Category: San Jose Barracuda

Roadrunners crush Barracuda in 5-0 shutout win

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

The defending Pacific champion Tucson Roadrunners (8-3-0-1) received two power play goals from Adam Helewka and dominated the San Jose Barracuda (9-2-0-1) from start to finish in a 5-0 shutout victory on Friday evening at the Tucson Convention Center Arena. The loss snapped the Cuda’s four-game winning streak and undefeated record on the road.

The former Cuda forward continued to haunt his former team. Helewka scored the first of his two power play goals at the 7:48 mark of the first period. Mario Kempe and Robbie Russo assisted on Helewka’s goal, who has had a resurgence in the desert–sixth goal on the season.

Michael Bunting gave the Roadrunners a 2-0 when he deflected a shot from the right point by Jordan Gross shot into the upper corner of the goal past Cuda goalie Joesef Kornear (5-1-0). Kempe received the secondary assist on Bunting’s fourth goal of the season at the 17:03 mark.

This was the worst period on the season for San Jose as Tucson had the ice tilted in their favor throughout the period. They outshot the Cuda 17-2 in the opening frame. It was the lowest shot out put on the season for the season. The one and only scoring chance for San Jose was when Maxim Letunov breakaway attempt was stopped by Roadrunners goalie Merrick Madsen (2-0-0) early in the period.

Helewka terrorized the Cuda for his second power play goal of the night and third goal in two games against San Jose. A failed clearing attempt by the Cuda led to a cross-ice pass from David Ullstrom over to Helewka who buried the puck into a wide open net for his seventh goal on the season at the 6:08 mark of the second period.

Kyle Wood had a point-blank chance to get the Cuda on the board during their first power play with under five minutes remaining in the period but shot the puck wide of the net.

Ullstrom made it 4-0 when he sent home a shot past Kornear just seconds after a Roadrunner penalty kill after taking a pass from Bunting at the 14:39 mark of the third period.

Lane Pederson completed the scoring when he was set up nicely by Trevor Cheek and slammed home a shot into an empty net for his third goal of the season at the 17:53 mark.

Madsen had an easy night as he stopped all 19 shots he faced for his first AHL career shut out. Kornear suffered his first loss of the season in a valiant effort, where he was under siege for most of the night, making 33 saves on 38 shots.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 0/4 on the power play. Tucson was 2/5.

Tucscon’s Cam Dineen suffered an upper body injury when he was shaken up on a high hit from San Jose’s Nick DeSimone that resulted in a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for DeSimone.

San Jose is now 5-1 on the road.

The announced attendance was 4,451.

UP NEXT: Both teams square off with each other again on Saturday, November 10 at 6:05 pm PT at the Tucson Convention Center Arena.

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Barracuda coming off big win against Stockton Monday, face Tucson for two on Friday

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On the San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko:

The San Jose Barracuda (9-1-0-1) scored three unanswered goals on Monday night against the Stockton Heat (4-6-1-0) for San Jose’s fourth straight win. The Heat took advantage of a power-play goal at 5:01 of the first period with a goal by the Heat’s Kerby Rychel.

A Barracuda’s Jeremy Roy shot nailed a left pad shot into the Heat goalie Jon Gillies which went into the back of the net for a San Jose tie. But it was the second period for San Jose that turned the trick, scoring three unanswered goals that got them over the hump in the 5-2 win. The Barracuda open up a two-game set with Tucson Roadrunners starting on Friday night (November 9th).

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

Barracuda cool down the Heat with 5-2 win

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif. — There’s something about the second period for the San Jose Barracuda (9-1-0-1). They scored three unanswered goals to defeat their NorCal rival Stockton Heat (4-6-1-0) 5-2 at SAP Center on Monday evening. It was the fourth win in a row for the Cuda.

