Category: San Jose Barracuda

IceHogs end Barracuda’s four-game home winning steak with a 4-2 victory

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Photo credit: @goicehogs

By Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE—The Rockford IceHogs (21-15-1-2) scored two goals in under five minutes in the second period and held on for a 4-2 victory over the San Jose Barracuda (16-15-0-2) at the SAP Center on Friday night. Rockford snapped San Jose’s four-game home winning streak.

Rockford skated out to a fast start as they tilted the ice in their favor in the first 10 minutes of the first period. Matheson Iacopelli led a 2-on-1 break and was able to snipe a shot past under the arm of Barracuda goalie Troy Grosenick (5-6-2) inside the left post at the 5:40 mark. The unassisted goal was his ninth goal of the season.

San Jose couldn’t generate much offense in the opening period as they were constantly going into the sin bin. With the help of  a busy Grosenick, they were able to kill off all three power play opportunities for the IceHogs. Rockford dominated the shot clock by out shooting the Barracuda 14-4.

In the second period, Julius Bergman tied the game on the power play with his fourth goal of the season. Danny O’ Regan back handed a cross-ice pass to the defenseman who skated down the right wing and rifled a shot top shelf past Collin Delia (4-4-0) at the 5:36 mark.

Tyler Sikura got the momentum back for the IceHogs when was able to slam home his own rebound past Grosenick as a result of a 2-on-1 with Andreas Martinsen. His initial shot hit Grosenick in the mask before following up for his 10th goal of the season at the 9:10 mark of the second period.

Tanner Kero scored his third goal of the season into a wide-open net on the rebound when the IceHogs Anthony Louis’ shot from the point hit off of Grosenick and found a wide open Kero to tap it home for a 3-1 lead at the 14:02 mark. Rockford out shot San Jose 18-8 in the period.

San Jose wouldn’t go away quietly as they cut the deficit to 3-2 when Rudolfs Balcers banged home his team leading eighth goal of the season at 11:28 of the third period. Jacob Middleton’s shot from the point hit off Adam Clendening’s skate right over to Balcers who buried home the pack past Delia.

Kero finished off the scoring with an empty net, power play goal and his second of the game with just 39 seconds left in the game.

Delia earned the victory making 23 saves on 25 shots. Grosenick finished the evening with 39 saves on 42 shots in the defeat.

GAMES NOTES: It was the 500th career minor league hockey game for Barracuda forward Brandon Mashinter, who played last year for Rockford.

“Definitely wanted to be back for this one”, said Mashinter before the game. “Told the optometrist I am playing in this one.”

Mashinter returned to the lineup after suffering an upper body injury to his eye last weekend in San Diego.

Bergman’s power play goal snapped an 0-27 streak by the Barracuda that spanned six consecutive games.

Overall, San Jose was 1/3 on the power play, while Rockford was 1/6.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda take on the Bakersfield Condors on Monday afternoon (1/15) at 1:15 pm PT at the SAP Center.

San Jose Barracuda Podcast with Marko Ukalovic: After getting swept by San Diego Barracuda pick up win over San Antonio on Tuesday night

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Photo credit: @kavinm95

On the Barracuada Podcast with Marko Ukalovic:

1 The San Jose Barracuda (20-15-0)  after getting swept in a two game series by San Diego sent the San Antonio Rampage down to defeat (16-14-2) at San Jose 2-1 for their 20th win of the season.

2 Manny Wiederer who scored the game winning goal for San Jose on a failed clearing attempt by the Rampage goaltender Ville Husso that allowed Wiederer to score on teammate Brandon Boilig’s screen

3 Wiederer tried to set a pass up to Boilig, but took the shot himself he was aware of the fine job Husso was doing and took his chances succeeding on a blind side goal

4 The first period gave an indication that this was going to be a defensive game with no scoring

5 The Barracuda host the Rockport Ice Hogs for a 7 pm face off on Friday night the second of four home games at SAP Center

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

 

 

 

San Jose Sharks Podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh: Jets game in the latest of concerns of penalty kills for the Sharks

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Photo credit: @thecomeback

On the San Jose Sharks Podcast with Mary Lisa Walsh:

1 The Sharks finished the five game round trip last Sunday going 1-2-2. It was not the kind of road trip shows head coach Peter DeBoer had in mind

2 Logan Couture scored San Jose’s only goal in the 4-1 loss to Winnipeg Sunday

3 Sharks goalie Marty Jones in goal stopped 26 shots but allowed four Winnipeg goals

4 For the Jets 26-11-7 goals for their game against the Sharks on Sunday Marko Dano, Matt Hendricks, and Mathieu Perrault two goals

5 The Sharks get their only win of this road trip in Montreal last week Monday. The Sharks return to San Jose Saturday and then set sail for their next road trip Mon Jan 15th in Los Angeles.

