lead on the power play when Josh Currie finished off a two-on-one rush beating Bibeau top self for his 17th goal of the season at the 17:41 mark. Cooper Marody and Benson received assists.

Keaton Middleton was able to get San Jose (23-8-2-3) on the board when he took a pass from Alex True below the left faceoff dot and one-timed it past the Condors netminder Stuart Skinner (3-1-0) to make it 2-1 with 1:53 remaining in the opening frame. Jon Martin received the secondary assist.

Bakersfield regained their two-goal lead when Tyler Vesel was able to slide a puck out of the reach of the right pad of Bibeau to bring the score to 3-1 with 49 seconds left.

In the second period, San Jose scored two goals in the first four minutes. Middleton scored his second goal of the game by sliding a slow-moving shot past a screened Skinner from the slot for his fifth goal of the season at the 2:40 mark.

Then on the power play two minutes later, Cavan Fitzgerald received a pass from Jayden Halbgewachs as he drifted from the right point and rocketed a wrister over the glove of Skinner, tying the game at 4:32. True received the secondary assist.

Bakersfield reclaimed the lead late in the middle frame with two goals of their own in a span of 56 seconds. Patrick Russel scored his eight goal of the season at the 16:33 mark. Then, Ethan Bear scored his first goal of the season at the 17:29 mark to head into the second intermission with a 5-3 lead.

The third period belonged to San Jose as the Cuda put on a late push to tie the game as they outshot Bakersfield 19-3. Jon Martin skated into the Condor zone and a trailing Jeremy Roy snapped in a perfect shot as he collected the loose puck that Martin left after colliding into a pair of Condors for his third goal of the season at the 14:00 mark.

San Jose pulled Bibeau for an extra attacker when Fitzgerald brought the puck into the offensive zone, threaded a cross-ice pass to Maxim Letunov and the rookie guided it in on the backhand past Skinner for his seventh goal of the season to force overtime.

Skinner stopped 33 of the 38 pucks to earn his third win of the season. Bibeau made 26 saves on 32 shots in suffering the loss.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 1/4 on the power play. Bakersfield was 1/1.

The announced attendance was 2,485.

UP NEXT: San Jose travels up to Grand Rapids to start a two-game series with the Griffins on Friday at 4:00 pm at Van Andel Arena.

Barracuda messed with Texas and won 2-1

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By Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Barracuda continued their dominance on home ice. They were able to hold on for a 2-1 victory over the Texas Stars on Friday evening at SAP Center. They swept the two-game series against Texas.

San Jose (23-8-1-13) drew first blood early in the first period. Matt Fonteyne skated in along the right boards and fought off a check. Maxim Letunov set a pick, freeing up Fonteyne to skate in from the right faceoff circle and wrist a shot top-shelf on Stars goalie Landon Bow (16-7-4) for his third goal of the season at the 3:59 mark. Manny Wiederer received the secondary assist.

“It’s alway nice to contribute,” said Fonteyne. “If you get pucks on net, the odd one is going to find the net. I’m really thankful for Maxim (Letunov) and Manny (Wiederer). They did a really good job to create space for me for my own shot.”

Texas (21-13-3-2) thought they had tied the game half way through the opening frame, but a last-minute save on a rolling puck heading into the net that was swept away at the last second by defenseman Keaton Middleton.

San Jose extended its lead on the power play with under three minutes remaining in the first period. Cavan Fitzgerald shot from the point caromed off the back of the boards past two players onto the stick of Jayden Halbgewachs, who made a move to the inside and sent in a shot through traffic as he was falling down that found its way into the back of the net. Halbgewachs’ 10th goal of the season came at the 17:12 mark. Kyle Wood received the secondary assists.

James Phelan had a short-handed breakaway opportunity with under a minute left, but  Cuda goalie Josef Korenar (14-3-1) came up with a huge save as the puck trickled underneath his pads to the left corner. Despite being outshot 20-9, San Jose headed into the first intermission with a commanding two-goal lead.

“I felt good after the first period,” said Korenar. “20 shots after one period is a lot of shots. But any goalie who gets 20 shots in a period is going to feel good.”

