If it were not for Gulls goaltender Matt Hackett, the result might have been different. But the Barracuda were shut down by Hackett on Saturday night in a 4-0 loss to San Diego on the road.
San Jose peppered Hackett with 37 shots on net, but none of them proved true was the goalkeeper stopped them all.
“That was the best performance I’ve ever seen from him,” Gulls head coach Dallas Eakins said on Hackett. “He kept us in the game with some timely saves. Without him we aren’t on the winning end tonight.”
That was not hyperbole. The Barracuda came out firing, putting 17 shots on the goal in the first period. But Hackett was up to the task, while the Gulls slipped two goals past Barracuda goaltender Troy Grosenick. The first goal came from Zac Larraza, who took a rebound off the boards and buried it past Gosenick, and the Gulls also netted one in the final minutes of the period, as Corey Tropp punched home a rebound.
Grosenick wound up allowing four goals on 21 shots. The Barracuda trailed 3-0 after two periods, with the lone second period goal coming from Brassard, who snuck past Patrick McNally and fired one home. San Diego also tallied a goal in the third on the power play to conclude matters.
The Barracuda have now dropped consecutive games to the Gulls after losing to them in a shootout on Friday. They wrap up their six-game road trip against the Condors on Tuesday.
sjbarracuda.com photo: San Jose Barracuda goaltender Tony Grosenick defends the net against the San Diego Gulls on Friday night at Valley Casino Center in San Diego
The San Jose Barracuda (5-3-0-2) allowed a late game-tying goal in regulation and eventually fell 3-2 in a shootout to the San Diego Gulls (5-5-1-0) on Friday night on the road.
Ahead by a goal in the final minutes of the third, goaltender Troy Grosenick fended off a barrage of shots from the Gulls. Finally, Ondrej Case snuck in and beat Gosenick from in close to even the score at 2-2.
An eventful but scoreless overtime period resulted in a shootout, where Stefan Noesen delivered the winner of San Diego in the fourth round. Gulls goaltender Dustin Tokarski then denied Ryan Carpenter, who had the Barracuda’s final chance, for the win in an intense affair.
“It was one of those tight-checking games,” said Gulls Head Coach Dallas Eakins. “I think the rivalries in this league are growing. That’s the great thing about this division. As these guys develop the rivalries will only get stronger.”
San Jose jumped ahead with the lone first period goal. Timo Meier grabbed the puck off an offensive zone face-off and fired it past Tokarski to give the Barracuda 1-0 lead.
But San Diego tied it midway through the second period when Joakim Ryan gave the puck away to the Gulls’ Stu Bickel, who beat Grosenick through the five-hole.
Carpenter untied the score at 13:15 of the third period, deflecting a shot from the point by Tim Heed to give the Barracuda 2-1 lead. It wouldn’t hold up, though, despite a 35-save effort from Grosenick.
The Barracuda continue their six-game road trip with another tilt against the Gulls on Saturday.
AP photo: San Jose Barracuda goaltender Tony Grosenick (1) stopped 27 Texas Stars shots in the Barracuda Tuesday afternoon victory over the San Antonio Rampage in AHL action in San Antonio
An 11:30 a.m. start was not a problem for the San Jose Barracuda on Tuesday afternoon as they defeated the San Antonio Rampage 4-0 on the road.
Goaltender Troy Gosenick recorded his second shutout of the season and sixth of his professional career, making 27 saves in the winning effort.
The Barracuda scored a goal each in the first and second periods and added two empty-netters in the third to close out the game.
Top prospect Timo Meier put the Barracuda on the board, who grabbed the puck in the offensive zone off of a shot by Danny O’Regan that was blocked, and Meier scored on an open net. It was Meier’s second goal with the Barracuda after he netted his first marker on Saturday.
Marcus Sorensen, who has impressed with the AHL team this season, doubled the San Jose lead in the second period. Taking advantage of a shot by the Rampage that hit the post, Sorensen took the put and sped into the zone, beating Rampage goaltender Kent Simpson up high to give the Barracuda a 2-0 lead.
Meier, O’Regan and Sorensen paved the way for the Barracuda in this game, combining for three goals and four assists. Rourke Chartier and Sorensen added empty net goals to seal the victory in the third period.