Mary Lisa Walsh does Sharks hockey podcasts each Wednesday at http://www.sportsadioservice.com

 

Barracuda snap losing streak as they hold on for a 2-1 win over Rampage

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE—-The San Jose Barracuda (20-15-2-0) were able to get the bad taste of the San Diego Gulls out of their mouth with a gritty 2-1 victory over the San Antonio Rampage (16-14-0-2) Tuesday night at SAP Center. Their 20th victory of the season broke their two-game losing streak.

Manny Wiederer was the hero for the  Barracuda when he scored the game-winning goal, thanks to a failed clearing attempt by the Rampage. He was able to take advantage of a Brandon Bollig screen in front of Rampage goalie Ville Husso (7-6-0) as his wrist shot sailed past Husso for his fourth goal on the season at 8:28 of the third period.

“Bollig was going to the net and I tried to pass it to him,” Wiederer said after the game. “Luckily, the goalie didn’t see it and didn’t get it and it went right in.”

The first period saw no scoring, but each team had their own chances to draw first blood as each had a power play opportunity, but neither could convert. Barracuda forward Danny O’Reagan’s line created a flurry of chances with six and a half minutes left in the first period. His wraparound attempt was stopped by Husso. Both teams would get a chance late in the period when Rampage foward Kim Klostin’s shot from the slot trickled past Antoine Bibeau (9-7-0) but the San Jose goaltender was able to reach back with no further damage done with 54 seconds left. While San Jose captain John McCarthy pick pocketed Rampage defenseman Chris Butler at his own blue line that led to a breakaway chance but his back hander would be thwarted by Husso with just under 30 seconds left. San Jose outshot San Antonio 15-7.

Barracuda forward Tim Clifton broke the deadlock at 2:53 of the second period when he was able tip in a shot by Rudolfs Balcers. Balcers was able to keep the puck in at the blue line and let a wrist shot go from the left point into a body of traffic in front of Husso that Clifton’s stick was able to get a piece of the puck and past the short side for a 1-0 lead. It was his second goal of the season.

“Everyone chipped in tonight,” said head coach Roy Sommer, describing his team’s performance on the night. “Some unknown guys got goals. We told them to get to the net and good stuff would happen.”

San Jose had a chance to extend their lead two minutes later when Rampage forward AJ Greer was assessed an extra minor for roughing when he got into a scuffle with Cuda defenseman Micael Brodzinski along the boards at 4:46. . However McCarthy’s back hand attempt on a rebound almost trickled past Husso before the goalie was able to pounce on the puck. Filip Sandberg’s breakaway attempt was stoned by Husso, just seconds after the power play was over.

With O’Reagan in the sin bin for hooking, the Rampage would tie the game on the power play when forward Alex Belzile was able to back hand home a rebound past Bibeau after Rocco Grimaldi’s shot hit off the back post and found a wide open Belzile camped out in front of the crease for his seventh goal of the season. Jordan Schmaltz also received an assist. Despite San Jose out shooting San Antonio 14-6 in the second period, the teams headed into the second intermission tied at 1-1.

Bibeau made 24 saves, including some critical saves in the final two minutes when San Antonio pulled Husso for an extra attacker on 25 shots for the victory. Husso suffered the defeat on 36 saves on 38 shots.

GAME NOTES: The power play woes continued for San Jose as they went 0/4 on the power play while San Antonio was 1/2. San Antonio out shot San Jose 12-9 in the 3rd period.

Barracuda forward Brandon Mashinter missed his second consecutive game with an upper body injury he suffered this past Friday night in San Diego when he took a stick to his eye.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda host the Rockford Icehogs on Friday night at 7 pm PT.

Barracuda lose 3-2 and get swept by Gulls in weekend series

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By: Ana Kieu

The San Jose Barracuda were looking to write a positive page against the San Diego Gulls in 2018 and rebound from a two-game losing skid at the Valley View Casino Center on Saturday night.