The Heat didn’t waste much time taking advantage of Jeffery Truchon-Viel’s slashing penalty to draw first blood five minutes into the first period. Glenn Gawdin sent a pass to the net from the left slot where Kerby Rychel was camped in front of the crease. He collected his own rebound and jammed the puck past Cuda goalie Antoine Bibeau (4-1-1) into the back of the net for his sixth goal of the season at 5:01 mark.

Dylan Gambrell came a few inches of evening up the score with 20 seconds left in the frame while the Cuda were on the power play. Showcasing his speed and skill, he skated around two Heat defenders and was all alone on Heat goalie Jon Gillies (3-4-1), but his shot just sailed wide of the net.

Despite outshooting Stockton 13-7, San Jose heading into the first intermission down 1-0.

San Jose tied it up on the power play halfway through the second period. Gambrell sent over a pass to the point where Jeremy Roy rifled a shot that hit the left pad of Gillies and into the back of the net for Roy’s second goal of the season at the 9:23 mark. Vincent Praplan received the secondary assist.

The Cuda seized the lead just 17 seconds later when captain John McCarthy won a battle along the left boards and skated in on goal where his shot was stopped by Gillies. Truchon-Viel crashed the net hard and jammed home the rebound past Gillies for his second goal in two games at the 9:40 mark. Evan Weinger received the secondary assist.

“We’ve been playing together for a few games now,” said McCarthy about his gritty line. “I think we play a simple game, a straight ahead game. We get on the forecheck, that’s how we scored our goal tonight. That’s our strength.

“He brings so much, the little details,” said Truchon-Viel about his experienced linemate. “It’s so good for young guys like me and Evan (Weinger). For him to be on our line (makes it) even better.”

Matt Fonteyne completed the scoring in the second period off a nice cycle play by the Cuda. Alexander True fed Nick DeSimone, who then fed an open Fonteyne, who skated in and slammed the puck past the five-hole of Gillies for his second goal on the season at the 12:31 mark.

“We answered back with a power play goal,” said head coach Roy Sommer about his team outscoring their opponents 5-0 in the last two second periods. “Next shift Johnny Mac and Viel get their goal and then we’re kind of rolling. Kind of smelt a little blood and just kept going.”

Francis Perron would put the game away for the Cuda in the third period with the team’s second power play goal of the evening. Lukas Ridal carried the puck into the zone and dropped a back pass for Perron who wristed a shot just to the inside corner of the goal past Gillies for his team-leading sixth goal on the season at the 9:07 mark. Jayden Halbgewachs received the secondary assist.

Andrew Mangiapane cut the lead in half on an odd man rush. He skated in from the right slot and wristed a shot on Bibeau that hit off his blocker and into the back of the net for his 5th goal of the season at the 14:24 mark. Curtis Lazar received the only assist on the goal.

Keaton Middleton immediately pushed down Mangipane after the goal and then exchanged fisticuffs with the Heat’s Anthony Peluso, who defended his teammate, in a long-spirited fight that sent both players to the showers for the night.

DeSimone closed out the scoring with an unassisted, empty-net goal with 56 seconds left for his third goal of the season.

Bibeau had another stellar outing in the net with 17 saves on 19 shots to earn the win. Gillies suffered the tough luck loss, making 33 saves on 37 shots.

“He made key saves at the right moment,” said Perron about his goaltender. “Every time we need him, we know he’s back there, he’s always (plays) huge for us.”

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 2/9 on the power play. Stockton was 1/4.

San Jose is currently 3-1 against Stockton on the season. Overall they are 26-11-2-1, including 13-6-0-0 at SAP Center.

Dynamic duo! Bibeau and Josef Kornear are number one and two in the AHL goals against average and third and fourth in save percentage.

San Jose is is ranked first in the AHL in goal differential with a +22.

The announced attendance was 1,894.

UP NEXT: The Cuda travel out to the Arizona desert to start a two-game series with the defending Pacific Division champion Tucson Roadrunners on Friday, November 9 at 6:05 pm PT.