Gooseneck stood tall in net, making glove saves, pad saves and standing his ground in scrambles to keep the puck out of the net. The Barracuda also held the Rampage scoreless on three power play opportunities as well.
San Jose is now 5-3-0-1 on the season and 2-1-0-0 in this six-game road trip. They play next at San Diego on Friday.
sjbarracuda.com photo: San Jose Barracuda Ryan Carpenter (40) works on offense against the Texas Stars. The Barracuda Timo Meier scored his first pro goal Saturday night which proved to be the game winner at Cedar Park TX
The San Jose Barracuda scored four goals in the third period in a high-scoring affair to beat the Texas Stars 8-5 on the road on Saturday.
The Barracuda went into the third period trailing 5-4 after starting goaltender Mantas Airmails allowed five goals on 21 shots. Troy Gosenick, however, replaced Armalis in the third period and stop all four shots he saved.
Julius Bergman tied the game at 5-5 early in the period and then Timo Meier gave the Barracuda a 6-5 lead on a deflection. A pair of empty net goals put th game away for San Jose.
Seven of the game’s 13 goals were scored in the third period. With the game tied 1-1 entering the second, the two teams traded goals at a furious pace, with the Stars grabbing a one-goal lead at the end of 40 minutes.
The Barracuda received goals from seven different players, with Tim Heed scoring twice.
San Jose splits the two-game set with Texas and will next head to San Antonio to play the Rampage on Tuesday.
sjbarracuda.com photo: The San Jose Barracuda got a hat trick performance from Barclay Goodrow but it wasn’t enough as the Barracuda fell two goals short in the 5-3 loss to the Texas Stars in AHL action at Cedar Park, Texas
Despite a hat trick from Barclay Goodrow, the Barracuda fell to the Stars 5-3 on the road on Friday night to kick off a six-game road trip.
The game was tied 1-1 early in the second period, but the Stars scored three unanswered goals to put the game out of reach. Mattias Backman netted a goal for the Stars to put them ahead.
But with the score 2-1 entering the third, the Barracuda couldn’t stop an onslaught of goals by the Stars. Travis Morin and Denis Gurianov both beat Troy Grosenick in a span of a minute and 30 seconds.
Goodrow, who scored the Barracuda’s first goal, found the back of the net twice in the third period, but the Stars responded each time to win by two goals.
San Jose had plenty of power play opportunities, going 1-of-5 on the man advantage. The Barracuda recorded 26 shots while the Stars had 32.
Grosenick lost for the third straight start, allowing five goals on 26 shots faced.
The Barracuda are now 3-3-0-1 on the season and lost three of their last four games. They play the Stars again on Saturday at 5 p.m.
photo by sjbarracuda.com: The San Jose Barracuda and San Antonio Rampage dueled it out for a second match in the two game series in AHL action at SAP Center in San Jose on Sunday afternoon
SAN JOSE–After a narrow, nail-biting loss on Saturday, the San Jose Barracuda were looking to rebound against the San Antonio Rampage. In the Sunday afternoon thriller at SAP Center the Barracuda got a two goal win over the San Antonio Rampage 3-1.
Yesterday, the Barracuda (3-2-1) was dominant in the second period, but the Rampage (4-7) found its groove on the power play, going 2-for-4 and scoring another goal in the first just one second after a penalty to Mirco Mueller expired.
They reverted back to their white jerseys in the second game of the weekend series. Also, Jonathon Martin and Harrison Ruopp were back in the lineup, which was a plus because the Barracuda received some much-needed size.
Head coach Roy Sommer has emphasized a team approach towards capitalizing on the man advantage, which occurred in the first period.
However, there was an interesting turn in events. The Barracuda killed off a Timo Meier penalty then went back on the power play after Alex Bezile took a slashing penalty at 11:46. Kevin Labanc scored a power-play goal, giving San Jose a 1-0 lead midway through the first.
Things have definitely settled down today. The Barracuda went to the locker room with a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes. They held a 9-6 edge in shots on goal.
The lead was doubled by Rourke Chartier, who got the fans on their feet with a snap shot to the stick side. The Barracuda was up 2-0 at 11:56. In the process, Nikolay Goldobin picked up his second assist, bringing his season total to 10 points (two goals, eight assists).
