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San Jose Barracuda forward Tristen Robins (#52) battles for the puck while being tied up by Noah Philp (#15) during the Barracuda’s 3-2 win at Tech CU Arena on Wednesday FEB 26, 2025. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Cameron Wright was at the right place at the right time.

Wright scored the game winning goal with 3:15 remaining in the third period to give the Bakersfield Condors a 3-2 victory over the San Jose Barracuda on Wednesday evening at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose has lost three out of its past four games and back-to-back at home. Bakersfield snapped its six-game losing streak.

A giveaway by Tristen Robins off of the skate of Rem Pitlick in front of his own net set up Wright’s heroics. Wright grabbed the puck and beat Cuda goalie Gabriel Carriere with a turnaround wrist shot for his 10th goal of the season.

The first period featured 20 minutes of physicality and chippy-ness. Both teams combined for five big open ice hits, three by San Jose and two by Bakersfield. The physicality led to many after whistle skirmishes with no love lost between both squads in their sixth meeting this season.

San Jose (26-20-2-3-57 points) drew first blood late in the opening frame. Cuda goalie Gabriel Carriere sent a clearing attempt that ricochet of the left boards and trickled out to the neutral zone. Thomas Bordeleau gathered the puck, raced down the ice on a breakaway, his second of the period, and glided the puck past Condor’s goalie Olivier Rodrigue through his five-hole with a backhander for his 12th goal of the season at the 15:27 mark.

“Yeah, I wasn’t missing twice,” said Bordeleau when asked about his second breakaway chance. “I just got what the goalie gave me really and I just didn’t have time to roof it. So, I thought the five-hole was going to be a really good option.”

Bakersfield (21-19-6-3-51 points) came within inches of evening the game up while on the power play. However, Carriere made a glove hand save while sprawled down in the crease, robbing an open net chance by notorious Cuda killer Seth Griffith.

“I just kinda just tried to get something over there and luckily it ended up going in my glove. But I was trying to cover as much (ground) as possible,” Carriere said.

The Condors scored the equalizer with 17.6 seconds left in the first 20 minutes. Phil Kemps initial shot was saved by Carriere, but the rebound popped up and was batted in out of midair by Alex Swetlikoff, who was uncontested in front of the crease, for his third goal of the season.

Bakersfield gained its first lead of the game with a five-on-three power play goal late in the second period. With Braden Hache and Luca Cagnoni taking penalties 27 seconds apart, Connor Carrick beat Carriere with a wrist shot to the glove side for his 11th goal of the season at the 13:45 mark. Carrick has scored in four straight games against the Barracuda and has eight points during that stretch. Griffith who picked up the primary assist, now has 43 points in 39 games against San Jose.

“Obvious (we took) a lot of penalties, a lot of penalty kill. It disrupted the flow of the game. And then yeah we gotta take care of the puck better in our own slot…It was an important game for us and I would have liked to have had more of a team wide investment in the game. I didn’t think everybody was into it,” Barracuda head coach John McCarthy said.

San Jose evened the game to start the third period while on a continuation power play from the second period. Cagnoni fed a pass down low to Rem Pitlick near the right boards. Pitlick found Danil Gushchin along the goal line and the Russian forward snuck a wrist shot just inside the right post for his 16th goal of the season 34 seconds in.

The Barracuda’s puck management was poorly managed for the majority of the final frame as they weren’t able to get Carriere off of the ice for an extra attacker until there was under 30 seconds left and never had a good scoring chance at the end of the game for the equalizer.

Rodrigue (15-11-6-1) finished the game stopping 16 of the 18 shots to earn his 15th win of the season. Carriere (4-4-0), who arguably was the Cuda’s best player on the ice, had a busy night and kept San Jose in the game for the entire 60 minutes made 37 saves on 40 shots in the losing battle.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished the game 1-for-3 on the power play. Bakersfield went 1-for-6.

Colin White played in his 100 career AHL game.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Wright (1G,0A) 2) Gushchin (1G,0A) 3) Carrick (1G,0A).

UP NEXT: San Jose continues its four-game homestand with a weekend series against the Henderson Silver Knights on Saturday 3/1 at 6:00pm at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose Barracuda forward Danil Gushchin celebrates along the ‘Cuda bench one of his two goals during the Barracuda’s 5-3 win over the Tucson Roadrunners at Tech CU Arena on Saturday FEB 8, 2025. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Danil Gushchin scored two goals and came within a crossbar of a hat trick as the San Jose Barracuda defeated the Tucson Roadrunners 5-3 on Saturday afternoon at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose split the series with their Pacific Division rival and has won three out of its past five games. The ‘Cuda picked up points in six games of their seven game homestand. Tucson has lost nine of its past 10 games.