Texas cut the lead in half on the power play early in the second period. It only took eight seconds for Justin Dowling to send the puck back to the point where Gavin Bayreuther rifled in a shot past Korenar for his third goal of the season at the 4:49 mark.

Texas had the majority of the scoring chances, including a point-blank chance that was one-timed just wide, but weren’t able to tie the game up heading into the second intermission, despite out shooting the Cuda 12-7 in the middle frame.

“To be honest with you I thought it was the two worst periods we’ve played in a long while,” said head coach Roy Sommer. “I told them we played two really bad periods. If you win the third (period) you win a game. And that’s what they did. We found a way to win the game.”

In the third period, San Jose had the ice tilted in their favor out shooting the Stars 14-7 as the line of Alex True-Jon Martin-Francis Perron created the majority of the scoring chances only to have Bow frustrate them.

“I think we got lucky to come up 2-0 in the first period,” said Halbgewachs. “We started to find our game in the third period. We got two points and that’s all that matters.”

Korenar finished the game with 40 saves on 41 shots to earn his 14th win of the season. Bow, despite the strong game in net, suffered the loss stopping 29 of the 31 pucks he faced.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 1/4 on the power play. Texas was 1/4.

Forward Dylan Gambrell was recalled up by the San Jose Sharks.

Coming into the game, Korenar was second in the AHL in goals-against average (2.29) and tied for fifth with 13 wins.

The announced attendance was 3,064.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda return to action on Monday, January 21 as they host the Bakersfield Condors at 7:00 pm at SAP Center.

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Cuda getting help from Suomela and Wood in win over Stockton; Texas coming to SJ on Friday

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On the San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko:

#1 The San Jose Barracuda (28-8-1-3) got back on track with a win over the Stockton Heat (16-18-3-0) Sunday at SAP Center 2-1. They scored two unanswered goals.

#2 Both goaltenders did a good job holding off the offense for the first 19 minutes in a shutout showdown–the Barracuda’s Antoine Bibeau (9-5-3) and the Stockton Heat’s Jon Gillies (5-11-3).

#3  The Cuda picked up a goal with 11 seconds left in the first period from Antti Suomela for a top-shelf goal at 19:49.

#4 As Gillies was screened in the third period, the Cuda’s Alex True passed to Kyle Wood, who shot a wrister for his third goal of the season, which proved to the game-winner.

#5 The Barracuda go at it again on Friday night at SAP, hosting the Texas Stars, the Dallas Stars’ affiliate, a 7:00 pm puck drop.

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

Barracuda hold on for a 2-1 victory over Heat

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By: Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Barracuda were able to get back to their winning ways against their NorCal rival the Stockton Heat as they scored two unanswered goals and were able to hold on for a 2-1 victory on Sunday afternoon at SAP Center.

San Jose (22-8-1-3) controlled the tempo in the first period as they doubled up the shots on Stockton (16-18-3-0) 10-5. However, both goalies, Antoine Bibeau (9-5-3) for the Cuda and Jon Gillies (5-11-3) held their ground and kept the game scoreless for the first 19 minutes of the opening frame.

The Cuda would break through 11 seconds before time expired as Antti Suomela deked out Gillies going backhand-to-forehand and beat the Heat goaltender top-shelf for his second goal of the season at the 19:49 mark. Dylan Gambrell and Manny Weiderer received assists.

In the second period, once again, the story would be the goaltending that stole the show. Stockton put on more of a push, but Bibeau was able to stop all 11 shots from the Heat attack. Despite good scoring chances from San Jose, Gillies equaled his counterpart,  stopping all 10 Cuda shots in the middle frame.

In the third period, San Jose doubled their lead on the power play. Alex True fed a pass over to Kyle Wood at the point and Wood fired a wrist shot past a screened Gillies, who never saw the puck go into the back of the net for his third goal of the season at the 9:49 mark. Francis Perron received the secondary assist.