The kid line of Goldobin, Chartier and Labanc showed signs that would justify what a young, budding offense looked like. They combined for four points (two goals, two assists).
Shots were even at 12 apiece, but the Barracuda had a 2-0 lead after 40 minutes.
Just 10 seconds into the Tim Heed slashing penalty, the Rampage ruined Armalis’ shutout bid. Mike Sislo scored a quick 5-on-3 goal to cut the Barracuda lead in half at 12:58.
Armalis made it clear that he wasn’t too upset by Sislo.
“It’s not a pleasant sensation,” Armalis said with a chuckle. “Obviously, you want to have a shutout every game, but you can’t get it. As long as you get the win, I’m satisfied.”
Following the first Rampage goal of the game, Sommer juggled the defensive pairings a bit.
Daniel O’Regan added an empty-net goal to extend the Barracuda lead to 3-1 with 1:30 left in regulation.
The Barracuda settled for a split this weekend against the Rampage with a 3-1 win at SAP Center.
Mantas Armalis made 26 saves for the San Jose victory. Nathan Lieuwen made 13 saves in a losing effort for San Antonio.
When asked after the game if the kid line has to make any changes before the upcoming road trip, Labanc said, “No, I don’t think so. I think our line has been really good. We’ve been working hard, we’ve been limiting our mistakes since our first game of the season. I just think we’ll stick to our directions and keep doing what we’re doing.”
Sommer started off his press conference by recounting the tough loss yesterday. The 59-year-old went on to say that Goldobin was impressive with 10 points so far this season.
Sommer would later confirm that the only defensive pairing change that he made was moving Jevpalovs up and moved Meier down with Carpenter and Goodrow.
The Barracuda embark on a six-game road trip against Pacific Division teams starting with the Texas Stars at Cedar Park Center on Friday. Game time is set for 7:30 pm CST.
sjbarracuda.com photo: The San Jose Barracuda hosted the San Antonio Rampage at SAP Center on Saturday afternoon in the first of two games over the weekend
by Ana Kieu
SAN JOSE–Joe Whitey scored two goals, Spencer Martin made 41 saves, and the San Antonio Rampage beat the San Jose Barracuda 6-5 at SAP Center on Saturday.
The club hosted “Pink in the Rink” presented by Kaiser Permamente. Barracuda players wore custom-made pink jerseys to benefit Cancer CAREpoint and to support breast cancer awareness and research. The pink jerseys were auctioned off throughout the game through an online auction with proceeds to benefit Cancer CAREpoint.
Barclay Goodrow put home the rebound of a Julius Bergman shot attempt, putting the Barracuda up 1-0 just 56 seconds into the first period.
The Rampage tied the game 1-1 at 7:01. Joe Whitney picked up a shot from Mike Sislo and unleashed a wrist shot that beat Barracuda goalie Troy Grosenick.
Rocco Grimaldi took the puck from J.T. Compher and put it in the back of the net, putting the Rampage up 2-1 at 12:44.
The lead was short-lived, as Nikita Jevpalovs scored less than a minute later by carrying the puck up the ice and beating Rampage goalie Spencer Martin to tie the game 2-2.
Grosenick made a spectacular save to keep it a tie game. As the clock winded down, both teams were tied 2-2 after the first, but the shots (18-17) were in favor of the Rampage.
The Rampage took a 3-2 lead 1:02 into the second period after A.J. Greer scored his third goal of the season.
Nikolay Goldobin skated towards the blue paint and knocked in a loose puck that Rourke Chartier threw into the crease to tie the game 3-3 at 4:26.
Ryan Carpenter picked up a loose puck above the left circle and spun around before firing it top shelf, giving the Barracuda a 4-3 lead at 7:08.
J.T. Compher picked up a pass from Grimaldi and fred a wrist shot from the top of the right circle to beat Grosenick, tying the game 4-4 at 16:35.
Although the Barracuda outshot the Rampage, 36-24, the score was tied 4-4 after two periods.
Once again, the Barracuda suffered defensive breakdowns all over the ice, just like in their 4-3 shootout loss to the Bakersfield Condors last Saturday.
The Rampage scored two goals in a span of 22 seconds to take a 6-4 lead in the third period.