Previously, the Barracuda matched a franchise high with 46 shots on net, but suffered a 5-0 blowout from the Gulls on Jan. 5.

The Barracuda’s starting lineup featured Emerson Clark, John McCarthy, Adam Helewka, Jacob Middleton, Mike Brodzinski and Troy Grosenick.

Grosenick made a noteworthy save to open the first period. Shots were 8-6 in favor of the Gulls midway through the first, but the Barracuda picked up the pace as time went by.

Radim Simek was called for cross-checking and the Barracuda went on the penalty kill for the remainder of the first.

The Barracuda put 16 shots on goal, but they left the first scoreless against the Gulls.

The Gulls drew first blood with a power play goal for a 1-0 lead at 14:38. Eric Fehr poked in the rebound for his team-leading 11th goal of the season.

Filip Sandberg scored what looked like a goal off a strange bounce, but the officials waived it off, claiming they saw a high stick. No goal for San Jose.

The Barracuda tied the score at one apiece with an unassisted goal from Adam Helewka with 5:01 left in the second.

Both teams ended up in the same place, but this time around, the Barracuda and Gulls each scored a goal apiece after the second. Shots were 30-23 in favor of San Jose.

Joe Blandisi redirected Marcus Pettersson’s one-timer just eight seconds into the man advantage for a power play goal–his fifth of the season–at 17:46.

The Gulls’ lead was short-lived as Emerson Clark scored off of a point-blank opportunity at 16:04.

Just when you thought the Gulls were ready to give up on the game, San Diego regained the lead, 3-2, on Sam Carrick’s wrist shot en route to the opposing net.

Despite leading in shots, 42-30, midway through the third, San Jose trailed San Diego 3-2.
The Barracuda still had a chance as they went on the power play while the Gulls’ switched on their penalty kill, which eventually worked.

The Barracuda lost to the Gulls 3-2 on the road.

Notes
USA Hockey announced on January 1 during the second intermission of the Winter Classic between the New York Rangers and Buffalo Sabres at Citi Field in New York that San Jose Barracuda captain John McCarthy had been selected to the United States men’s ice hockey team for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games. The Olympics will be held from Feb. 9-25 in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

The AHL announced on Thursday that Barracuda goalie Antoine Bibeau has been selected to represent San Jose at the 2018 All-Star game in Utica, N.Y., later this month.

Barracuda rookie forward Rudolfs Balcers added another assist in San Jose’s last game and now ranks T-10th in the AHL among first-year players in points (23) and T-sixth in assists (16). Balcers leads the Barracuda in points, assists, and is tied with Danny O’Regan and Brandon Bollig for the team lead in goals with seven.

Barracuda head coach and Bay Area native Roy Sommer collected his 700th AHL win of his career on Dec. 3 at Bakersfield, 2-1. Sommer is the first coach in the 82-year history of the AHL to reach 700 coaching wins.

Six players from the Barracuda’s 2017 Calder Cup playoff roster are now on the San Jose Sharks (Marcus Sorensen, Tim Heed, Barclay Goodrow, Timo Meier, Joakim Ryan and Kevin Labanc).

Up Next 
The Barracuda return to SAP Center on Tuesday, January 9, where they’ll host the San Antonio Rampage  at 7 pm PT.