Stockton cut the lead in half when Buddy Robinson cleaned up a rebound off a Kerby Rychel shot that Bibeau made a toe save on. Robinson’s sixth goal of the season came at the 11:34 mark.

Stockton pulled Gillies late in the game for an extra attacker, but weren’t able to get that equalizer as Bibeau and the Cuda held off their late push.

Bibeau finished with 22 saves on 23 shots to earn his ninth victory of the season. Gillies made 31 saves on 33 shots in suffering the defeat.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 1/2 on the power play. Stockton was 1/3.

With the win San Jose improved to 12-4-0-1 at SAP Center and have the best mark in the Pacific Division.

The announced attendance was 5,740.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda return to action on Friday 1/18 as they host the Texas Stars at 7:00 pm at SAP Center.

Reign finally take down Barracuda with 3-1 win

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By: Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif. — All good things must come to an end. For the San Jose Barracuda, they are no longer undefeated against the Ontario Reign this season, thanks to Ontario taking advantage of a mistake by a young goaltender in a 3-1 victory on Friday evening at SAP Center.

Brett Sutter received a gift from Cuda goalie Josef Korenar (13-3-1) when Korenar attempted a back-handed pass behind his own net to the corner that was intercepted by Sutter. Sutter skated around the net, where his initial backhander hit the outside of the net, but he was able to grab his own rebound and put it into the back of the net for his ninth goal of the season in what proved to be the game-winning goal with just under two minutes left in the game at the 18:22 mark of the third period.

“You know it’s funny, I think that was their (Ontario’s) only chance in the third (period),” said Cuda head coach Roy Sommer after the game. “Our goalie learned a lesson (tonight). You can’t reverse a puck if you don’t know where the forecheck is coming from. He won’t do it again I’m sure.”

The first period was scoreless as the Cuda outshot the Reign 11-9. The best scoring chances for both teams didn’t come until the final few minutes. Dylan Gambrell had a redirect chance just trickle to the right of the net with under three minutes remaining for San Jose. While Zack Mitchell’s buzzer beating one-timer hit the outside of the net for Ontario.

Ontario (11-17-3-2) drew first blood on the power play to start the second period. Matt Roy fed a cross-ice pass over to Matt Moulson on the left-wing and snapped home a wrist shot past Korenar top-shelf in the left corner for his 10th goal of the season at the 0:57 mark.

San Jose (21-8-1-3) evened the game up on the power play with a little over five minutes left in the middle frame. Nick DeSimone sent a pass over to the Rourke Chartier, who was back playing his first game with the Cuda since December 27th of last year, along the right boards. Chartier danced with the puck and from a tough angle snapped a beauty of a wrist shot top-shelf past Reign goalie Cal Petersen (3-6-3) for his third goal of the season at the 14:54 mark. Gambrell received the secondary assist.

“They kind gave some time on the half wall,’ said Chartier, regarding his goal. “I was looking for a pass first, but nothing really opened up and (I was) lucky enough that it goes in.”

The Barracuda out shot the Reign 13-7 in the second period and were able to kill off a late penalty to Jeffery Viel for tripping to head into the second intermission with momentum on their side.

“I liked our effort tonight,” said Cuda captain John McCarthy. “It was a tight defensive game where anything could have happened and it did.”

Moulson put the game on ice with an empty net with 69 seconds remaining for his second goal of the night and 11th on the season. Micheal Amadio and Sam Herr received assists on the goal.

Petersen had a busy night as he made 37 saves on 38 shots to earn his third victory of the season. Korenar finished the evening with 23 saves on 25 pucks he faced.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 1/4 on the power play. Ontario was 1/3.

McCarthy played in his 500th AHL game with the Sharks organization. He is the Barracuda’s all-time leader in games played (222), points (118), goals (52) and assists (66).

Defenseman Jacob Middleton was back in the line up since being sent back down by the San Jose Sharks.

Fight Fight Fight! San Jose’s Jon Martin tangoed with the Reign’s Chaz Reddekopp half way through the second period. Each received offsetting fighting majors.

The announced attendance was 3,141.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda host the Stockton Heat on Sunday, January 13 at 3:00 pm at SAP Center.