Whitney scored his second goal of the season to put San Antonio ahead 5-4 at 2:26. Troy Bourke hit a one-timer past Martin to score his first AHL goal and make it 6-4 at 2:48.
Timo Meier made a great pass to Daniel O’Regan, who shot the puck into the net for a power-play goal. The Barracuda pulled within one at 7:31.
The Barracuda had plenty of scoring opportunities, but were unable to cash in for additional goals. In addition, the San Jose offense was inconsistent.
The Rampage held on for a 6-5 win over the Barracuda.
Martin made 41 saves in a San Antonio victory. Grosenick made 26 saves in a losing effort for San Jose.
After the game, I asked Barracuda coach Roy Sommer if he had plans to shuffle the lineup prior to Sunday’s matinee.
“Yeah,” Sommer responded. “There will be a couple of guys coming in.”
The Barracuda and Rampage return to action tomorrow at 3:00 pm PST on AM 1220 KDOW.
sjbarracuda.com photo: The San Jose Barracuda right winger Kevin LeBanc (62) is pursued near the glass by the Bakersfield Condors defencemen David Musil (6) and Joey Laleggia (17) in AHL action Saturday at SAP Center
SAN JOSE–After scoring four goals in a span of 10:23 last night, the San Jose Barracuda hosted the Bakersfield Condors again Saturday with a desire to go 2-0 against their Central California foes.
However, the Barracuda were unable to carry their momentum into the Saturday matinee in a 4-3 loss in their second meeting in two days.Harrison Ruopp entered as Jason Fram exited, sparking a sudden change in the Barracuda lineup.
Dillon Simpson opened the scoring at 6:37 of the first period, unleashing a slapshot from the point with massive traffic in front of Barracuda goalie Mantas Armalis.
Mirco Mueller dropped at the blue line, no call was made, and the Barracuda defense broke down with him on the ice. Jujhar Khaira picked up the loose puck and sent it easily into the net to make it 2-0 Condors at 8:33.
Alex Schoenborn received credit for tipping in Tim Heed’s point shot past Ellis. The Barracuda pulled within a goal at 9:15.
Jordan Oesterle put the Condors up 3-1 at 17:42 by beating Armalis glove side with a slap shot.
Two offsetting minors were given to Josh Currie (holding) and Joakim Ryan (diving) in the final minute of play. Both teams had tons of shots that hit the post, but the Condors maintained a 17-14 edge and led the Barracuda 3-1 after 20 minutes.
Condors goalie Nick Ellis made a huge pad save on Marcus Sorenson early in the second period.
Both teams dropped the gloves in a trivial brawl midway through the second. As a result, Braden Cristoffer went to the penalty box with a double-minor for roughing and cross checking.
Kevin Labanc swayed on Joey LaLeggia, but the defender’s clearing attempt ended up knocking the puck over Ellis’ shoulder. Labanc’s third goal of the season pulled San Jose back within one with 2:11 left in the second.
Despite having a mere 26-25 lead in shots, San Jose continued to trail 3-2 after 40 minutes.
Rourke Chartier completed a gorgeous tic-tac-toe play to tie the score and remind the Barracuda that the game was not over yet.
After ending in a 3-3 tie, the game went into overtime.
Neither team scored in overtime, leaving the game to be decided in a shootout. Among all players, Scott Allen made the lone shot in the shootout, lifting the Condors to a 4-3 victory over the Barracuda.
Nick Ellis (2-1) made 41 saves in the victory. Mantas Armalis (1-1) made 36 saves in his second start of the season.
I asked Timo Meier if there were any Sharks players that inspired him to improve in strength and endurance.
“Yeah,” Meier answered. “There’s guys like Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski, like Pavelski trying to tip in the pucks. . .Just looking at the overall game, but I’m trying to be myself.”
Barracuda head coach Roy Sommer remained optimistic despite the tough loss.
“We showed a lot of fire power with 44 shots,” Sommer said. “I thought we had some good looks on the 5-on-3, hit the post and tied the game up. . .we got a point and that’s all that matters.”
sjbarracuda.com photo: The San Jose Barracuda center Rourke Chartier (60) looks for the puck as the Bakersfield Condors goaltender Laurent Brossoit (31) who struggled all night looks to defend with defenceman Ben Betker (5) Saturday night at SAP Center
SAN JOSE, Calif. – The buzz heading into the San Jose Barracuda’s home opener Friday night was all about top prospect Timo Meier making his regular season debut. When all was said and done, Barracuda fans had plenty to be happy about, it just didn’t include Meier. 7 players had points for San Jose as the Barracuda downed the Bakersfield Condors 4-0 in a second period offensive explosion for their first regulation win of the season Troy Grosenick made 28 saves for the shutout win in game one of a two game weekend series against the Condors (1-3-0-0).