Reto Berra and Gulls’ power play stun Barracuda in 5-0 shutout

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

The combination of the best power play in the AHL and a red-hot goalie were too much for the San Jose Barracuda to handle as they got blown out by the San Diego Gulls 5-0 loss on Friday night at the Valley View Casino Center.
San Diego raced out to a quick start with Jared Boll scoring his first goal of the season at 5:17 of the first period when he was able to take a pass from Dennis Rasmussen and snapped a wrist shot past the five-hole of Cuda goalie Parker Gahagen (2-2).
Gulls goalie Reto Berra (7-4-0) frustrated San Jose throughout the night. His 46 saves were good enough for his first shut out of his season. Some of his highlights included, stopping Cuda forward Danny O’Reagan’s blast late in the first period and making back to back saves while the Cuda were on the power play in the second period.
San Jose couldn’t stop San Diego’s power play all night as the Gulls went 4/5. San Diego’s first power play tally came with 0.1 seconds left in the first period when forward Kalle Kossila was able to beat the buzzer with a wrist shot past Gahagen after Andy Welinski found him all alone in front of the crease that Kossila was able to tip home for his ninth goal of the season to put San Diego up 2-0 heading into the first intermission.
In the second period, the Barracuda were the recipients of some bad luck when defenseman Jacob Middleton’s clearing attempt on the penalty kill deflected off of the skate of San Diego’s Joe Blandisi that went past the five-hole of Gahagen for an unassisted power play goal. It was Blandisi’s fourth goal of the season.
San Jose’s frustration boiled over in the second period when Jared Boll and Emerson Clark got into fisticuffs just 27 seconds after Blandisi’s goal. Brandon Bollig and Corey Tropp also had a spirited fight with five minutes left in the period.
San Jose had a chance to get back into the game when Blandisi went into the sin bin with a four minute double minor for high sticking half way through the second. However they couldn’t capitalize thanks to Berra’s great goaltending. The Cuda’s anemic power play went 0/6 on the night. They’re now 0 in their last 22.
Eric Fehr, on loan from the Toronto Maple Leafs, scored the Gulls’ third power play goal at the 7:48 mark of the third period. It was his 10th goal of the season. Kossila and Marcus Pettersson assisted. Sam Carrick completed the scoring with his sixth goal and the Gulls’ fourth power play goal of the night at the 12:03 mark. Fehr and Rasmussen received assists.
Gahagen finished the evening with 21 saves on 26 shots.
GAME NOTES: San Jose gave up four power play goals in a game for the first time in their three year history. They out shot the Gulls 21-4 in the third period.

With the win, San Diego jumped ahead of San Jose in the Pacific Division with 34 points compared to San Jose’s 33 points.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda take on the Gulls once again tomorrow night at 7 pm PT from Valley View Casino Center.

San Jose Barracuda Podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Penalties cost Barracuda in loss to Moose; SJ prepares for two game series in San Diego Friday

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

On the Barracuda podcast with Marko:

1 The Barracuda snapped a four-game winning streak with a loss on Sunday to the Manitoba Moose 5-2. The Moose came right out of the shoot after the faceoff.

2 The Barracuda’s John McCarthy got called for tripping and the Moose took advantage with a goal in the third period 4:22 as Michael Spacek shot a power play goal to pen the scoring volley for Manitoba.

3  Penalties hurt the Barracuda in the second period as Jon Martin was called for boarding, Brandon Bolig delay of game and Jacob Middleton was called for delay of game. The Barracuda were fortunate that they were able to kill off all three penalties.

4 The Barracuda play a two-game series in San Diego this Friday and Saturday Marko takes a look at these two match ups.

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

 

 

Barracuda get physical, but unable to close out 2017 with a win; lose 5-2 to Moose

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By: Ana Kieu

The San Jose Barracuda were back at it against the Manitoba Moose at Bell MTS Place. Both teams came from different standpoints; the Barracuda were looking to extend their win streak to four games, while the Moose were simply wanting to avoid a two-game losing skid.

John McCarthy was called for tripping, and Manitoba got a power play. The Moose got on the board 4:22 into the contest. Michael Spacek got a power-play goal. Sam Niku and Brendan Lemieux got the assists on Spacek’s opening goal.

Mike Sgarbossa found Chase De Leo in front with a great pass and he fired it in for a 2-0 lead at the 11:17 mark.

The Barracuda found themselves in a two-goal deficit after 20 minutes of play. The Moose were up 2-0 after the first stanza.

The Barracuda finally got on the board when Brandon Mashinter got a shot into the goal. The officials reviewed Mashinter’s play after the Moose called for a challenge for the net coming off. They confirmed it was a good goal and San Jose cut the Manitoba lead to 2-1.

Gus Young found Adam Helewka wide open, and the Barracuda tied the contest at two apiece.

Cavan Fitzgerald went to the box for interference. The Moose capitalized with the man advantage to regain the lead with their second power play of the day. De Leo’s one-timer found the back of the net for a 3-2 lead at the 13:27 mark. Buddy Robinson (former Barracuda player) and Cameron Schilling picked up the assists on De Leo’s go-ahead goal.

The Barracuda players racked up the penalties in the second stanza. Jon Martin was called for boarding, Brandon Bollig was given a delay of game penalty and Jacob Middleton went to the box for tripping. San Jose managed to kill off all their penalties and survived 5-on-3 hockey.