Barracuda outlast Reign 3-1

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By: Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Barracuda didn’t make it look pretty, but they continued to stay undefeated against the Ontario Reign in a 3-1 victory on Monday evening at SAP Center.

For San Jose, it was their second win in a row and are currently 4-0 against Ontario this season. Ontario continued their downward spiral losing their sixth game in a row.

“They’ve had our number for years,” said head coach Roy Sommer regarding his team turning the tables against their Pacific Division rival. “From Manchester (Mass) into Ontario, it’s been a while since we’ve had a winning record against them. So finally the tide turns.”

San Jose (21-7-1-3) drew first blood five minutes into the opening period. Jon Martin found Jayden Halbgewachs at the right faceoff circle and he skated around over to the left-wing and he snapped a wrist shot that beat Reign goalie Cal Petersen (2-6-3) low to the stick side at 5:41 mark. The puck looked to have deflected off Reign defenseman Austin Strand’s skate for Halbgewachs’ eight goal of the season. Kyle Wood received the secondary assist.

I went through a dry spell for a bit,” said Halbgewachs. “I had to get back to finding my game, building up that confidence. (The goals) are a huge confidence booster and every player needs that when they’re in a slump.”

Ontario (10-17-3-2) outshot San Jose 11-8 in the first period, but Cuda goalie Antoine Bibeau (8-5-3) held down the fort stonewalling the Reign from lighting the red lamp.

In the second period, both netminders put on a clinic out on the ice. Bibeau was aggressive on two penalty kills where he came out beyond the crease to cut off angles and did not give up any rebounds.

“I think in December I wasn’t playing as aggressive and as good as I could (have been),” said Bibeau. “When the guys had to block a shot, they blocked a shot. They boxed out and I saw the puck really well.”

Petersen was sharp late in the middle frame. Keaton Middleton fed a short-handed breakaway chance to Dylan Gambrell, but Petersen came out to challenge Gambrell and his shot sailed over the net with under four minutes left. Then with under a minute left, Vincent Praplan’s point-blank shot and captain John McCarthy’s follow-up rebound chance were turned away by Petersen.

Jon Martin single-handedly gave San Jose a big insurance goal to open up the third period. Coming in on a three-on-three rush he was able to muscle his way past Kurtis MacDermid, regain the puck and buried it under the left pad of Petersen on the short side for his sixth goal of the season at the 1:28 mark. Martin now has five points in his last three games.

“It’s been a long way for me these last three years,” said Martin. “So it’s nice to come in here and finally feel like I’m contributing a little bit on the board. I’m just trying to keep it going, helping out my linemates, they’ve been supporting me and it’s going well.”

Brett Sutter cut the lead in half on the penalty kill, thanks to a gift from Calvan Fitzgerald. He was pressured by Sam Herr in front of the Cuda net and turned over the puck right onto the stick of Sutter, who one-timed it from the slot into the upper right corner of the net. The unassisted short-handed goal was Sutter’s eight of the season and came at the 7:39 mark.

Halbgewachs sealed the game for the Cuda with his second goal of the evening with an empty-netter with exactly one minute left in the game for his ninth goal of the season.

Bibeau shined bright with a 32 save on 33 shot performance to earn his eight victory of the season. Petersen suffered his second straight loss, making 27 saves on 29 shots.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 0/4 on the power play. Ontario was 0/2.

On Tuesday, the Cuda recalled defensemen Cody Donaghey and Mike Brodzinki from the Orlando Solar Bears of the ECHL.

Coming into the game, San Jose were tied for first in the Western Conference with a home winning percentage of .750 (10-3-0-1). Their +20 point differential is the best in the Pacific Division.

Reign defenseman Daniel Brickley suffered a lower body injury in the second period when he was in a battle with Anti Suomela. His leg ended up being tied up and he fell awkwardly to the ice laying there for a while before being helped off the ice. He did not return to the game.

The announced attendance was 2,530.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda take on the Reign for a third consecutive time on Friday, January 11 at 7:00 pm at SAP Center.