Barracuda remain hot, topple Rampage 3-1

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif. — It was a night made for debuts. A goal for a pair of San Jose Barracuda (8-1-0-1) forwards. The goaltending was stellar and three unanswered goals were enough for the Cuda to send the visiting the San Antonio Rampage (2-9-0-0) to their ninth loss in 10 games in a 3-1 victory at SAP Center on Friday evening. It was San Jose’s third win a row.

The first period ended scoreless with both teams registering nine shots on goal. The best chance for both teams came seconds apart with six and half minutes remaining in the period. The Rampage had a 2-on-1 chance that failed to get a shot on Cuda goalie Josef Korenar (5-0-0). San Jose countered immediately as Evan Weinger was sent in with a breakaway attempt at San Antonio blue line and his shot was stoned by Rampage goalie Ville Husso (1-7-0).

Lukas Radil would draw first blood for the Cuda early in the second period. Nick DeSimone sent cross ice over to the left point to rebound Keaton Middleton where he fired a shot on net that was blocked out in front of the crease by Husso. Radil pounced on the rebound and went forehand to backhand to score his 1st goal of the season and first goal as a member of the Barracuda at the 1:03 mark.

Evan Weinger was credited with his fourth goal of the season after a wraparound attempt by Maxim Letunov was stopped. The rebound trickled out to the slot, where Weinger was able to deflect the puck off a Rampage defender past Husso for a 2-0 lead. Jeffery Truchon-Viel received the secondary assist on the goal at the 8:25 mark of the second period.

“Hey you win a lot of hockey games in the second period”, said Cuda head coach Roy Sommer. “Because most of the time if you have the lead going into the third (period) you’re in pretty good shape. We found a way to that this year.”

Truchon-Viel gave the Cuda a little insurance early in the third period. Jacob Middleton sent in a shot from the point that deflected off a body in front of the crease. Truchon-Viel was able to collect the rebound and in a 360 degree motion swooped the puck through traffic as it trickled past Husso for his first goal as a Barracuda at the 2:57 mark.

“All the guys are pushing together,” said Truchon-Viel. “We had 10 forwards (after the first period) and (yet) we found a way to win the game.”

Samuel Bias would spoil the shutout bid for Korenar when he skated in all alone on a rush and flipped a pretty backhander top-shelf past Korenar for his first goal of the season at the 15:23 mark.

“It’s really fun playing with these guys,” said Weinger. “If you’re having fun, good things will happen.”

Korenar remained unbeaten making 22 saves on 23 shots saves for the victory. Husso suffered the loss making 30 saves on 33 shots.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 0/2 on the power play. San Antonio was also 0/2.

Dylan Gambrell was back in the lineup for San Jose after being reassigned from the San Jose Sharks.

Cuda goalie Antoine Bibeau was named CCM/AHL goaltender of the month for October after allowing just nine goals on 149 shots with a 3-1-1 record . He ranks first goals-against average 1.75 and save percentage .940.

San Antonio have only five players who were a holdover from last season’s squad.

The announced attendance was 3,156.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda host their Nor Cal rival the Stockton Heat on Monday, November 5 at SAP Center at 7:00 pm PT.

Bigger than AHL hockey: Barracuda fight for the City of San Jose

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Barracuda didn’t just skate onto the ice at SAP Center on Friday night. Sure, the Barracuda were ready to wrap up their two-game season series versus the San Antonio Rampage after San Jose topped San Antonio 2-1 at AT&T Center last Friday, but this team was more than high-caliber goaltending and red-hot rookies who took the ice by storm. The Barracuda were ready to honor not only the cancer fighters and survivors in their lives, but also anyone else who has been coping with the disheartening disease in the City of San Jose.

The Barracuda wore custom decals that said “Hockey Fights Cancer.” The decals were easy on the eyes, as they were in a shade of lavender, and they definitely served a purpose. And, while the Barracuda players may not hail from California or even the West Coast, they all had one thing on their mind–Barracuda can bite cancer.