San Jose (24-14-2-3-53 points) drew first blood just past the halfway point of the first period. Danil Gushchin dropped a back pass over to Braden Hache at the Roadrunners blueline. Hache wrist shot from the point was redirected by Filip Bystedt past Roadrunners goalie Matthew Villalta for his eighth goal of the season at the 10:55 mark.

Bystedt snapped a season long 13-game goal-less draught. This was Hache’s first game with the ‘Cuda since being called up from the Wichita Thunder as he made his home debut.

Tucson (20-20-2-1-43 points) answered back late in the opening frame with an even strength goal. Egor Sokolov won a battle along the left boards. He centered the puck over to Hunter Drew who rang a shot off of the post. The rebound came right to the tape of Sokolov who buried the puck into an open net past ‘Cuda goalie Georgi Romanov for his 15th goal of the season at the 18:08 mark.

The Barracuda regained the lead with 14.8 seconds remaining in the first 20 minutes. Thomas Bordeleau threaded a needle of a pass up to a wide-open Gushchin in between the faceoff circles. Gushchin made a move in before lifting the puck over the glove of Villalta for his 10th goal of the season.

The Roadrunners evened it up at two early in the second period. Max Szuber kept the puck inside the Barracuda zone and was able to push it up to Cameron Hebig along the left boards. Hebig skated in and pinpointed a wrist shot off the far side post and past Romanov for his team leading 17th goal of the season at the 4:31 mark.

Gushchin gave the ‘Cuda its third lead of the game with a power play goal. Luca Cagnoni found Gushchin along the left slot. Gushchin skated in before firing a wrist shot top shelf to the glove side for second goal of the game and 11th of the season at the 12:02 mark.

Gushchin thought he scored his third straight goal of the game with 1:11 remaining in the middle frame when he beat Villalta with a wrist shot after receiving a rink wide pass from Bordeleau after Colin White made a drop pass to Bordeleau. The call on the ice was called a goal by the officials. However, after a very lengthy video review it was determined the puck caromed off the crossbar.

White returned to the Barracuda after being placed on waivers yesterday by the San Jose Sharks.

In the third period the Barracuda held down the fort and shut out the Roadrunners the rest of the contest. White iced the game for San Jose when he scored an empty netter after Tucson pulled Villalta for an extra attacker. White’s sixth goal was scored at the 17:38 mark.

Cardwell completed the scoring for San Jose with an empty goal at the 18:47 mark, his sixth goal of the season. White picked up the only assist on the play to complete a three-point game.

Lleyton Moore scored his sixth goal of the season with 1.2 seconds left in the contest to close out the game’s scoring.

Romanov (10-6-3) finished the game stopping 25 of the 28 shots he faced to earn his 10th victory of the season and snap a three-game winless streak. Villalta (10-15-3-3) made 35 saves on 38 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 1-for-2 on the power play. Tucson went 0-for-1.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Gushchin (2G, 1A) 2) White (1G, 2A) 3) Bordeleau (OG, 2A).

UP NEXT: San Jose starts a four-game road trip on Tuesday 2/11 against the Colorado Eagles at 6:05pm at Blue Fcu Arena.

Tucson Roadrunner defenseman Montana Onyebuchi goes toe to toe with San Jose Barracuda forward Scott Sabourin during a fight at center ice at Tech CU Arena on Friday FEB 7, 2025. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Sammy Walker had an impressive debut for the Tucson Roadrunners.

Walker scored four points and was involved in every goal as his team overcame a two-goal deficit for a 4-3 comeback victory over the San Jose Barracuda on Friday evening at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose has lost two games in a row. Tucson snapped its season worst eight-game losing streak.

Walker, who was picked up off of waivers by the Utah Hockey Club after being released by the Minnesota Wild, was assigned to Tucson on Monday after the AHL All-Star break.

A scoreless first period featured a heavyweight bout of a fight between each team’s respective enforcers, San Jose’s Scott Sabourin and former Cuda defenseman Montana Onyebuchi at the 8:51 mark. Tucson (20-19-2-1-43 points) outshot San Jose 13-7 in the opening frame that featured the Barracuda killing a double minor for high sticking by Joey Keane.

‘Cuda goalie Yaroslav Askarov, who made his first start with San Jose since being sent back down by the parent team Sharks, was the ‘Cuda’s best penalty killer during the first 20 minutes of the game.