“He was the difference,” said Barracuda coach Roy Sommer of his netminder. “That was the Troy Grosenick I saw three years ago. I haven’t seen a game like that from him for a while. He was the story.”
Meier finished the night with 0 points and two penalty minutes, firing two shots on goal. While the youngster didn’t have the breakout performance off the bat, a number of returning Barracuda did.
“I thought he was alright,” said Sommer. “He wasn’t one of our better players but he’s a big part of our future. It’s going to take a while. It’s not an easy league. He did some good things, he’s just out of whack.”
The reason he’s off his game is that the forward missed five weeks battling mononucleosis. He’s now trying to get back to being game-fit.
“I’m a guy that has high expectations for myself,” said Meier. “Going into a game like that I set the expectations high. I just have to be patient. If it’s going to take one game, two games, I just need to help the team win.”
While the youngster didn’t have the breakout performance off the bat, a number of returning and new Barracuda (2-1-0-0) did, doing just what Meier hoped to do: Win.
First up was returning defenseman Joakim Ryan. Ryan opened the four-goal second on a toe drag snipe from just inside the faceoff circle 5:57 into the period. Ryan received a perfect cross-cage pass from another returnee Nikolay Goldobin for his 2nd goal of the season, matching his total from all of last season.
Next up for San Jose was a strong single-handed effort on the penalty kill from rookie Kevin Labanc. Labanc attacked the puck carrier Kyle Platzer just outside of San Jose’s blueline. Labanc lifted Platzer’s stick, taking the puck the other way for a breakaway and ultimately a 2-0 Barracuda lead 8:22 into the second.
“In my 19 years coaching Labanc probably has the most accurate hard shot I’ve ever seen,” said Sommer. “I’ve had (Jonathan) Cheecho, a lot of other guys, but this guy can hammer a puck. You get him the puck in a good spot it’s either going in the net or a good chance.”
With an even strength and short-handed goal in hand, the Barracuda added a power play goal later in the period with rookie Rourke Chartier lighting the lamp for his first professional tally. Chartier sniped a shot past Condors keeper Laurent Brossoit with 7:03 left in the period. Linemates Labanc (1 g, 1a) and Goldobin (2a) picked up their second points of the game each on the man-advantage marker.
“That’s a fun line,” said Sommer. “They’re all kids and they’re all having fun. They like watching video, watching themselves. They’ve worked hard so it’s good to see them get rewarded. The sooner they start feeling confident the better off we’re going to be as a team.”
Though the game could be described as a complete performance as a team, San Jose’s fourth goal was due to a determined efforts from forward Colin Blackwell and John McCarthy with 3:40 left in the period. After Alex Schoenborn dumped the puck behind the Bakersfield net, Blackwell pursued the puck, beating Brossoit for the puck in the trapezoid behind the net.
Brossoit slid back into the crease as Blackwell chipped the puck to the mouth of the cage, but Barracuda Captain John McCarthy was waiting for the puck. The experience McCarthy took a stab at the puck, but Brossoit’s split pads stopped the first bid. McCarthy never gave up on the play though, sliding the second-chance shot five-hole for his first goal of the year.
The Barracuda didn’t light the lamp in the third, but they didn’t need to. Instead, they continued their strong special teams play by killing off two Condors power plays to finish the night 5 for 5. They also went 1 for 6 on the man-advantage.
After opening the season with two road games, the Barracuda continue a four-game homestand with a second contest against the Condors Saturday afternoon at the SAP Center. After that, the San Antonio Rampage come to town for a pair before a six-game, four-city road trip for San Jose. It’ll be trial by fire for the Barracuda and their more than a dozen rookie players who all seem to be converging upon a breakout season for the club.