As usual, the Barracuda players prepared for the game versus the Rampage with their exercise bikes and soccer drills on the first floor of the SAP Center. The Barracuda were all smiles as they did those two things, which was a good thing as it’s important to stretch before a game to avoid potentially painful injuries.

Barracuda fans in attendance enjoyed the team’s happy hour featuring $2 beers and $1 hot dogs, which were unusual prices to see in today’s hockey games at arenas across the country. But they enjoyed those very low prices and that’s all that matters.

The Barracuda prepared to beat the Rampage again. San Jose is 11-5-2-1 all-time against San Antonio and 6-2-1-0 at SAP Center. Hopefully, San Jose’s hard work will pay off.

Barracuda supernova the Stars 6-1 to sweep Texas trip

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

It wasn’t exactly the “Four Dead in Five Gun Fight” 137 years ago in Texas, but it was as close as it could get for a hockey game. The San Jose Barracuda (7-1-0-1) scored four goals in the second period in a 6-1 thrashing of the Texas Stars (4-3-1-1) on Saturday evening at H-E-B Center at Cedar Park to sweep their two-game Texas road trip.

Texas didn’t take long to get the opening goal. Michael Mersch tipped in a shot from Denis Gurianov past the five-hole of Cuda goalie Antoine Bibeau (3-1-1) for his fourth goal of the season at the 1:17 mark of the first period.

San Jose would respond with the equalizer just over a minute later, in what would start six consecutive unanswered goals by the Cuda. Jayden Halbgewachs would score his fifth goal of the season after receiving a pass from co-team goal leader Maxium Letunov and jammed in his own rebound past Texas goalie Colton Point (1-2-1) from point-blank range at the 2:33 mark. Filip Sandberg received the secondary assist.

The Cuda took over the lead just 61 seconds later and never looked back when defenseman Keaton Middleton jumped all over a loose puck and wristed it inside the far left post for his first career AHL goal at the 3:34 mark. Alexander True and Lukas Radil received assists on the Middleton’s first ever professional goal.

San Jose expanded their lead early in the second period when Manny Wiederer was able to deflect a shot from the point from Jacob Middleton that just trickled past the goal-line at the 3:50 mark. It was Wiederer’s third goal of the season. Kyle Wood received the secondary assist.

The Cuda poured it on the rest of the second period. Jeremy Roy received a pass from Radil, skated in from the point and rifled a shot past Point for his first goal of the season at the 14:24 mark. Matt Fonteyne received the secondary assist.

Radim Simek joined the goal party over a minute later when his shot from the point beat Point through his five hole for a 5-1 lead at the 15:36 mark. Simek’s second goal of the season would send Point to the showers as he was replaced by Landon Bow. Praplan and Manny Weiderer received assists.

Letunov, who assisted on Halbgewachs goal, beat Bow through his five hole to complete a four-goal second period. His fifth goal of the season was assisted by Halbgewachs at the 16:18 mark.

Bibeau was sharp in the net with 20 saves on 21 shots for the win. Point allowed five goals on only 16 goals in suffering the defeat. Bow finished with nine saves on 10 shots in mop up relief.

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

San Jose stays undefeated on the road at 5-0. This is the first time in franchise history they finished the month of October with a perfect road record.

This was only the second time this season the Cuda didn’t score the first goal.

Fisticuffs! San Jose’s Jeffery Viel and Texas’ Samuel Laberge late in the second period.

Gurianov has scored a point in six straight games.

The Cuda will only play Texas twice this season as the Stars were realigned into the Central Division (along with San Antonio) of the Western Conference.

The announced attendance was 4,841.

UP NEXT: San Jose returns home on Friday, November 2 to host the San Antonio Rampage at SAP Center at 7:00 pm PT.