The animosity ensued as Julius Bergman dropped the gloves with JC Lipon with just 17 seconds left in the second. The Barracuda still trailed the Moose by one after 40 minutes of play. The Moose were up 3-2 after the second.

Peter Stoykewych’s point shot redirected in and off of Robinson for a quick goal in the third stanza, expanding the Moose’s lead to 4-2.

The Barracuda went on the power play due to a previous Moose penalty. Around the same time, there was another fight as Emerson Clark fought a Manitoba player. Both players went to the box for roughing.

The game resumed to even strength, but the fighting continued as Clark and Lipon showed signs of aggression with each other. Both players headed to their respective locker rooms and each received 10 minute misconducts.

Again, 5-on-3 hockey occurred after Mashinter sat out due to a bench minor. Nic Petan scored on the two man advantage to increase the Moose’s lead to 5-2. The Barracuda got another penalty–this time, Young for roughing–and the Moose remained on the 5-on-3.

The roughness continued as Martin and Francis Beauvillier had some words for each other. Both players got four minutes for roughing.

The Barracuda had a power play in the closing minutes of the game and pulled Antoine Bibeau for an extra attacker. There was 6-on-4 hockey, but San Jose didn’t get an empty-netter to get past Manitoba.

The Barracuda lost to the Moose 5-2. San Jose’s loss snapped their three-game win streak.

Notes
Barracuda starting lineup: Emerson Clark, Tim Clifton, Jon Martin, Jacob Middleton, Julius Bergman and Antoine Bibeau.

Up Next
The Barracuda return to action on Friday, January 5th against the Gulls at 7 pm PT.

Barracuda edge the Moose 3-2 in second-to-last game of 2017

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By: Sports Radio Service Staff

The San Jose Barracuda snapped the Manitoba Moose’s point steak and continued their own after edging the home team 3-2 in Manitoba Saturday afternoon.

The Barracuda got on the board first as Filip Sandberg scored an early goal in the opening period. John McCarthy provided the lone assist on Sandberg’s goal.

The Barracuda killed off a penalty for a perfect 18 for 18 record. The Moose received a penalty shot, but Troy Grosenick made a much-needed save to prevent a potential Manitoba goal.

Shots were 12-8 in favor of the Barracuda, who led the Moose 1-0 after the opening period. San Jose capitalized on a bad bounce for the lone goal in the first 20 minutes.

The Barracuda were on their first power play of the game in the second period. Manuel Wiederer received a penalty shot on the power play, but it went high of the net.

The Moose tied the game at one apiece, but the Barracuda quickly responded to the equalizer. Brandon Bollig scored a goal to put the Barracuda up 2-1.

The Barracuda led the Moose 2-1 after two periods. San Jose also extended their penalty kill streak to 20 in a row.

Michael Brodzinski was called for cross-checking, which resulted in the Barracuda’s fifth penalty kill of the game. The Moose capitalized with the man advantage for a power play goal, tying the game at two apiece.

Wiederer picked up the rebound and got the Barracuda’s first 4-on-4 goal of the season. San Jose took a 3-2 lead, thanks to two assists from McCarthy and Cavan Fitzgerald.

The Barracuda held onto the 3-2 lead to win the first of two games in their weekend series vs. Moose. Grosenick made 24 saves and provided one assist in San Jose’s victory.

After fans watched the Barracuda and Moose battle it out until the very end, the home team had lots to celebrate in their second-to-last game of 2017.

Notes: Barracuda starting lineup — Emerson Clark, Tim Clifton, Jon Martin, Jacob Middleton, Julius Bergman and Troy Grosenick.

Up Next: Barracuda return to action against the Moose Sunday afternoon at 12 pm PT.

Barracuda win a wild OT thriller 6-5 over Heat

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE–Rudolfs Balcers and the San Jose Barracuda (14-11-0-2) have a flair for the dramatics as they overcame a two goal deficit in the second period to win 6-5 in a overtime thriller over the Stockton Heat (16-8-2-2) at the SAP Center on Thursday afternoon.

Balcers’ game-winning heroics came at the 2:39 mark of overtime when Stockton misfired on a pass at their own blue line. Balcers picked up the puck and made a nice move to skate around Heat forward Andrew Manginapane to get to the front of the crease where his initial shot was stopped by a sprawling Heat goalie Jon Gillies (9-6-3) but was able to slide home his second attempt into the net.