“This is by far the youngest team in the AHL,” said Sommer. “We have 14 first-year guys. They didn’t all play tonight. The next closest is one team with 5. It’s been a while coming. The organization didn’t give away draft picks. They held onto them and now you’re seeing it come to fruition.”
The Barracuda defeated the Reign 5-4 at Citizens Business Bank Arena on Saturday
By: Eric He
ONTARIO, Calif. — Danny O’Regan saw it coming as soon as he stepped onto the ice.
Right off the bench, the Barracuda forward took a few strides past the Reign defense, collected a stretch pass from defenseman Tim Heed, broke in on net, and delivered the game-winning goal in overtime to give San Jose a 5-4 win over Ontario in a Saturday night thriller at Citizens Business Bank Arena.
The goal capped off an action-packed 3-on-3 overtime period, which featured a breakaway attempt by Nikolay Goldobin that sprayed wide and a great save by Reign goaltender Jona Igboo off Joakim Ryan.
“That was a fun game,” Barracuda head coach Roy Sommer said. “From behind the bench, it was fun. It must have been entertaining for the fans.”
The Barracuda had the lead on three separate occasions, only for the Reign to answer with a game-tying goal. San Jose led 4-3 entering the third period, but the Reign evened the score at four goals at 2:44 on a bad giveaway by Heed right in front of his own net. His pass went right to the Reign’s Andrew Crescenzi, who deposited it past goaltender Mantas Armalis.
But O’Regan’s goal in sudden-death overtime left Ontario with no chance to respond. It was redemption for Heed after the egregious turnover that led to the game-tying goal, as the defenseman waited patiently for O’Regan to build up speed before letting go of the pass.
“I knew we were on the same page,” O’Regan said. “[Heed] was just letting me get the speed so I could get past the guy. It was a great play by him.”
San Jose took its first lead early in the second period. Kevin LaBanc deflected a shot from the point by Tim Heed past Igboo. LaBanc, who led the Ontario Hockey League in goals last season, recorded his first AHL goal.
But Ontario answered with its second goal on just its fifth shot, coming on the power play. Zach Leslie took a shot from the left point that Armalis stopped, but Bjorkstrand grabbed the rebound and stuffed it back through Armalis’ five-hole from point-blank to tie the game 2-2.
The Barracuda jumped ahead 3-2 midway through the second on the man-advantage. Goldobin slid a short pass over to Ryan from the slot, and Ryan finished on a gaping net.
But in a flurry of second period goals, the Reign responded. Veteran Brett Sutter tipped in a shot from the point by Bjorkstrand to even the score.
“The older guys on the bench were keeping everyone up after every goal against,” O’Regan said. “It seemed like we’d get the lead and give it away.”
So they went, back and forth.
Less than a minute later, Goldobin picked up a goal, slapping one in from the slot as San Jose retook the lead at 4-3 with six minutes to play in the period.
The Barracuda outshot the Reign 11-3 in the first period, but entered intermission with just a 1-1 tie as both teams converted on their lone power play opportunity.
San Jose outshot Ontario 31-15 in the game, but had to fight tooth and nail to get the win.
“That’s hockey,” Sommer said on the shot discrepancy. “The kid who was in there (Igboo), I’ve got to give him kudos. I thought he played really well.”
Ontario scored on its first shot of the game. Midway through the period on the man advantage, Patrick Bjorkstrand scored top shelf on Armalis, grabbing the loose puck after his original shot was blocked.
San Jose, though, kept the pressure on and drew a penalty with less than seven minutes remaining in the period. The Barracuda kept the puck moving and chances coming on the power play, and Marcus Sorensen netted his first AHL goal at 14:58 to tie the game at 1-1. Sorensen finished from the side of the cage after a shot by Julias Bergman was deflected and went right to his stick.
Each team scored two power play goals on the night, with the Barracuda going 2-for-5.
“I thought we moved the puck really well,” O’Regan said. “Both units were able to get a lot of sustained pressure. Even if we didn’t score, it would shift the momentum for us.”
Armalis stopped 11 shots on the night in his first AHL start. The former male model who gained fame for his looks did not quite impress his coach.
“Alright,” Sommer said on Armalis’ play. “Not fired up about his performance. He’s just coming over. He’s got his first win and just build on that.”
The Barracuda are off until next Friday when they take on Bakersfield in the home opener at SAP Center.
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