Barracuda get quirky goal to send Rampage to eighth straight loss with 2-1 win

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

When you are off to your best start in franchise history, the luck usually goes your way. The San Jose Barracuda (6-1-0-1) took advantage of a weird bounce to score the game-winning goal to beat the San Antonio Rampage (1-8-0-0) 2-1 at AT&T Center on Friday evening. The Rampage have now lost eight games in a row.

Kyle Wood sent in a puck along the boards from the right side of the neutral zone that caromed off a glass stanchion out to the middle of the slot where Rampage goalie Ville Husso (1-6-0) was out of position and waiting for Matt Fonteyne who tapped it into an empty net for his first goal of his season at the 7:14 mark of the third period. Lukas Radil received the secondary assist.

Neither team scored in the first period as it was a tightly-checked defensive battle in the opening frame. Each team only registered six shots on net. Both teams had an abbreviated power play that didn’t generate any chances.

San Jose had a chance to take the lead with just 30 seconds left when Manny Weiderer fed a pass over to Jayden Halbgewachs. He then fed it over to Vinnie Praplan, who misfired on a shot wide of an open net.

Francis Perron took advantage of a two-man advantage power play for the Cuda to break the deadlock in the second period. Kyle Wood retrieved his own rebound and sent a pass over to Perron at the point where he skated in front of the circles and picked his spot, wiring a wrist shot off the near post past Husso for his team-leading fifth goal season of the season at the 5:50 mark. It was also his third power play goal for San Jose.

San Antonio had a 2-on-1 odd man chance late in the second period, but they weren’t able to get a shot on goal at Cuda goalie Josef Korenar (4-0-0). San Jose out shot San Antonio 11-7 in the second period.

San Antonio scored the equalizer in the third period, thanks to a bad line change by the Cuda. Nolan Stevens made a heads up pass over to Klim Kostin, who skated in on a 2-on 0 with Adam Musil. Kostin sent the puck over to Musil, who tapped it into the net for his second goal of the season at the 5:28 mark.

Korenar had an excellent third period, including a point-blank save on Nikita Soshnikov just 27 seconds into the period to stay perfect on the season. He finished with 27 saves out of 28 shots for the victory. Husso made 19 saves on 21 shots in suffering the tough luck loss.

GAME NOTES: San Jose went 1/4 on the power play. The came into the game ranked 23rd in the AHL. It was the first time they have scored on the power play in two games.

San Antonio was 0/4 on the power play.

San Jose is 4-0 on the road this season.

Forward Lukad Ridal returned to the lineup after missing the past two game due to a lower body injury. Fonteyne also returned to the lineup after being a healthy scratch the past two games.

The Rampage celebrated Dia De Los Muertos night by wearing a special game jersey “Los Chimuelos De San Antonio.”

The announce attendance was 7,703.

UP NEXT: San Jose continues the Texas road trip up to Austin to take on the Texas Stars on Saturday, October 27 at 5:00 pm PT.

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Cuda had punchless effort against Heat Sunday; SJ gets set for trip to San Antonio on Friday night

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On the San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko:

#1 How tough was it to lose to Stockton on home ice last Sunday after winning five of their first seven games in San Jose’s best start?

#2 The previous night before San Jose on Saturday got a three-goal win in Stockton 5-2, but the Heat was hot and wanted a revenge and bounced back on Sunday with a 3-2 win.

#3 In the second period, the Barracuda were in penalty trouble and they got shelled when Spencer Foo hit a goal for his fifth of the season and the Heat took a 3-0 lead.

#4 The Barracuda also struggled to score in the first ten minutes of the second period and that also costed them time and effort, especially when Stockton was converting shots.

#5 The Barracuda get set for San Antonio on Friday, October 26th at 5:30 pm. Marko sets this one up for us.