“It just plopped right in front of me”, said Balcers on his game-winning goal. “I just wanted to get a good angle for a shot when I saw Jon (Gillies) go the other way, I just deked him and tucked it in there.”

It didn’t take long for the fireworks to get started as Mangiapane opened the scoring with his 12th goal on the season after a turnover by Danny O’Reagan not being able to clear puck out of the Cuda’s zone. Mangiapane took a feed from Ryan Lomberg and ripped a wrist shot to the far corner past goalie Parker Gahagen (2-1-0) just 1:07 into the game.

Stockton kept the momentum going after Mangiapane’s goal with the Barracuda by taking two penalties 1:28 apart to set up a 5-on-3 opportunity for the Heat. However San Jose’s penalty kill was able to keep the puck of the net. They controlled play for the most of the first period as they had multiple odd man rushes but weren’t able to capitalize on them.

San Jose would tied the score at one when defenseman Michael Brodzinki scored his second of the season at 11:20 of the first period when his shot from the right point ricocheted off of Heat defenseman Oliver Kylington and over Gillies’ shoulder and bounced into the net. Radim Simek and Filip Sandberg assisted on the goal

Both teams would trade goals just 38 seconds apart late in the first period. Jon Martin scored his third goal on season for the Cuda when he was able to bury a rebound into an empty net. Tim Clifton won a battle along the boards and got the puck over to Emerson Clark, whose shot found a wide open Martin after bouncing off the pads of Gillies at 16:04. The Cuda were guilty of a bad turnover in the neutral zone when Emile Poirier skated in on a 3-on-1 down the right wing and wristed a shot past Gahagen at 16:42. The unassisted goal was Poirier’s third goal of the season.

The Heat made the most of the opportunities in the second period. Mangiapane scored his 13th goal of the season and second of the game at 13:57 when he skated in from the right slot and used Jacob Middleton as a screen and fired a shot past Gahagen for a 3-2 lead. Rasmus Andersson and Oleg Yevenko assisted on the play.

After a bad pinch in by San Jose’s Radim Simek lead to a 2-on-1 beak for the Heat, Brett Findley was able to finish off a spectacular tic-tac-toe give and go passing display between him and Mangiapane for his sixth goal on the season at the 16:02 mark for a 4-2 lead. Ryan Lomberg also received an assist.

O’Reagan would atone for his earlier error in the game when he cut the lead to 4-3 with just 16.8 seconds left in the second period. His seventh goal of the season came after Balcers was able to keep the puck in the Heat zone and fed O’Regan who was able to dipsy-do his way up to the left slot and fire a shot past Gillies.

Cuda defenseman Julius Bergman tied the game 4-4 at 5:56 of the third period when he scored his third goal of the season from the right point after taking a cross ice pass from Jacob Middleton. Bergman’s shot found its way into the back of the net with a bunch of traffic screening Gillies into the top left corner of the goal.

Not to be outdone by his fellow defenseman, Nick DeSimone gave the Cuda a 5-4 lead just 1:18 later on a deja vu play as his shot also from the right point beat Gillies with players screening him in front of the goal at the 7:14 mark. Brandon Mashinter and Radim Simek provided the assists on the goal.

“We’re not a one dimensional team,” head coach Roy Sommer said on his defensemen’s contributions on offense. “If we don’t get the full compliment of people scoring, we’re going to be in trouble.”

The Heat’s Hunter Shinkauk would tie the game at 15:56 when he skated in from the middle of the blue line all alone in front of Gahagen snapping a shot past him. Marek Hrivik and Poirier assisted on the goal.

Gahagen earned his second win of the season by making 24 saves on 29 shots including stopping a breakaway attempt by Stockton’s Poirier late in the 3rd period. Gillies took the loss making 26 saves on 32 shots.

GAME NOTES: Both teams were 0/4 on the power play. San Jose is 16/16 in their past four games on the penalty kill.

The teams exchanged fisticuffs twice during the game. Joesph Crammarosa and Calvan Fitzgerald fought in the first period and Brandon Bollig dropped the gloves with Oleg Yevenko in the third period.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda travel up to the Great White North for the first of back to back games against the Manitoba Moose on Saturday December 30th at Bell MTS Iceplex in Winnipeg.