San Jose (23-14-2-3-51 points) drew first blood early in the second period. A shot attempt by Ethan Cardwell was blocked by Onyebuchi. The puck pinballed in a sea of traffic in front of the crease before leaking out to Thomas Bordeleau who snapped home a wrist shot past Roadrunners goalie Jackson Stauber for his eighth goal of the season at the 1:55 mark.

The Barracuda doubled their lead with a power play goal exactly six minutes later. Ethan Cardwell sent a pass back up to the point to Luca Cagnoni. The rookie defenseman weaved his way between two Roadrunners defenders before finding Pavol Regenda in front of the crease. Regenda walked around Stauber before depositing the puck into an open net for his first goal in a ‘Cuda uniform and fifth of the season at the 7:55 mark.

The Roadrunners cut the Barracuda lead in half with a power play goal on its fifth attempt. Ben McCarthy made a drop pass back up to the point to Robbie Russo. The veteran defenseman whipped a wrist shot past a screened Askarov for his first goal of the season at the 17:09 mark.

Tucson scored its second power play of the game just 30 seconds later as San Jose continued its undisciplined parade to the penalty box. Egor Sokolov found Sammy Walker down low in front of the crease. Walker cleaned up his own rebound for his first goal in a Roadrunners uniform and third of the season at the 17:39 mark.

Walker picked up the primary assist on the Roadrunners third unanswered goal to start the third period. Walker skated down the right wing before centering pass over to Austin Poganski who buried a one-timer top shelf past Askarov for his 10th goal of the season 16 seconds into the period to give Tucson their first lead of the game.

San Jose responded with the equalizer just over three minutes later. A shot from the point by Lucas Vanroboys caromed off the back boards and off the pad of Stauber. Brandon Coe, who crashed the net, tapped the puck into an empty net for his third goal of the season at the 3:42 mark.

Tucson regained the lead near the halfway mark of the period. On a counterattack, Curtis Douglas from the right-wing boards slung a pass in front of the crease that caromed off the skate of Walker for what proved to be the game winning goal, his second goal of the game and fourth of the season, at the 9:07 mark.

Stauber (7-5-0) finished the game stopping 26 of the 29 shots he faced to earn his seventh win of the season in just his 12th start. Askarov (9-5-1-3) didn’t deserve the hard luck loss as he made 30 saves on 34 shots.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 1-for-4 on the power play. Tucson went 2-for-6.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Walker (2G, 2A) 2) Coe (1G, 1A) 3) Cardwell (0G, 2A).

UP NEXT: San Jose and Tucson conclude their two-game weekend series on Saturday 2/8 at 2:00pm at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose Barracuda defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin (#85) delivers a shot in front of the crease while Henderson Silver Knights goaltender Akira Schmid (#40) does his best to keep the puck out of the net at Tech CU Arena on Friday JAN 31, 2025. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Luca Cagnoni scored a power play goal in the third period to break a third period deadlock as the San Jose Barracuda defeated the Henderson Silver Knights 6-2 on Friday evening at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose has won three out of their last four games. Henderson has lost two games in a row after winning five of its past six games.

Cagnoni’s game winning goal was set up by Collin Graf just past the halfway mark of the third period. Graf sent the puck back up to the point. Cagnoni made a move around a Silver Knights defender and skated down the left wing before burying a wrist shot top shelf to the far corner for his 11th of the season at the 10:43 mark.

San Jose Sharks goaltender Vitek Vanecek made his first ever start in a ‘Cuda uniform as the Sharks sent home down for a conditioning assignment. Vaneck is recovering from a fractured cheekbone, an injury he sustained back on December 17th, 2024, when a puck sailed on to the bench striking him in the face.

San Jose (23-13-2-2-50 points) drew first blood early in the first period. Danil Gushchin had a shot attempt blocked in front of the crease. Filip Bystedt picked up the puck and made a backhand pass out to the right wing over to Gushchin who beat Silver Knights goalie Akira Schmid with a one-timer to the short side for his ninth goal of the season at the 2:56 mark.

Gushchin has scored in back-to-back games as Bystedt recorded his 13th assist of the season.

Henderson (14-27-2-0-30 points) scored the equalizer just past the halfway point of the opening frame thanks to a turnover by San Jose inside the Silver Knights zone. Jake Furlong was pickpocketed by Mason Morelli at the blueline. Morelli raced down the left wing on an odd man rush. The Silver Knight forward beat Vanecek to the glove side with a wrist shot for an unassisted goal, his eighth of the season at the 10:46 mark

The Silver Knights gained it first and only lead of the game after a faceoff win inside the ‘Cuda zone. Kai Uchacz won a battle behind the net and fed the puck back up to the point over to Jake Bischoff. The Silver Knight defenseman used a screen in front of the crease by Gage Quinney to beat Vanecek with a wrist shot for his third goal of the season at the 12:20 mark.