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

San Jose sports podcast with Ana Kieu: Earthquakes’ season almost over; San Jose State cheerleader dies after car accident

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Photo credit: @SJEarthquakes and kron4.com7

On the San Jose sports podcast with Ana:

1. The San Jose Earthquakes announced their 2018 Club Award winners on Friday night, which included forward Danny Hoesen as Most Valuable Player, defender Nick Lima as Defensive Player of the Year and goalkeeper Matt Bersano for the Andrew Bedard Spirit of the Game Award/Humanitarian of the Year. These awards recognize players that have made a positive impact with the Quakes.

2. The Quakes honored 12 recipients of a Devotion Scarf at halftime of Sunday’s match at Avaya Stadium. Those recipients include Dorene Bolanos, Terry Cotting-Morgan, Curtis Hisao, Jacquie and Jeff Hofmann, Colin McCarthy, Kevin Moore, Raul Peralez, Cezar Popovici, Joe Santos Sr., Susan Silveira and John Wondolowski.

3. San Jose State Spartans cheerleader Anjela Jose died after being ejected from a car in an accident on Sunday, October 14. Jose was from South San Francisco.

4. The Spartans lost a heartbreaker 16-13 to the Aztecs on Saturday, October 20. Brent Brennan hasn’t matched or surpassed the two wins that he earned last year. What do the Spartans need to do in order to win games?

Ana does the San Jose sports podcasts each week for SportsRadioService.com

Barracuda fall 3-2 to Heat at SAP Center

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Photo credit: @AHLHeat

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Barracuda and Stockton Heat wrapped up their home and home series at SAP Center on Sunday. In case you missed it, San Jose downed Stockton by a score of 5-2 last night. San Jose used a four-goal third period to leave Stockton in shock.

Barracuda head coach Roy Sommer went with Antoine Bibeau, Dylan Gambrell, Vincent Praplan, Francis Perron, Cavan Fitzgerald and Keaton Middleton for his starting lineup.

However, Stockton got on the board first. Andrew Mangiapane scored his second goal of the season with 6:25 left in the first quarter. Oliver Kylington and Tyler Graovac collected the assists on Mangiapane’s goal.

Stockton doubled their lead a little less than two minutes later. Graovac scored his third goal of the season with 4:31 left in the first. Mangiapane and former Barracuda right winger Buddy Robinson collected the assists on Graovac’s goal.

The Heat were fired up and held a 2-0 lead over the Barracuda at the end of the first. Stockton edged San Jose in shots, 9-8.

The second period was chock full of penalties for both teams, but Stockton was the only team who capitalized on a man advantage. Spencer Foo notched his third goal of the season on the 5-on-3 to give the Heat a 3-0 lead with 8:12 left in the second. Graovac collected the assist on Foo’s power play goal.

Also, San Jose struggled to find the back of the net in the second for the first 10 minutes of the second. But the Barracuda avoided a shutout, thanks to Maxim Letunov’s fifth goal of the season with 5:02 left in the second. Praplan collected the lone assist on Letunov’s goal.

The Barracuda made it a one-goal game when Jayden Halbgewachs scored his third goal of the season with 1:11 left in the second.

The Heat still held a 3-2 lead over the Barracuda at the end of the second. Shots were even at 20 apiece.

The Heat were unable to capitalize with the man advantage on both Barracuda penalties, but they managed to hold on for a 3-2 win in the second game of the home-and-home series. Heat goalie Tyler Parsons stopped 26 of 28 shots for the road win, while Barracuda goalie Antoine Bibeau made 26 saves on 29 shots in a home loss.

Notes 
The San Jose Sharks announced that the club reassigned center Dylan Gambrell to the San Jose Barracuda. Gambrell played today.

Barracuda goalie Antoine Bibeau played in his 150th AHL game today.

There’s a Second Harvest food drive going on at SAP Center. This is one of the most difficult times of the year, so if you have any canned goods, please donate them at a Barracuda home game to help families in need.

Up Next 
The Barracuda head out on the road to take on the San Antonio Rampage on Friday, October 26 at 5:30 pm PT.