Barracuda defenseman Luca Cagnoni was injured in the first period when a puck hit him just under the visor. Cagnoni was able to walk off on his own power back to the locker room. He returned to the bench with 2:38 remaining in the opening 20 minutes.

San Jose tied it up early in the second period with an even strength goal. Shakir Mukhamadullin found Tristen Robins up ice in the neutral zone. Robins beat two Silver Knights defenders up the middle before depositing a backhander past Schmid for his sixth goal of the season at the 3:44 mark.

Robins, who has 10 points in his last 11 games, snapped a six-game goal-less draught.

Mukhamadullin, who was hurt temporarily injured when Morelli boarded him into the end boards that drew the penalty that led to Cagnoni’s ensuing goal, set up an insurance goal for the Barracuda under two minutes later. Mukhamadullin’s shot from the point was redirected by Anthony Vincent for his seventh goal of the season at the 12:01 mark. Vincent has also scored in back-to-back games.

San Jose put the game away with two goals in the final two minutes of the contest. Graf walked in on a breakaway for an empty net goal, his eighth of the season, at the 18:15 mark. Then Lucas Carlsson completed the scoring when he finished off a pass from Pavol Regenda for his eighth goal of the season with 1:07 remaining in the contest.

Vanecek (1-0-0) picked up his first win in a Barracuda uniform by stopping 22 of the 24 shots he faced. Schmid (6-15-1) made 34 saves on 39 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 1-for-3 on the power play. Henderson went 0-for-2.

MILESTONES: Barracuda forward Scott Sabourin played in his 500th AHL game. His family dropped the ceremonial first puck before the game. San Jose defenseman Ethan Frisch played in his 100th AHL game.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Graf (1G,1A) 2) Mukhamadullin (0G, 3A) 3) Regenda (0G, 2A).

UP NEXT: San Jose and Henderson conclude their two-game weekend series on Saturday 2/1 at 6:00pm at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose Barracuda forward Lucas Vanroboys (#67) and goalie Gabriel Carriere (#35) celebrate their team’s 4-2 victory over the Toronto Marlies on the ice after the final whistle at Tech CU Arena on Sunday JAN 26, 2025. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Barracuda learned a lesson from yesterday’s defeat. They held down the fort at the end of the game for a 4-2 victory over the Toronto Marlies on Sunday afternoon at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose split the weekend series and have won two of its past three games. Toronto had its four-game winning streak snapped with the series split.

The opening 20 minutes featured a scoreless period. San Jose (22-13-2-2-48 points) had three power play opportunities but weren’t able to cash in on them as the Marlies penalty kill led by goalie Artur Akhtyamov kept the Barracuda off the board.

Toronto (22-11-2-3-49 points) only registered nine shots on goal as they were busy killing penalties. A couple of giveaways inside San Jose’s zone on the same led to two quality chances by Toronto, but ‘Cuda goalie Gabriel Carriere held his ground and made stops on both opportunities.

San Jose drew first blood near the halfway point of the second period with an even strength goal. Lucas Vanroboys intercepted a clearing attempt out of the Marlies zone by Nicolas Mattinen. Vanroboys found Anthony Vincent in the slot and Vincent’s shot deflected off of a stick and floated over the shoulder of Akhtyamov for his sixth goal of the season at the 8:40 mark.

The Barracuda doubled its lead late in the middle frame. Ethan Cardwell led an odd man rush up the ice with newly acquired Pavol Regenda. Cardwell’s intended pass caromed off of Regenda and then off of Cardwell’s skate as the puck went underneath Akhtyamov into the back of the net. After video review it was determined a good goal, Cardwell’s fifth of the season at the 15:05 mark. Regenda was credited with the primary assist, his first point in a Cuda uniform.

Toronto cut San Jose’s lead in half two minutes into the third period. Robert Mastrosimone picked off the puck off of Shakir Mukhamudullin’s stick and raced down the ice. Mastrosimone blasted a slapshot past Carriere for his fifth goal, unassisted, of the season at the 2:11 mark.

San Jose regained its two-goal lead just over a minute later. Danil Gushchin’s breakaway attempt was stoned aside by Akhtyamov. Thomas Bordeleau intercepted a pass off a Marlie’s defender. Bordeleau quickly passed it back to Tristen Robins creating a two-on-one with Gushchin. Robins made the cross ice pass over to Gushchin who buried a one-timer past Akhtyamov for his eighth goal of the season at the 3:48 mark.

Once again, the Marlies made it a one-goal game with an even strength goal just under three minutes later. A shot from the point by Matt Benning was redirected by Joseph Blandisi for his eighth goal of the season at the 6:53 mark. Blandisi scored two goals in the weekend series against San Jose.

Collin Graf ended any chance of a second straight comeback for Toronto when he scored an empty net goal on a two-on-zeor with Robins for his seventh goal of the season with 36 seconds remaining in the contest.

Carriere (3-1-0) finished the game stopping 23 of the 25 shots he faced to earn his third win of the season. Akhtyamov made 23 saves on 26 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 0-for-5 on the power play. Toronto went 0-for-3.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Gushchin (1G,OA) 2) Poturalski (0G, 2A) 3) Cardwell (1G, 0A).

UP NEXT: San Jose continues its five-game homestand with a weekend series with the Henderson Silver Knights on Friday 1/31 at 7:30pm at Tech CU Arena.

Toronto Marlies center Joesph Blandisi toppled over San Jose Barracuda winger Thomas Bordeleau during the Marlies 3-2 win over the Barracuda at Tech CU Arena on Saturday JAN 25, 2025. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Logan Shaw scored the game winning goal on the power play a minute into overtime to give the Toronto Marlies a 4-3 victory over the San Jose Barracuda on Saturday afternoon at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose have lost three out of their last four games. Toronto has won four games in a row.

Shaw cleaned up the rebound off of an Alex Steeves shot from the left slot for his fifth goal of the season at the 1:05 mark of the overtime period that completed a comeback for the Marlies who were down 2-0 after the opening 20 minutes.

Toronto (22-10-2-3-49 points), who made its first ever trip to the South Bay, had the game’s first scoring opportunity when Jimmy Schuldt went into the sinbin for hooking at the 11:20 mark of the first period. ‘Cuda goalie Georgi Romanov and San Jose’s penalty kill kept the Marlies off the board.

San Jose (21-13-2-2-46 points) took advantage of their power play opportunity three minutes later as they drew first blood. Danil Gushchin sent a pass out to Collin White that bounced off of him over to Andrew Poturalski and he blasted a one-timer top shelf past Marlies’ goalie Dennis Hildeby for his team leading 18th goal of the season at the 16:12 mark.

It was also the Barracuda captain’s team leading eighth power play goal of the season that has him tied for second place in the AHL.

The Barracuda doubled its lead early in the second period just after its second power play opportunity had expired. Ethan Cardwell sent a pass to the net from the left boards that deflected off of Tristen Robins. A crashing Jack Thompson cleaned up the rebound into an open net for his second goal of the season at the 1:44 mark. Thompson has scored in back-to-back games for San Jose.

Toronto cut San Jose’s lead in half with an even strength goal late in the middle frame. Off a faceoff win, Joseph Blandisi skated around up to before finding Alex Steeves along the right slot and the Marlie winger rifled home a slap shot past Romanov for his team leading 22nd goal of the season at the 12:18 mark.

The Marlies scored the equalizer with 1:25 left in the period after a clean faceoff win that mirrored their first goal. Logan Shaw won the faceoff back up to the slot and Nick Abruzzese lasered a one-timer to top shelf to the far post that Romanov never saw for his 10th goal of the season.

“Yeah, I thought we got in trouble turning over pucks in the neutral zone. They were able to get back in it. And then at the end we had a shot. I liked our resiliency to come back with the goalie out on the PK actually. Obviously, the penalty caught up to us in overtime,” ‘Cuda head coach John McCarthy said.

Toronto gained its first lead of the game a second after its power play opportunity expired early in the third period. After killing off the majority of a double-minor penalty by Marshall Rifai, the Marlies gained momentum and drew a penalty against Donovan Houle.

The Cuda failed to clear the puck out of its own zone with seconds left on the minor to Houle. Zach Solow sent a pass toward the middle of the crease and Blandisi redirected the puck past Romanov for his seventh goal of the season at the 6:22 mark.

Jimmy Schuldt sent the game to overtime when he scored the equalizer with 14 seconds left in the period, a short-handed goal, when his shot from the left boards deflected off of a Marlies defender’s skate in the crease and into the back of the net for his fourth goal of the season.

Hildeby (5-2-2-1) finished the game stopping 30 of the 33 shots he faced to earn his fifth victory of the season. Romanov (9-7-1) made 26 saves on 30 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 1-for-5 on the power play. Toronto went 0-for-4.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Shaw (1G, 1A) 2) Blandisi (1G, 1A) 3) Abruzzese (1G).

UP NEXT: San Jose and Toronto conclude their two-game weekend series on Sunday 1/26 at 2:00pm at Tech CU Arena.