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San Jose Barracuda goalie Yaroslav Askarov enjoyed the moment when the fans threw stuffed animals on to the ice during the annual Teddy Bear Toss Game at Tech CU Arena on Saturday DEC 7, 2024. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Barracuda has accomplished something they could not do at all last season. Defeat the Coachella Valley Firebirds twice in one season.

Lucas Vanroboys scored the only goal in the game as Cuda goalie Yaroslav Askarov made 36 saves en route to a 1-0 shutout victory over their Pacific Division rival from the desert on Saturday evening at Tech CU Arena.

Askarov (8-3-1-2) earned his third shutout of the season and lowered his goals against average to 1.75.

“It was kind of a slow start from us and after we just got better and better by the minute…It’s always fun to win the game, it’s even better when it’s a shutout too,” Askarov said.

San Jose has won four of its last five games. Coachella Valley has lost four of its past five games.

It was the annual Teddy Bear Toss Night at Tech CU Arena where fans threw stuffed animals on to the ice after the first goal is scored by the home team.

The fourth line magic continued for San Jose (13-6-0-1) late in the first period. Lucas Carlson picked the pocket of a Firebirds defenseman inside their own zone. Carlson set up Scott Sabourin in the slot. Sabourin’s shot was stopped but not controlled by Firebirds goalie Ales Stezka. Vanroboys became the hero of the night when he tapped in his second rebound chance into an empty net for his fifth goal of the season at the 17:26 mark.

“That was a good game,” said Vanroboys. “It kind of felt like a playoff game, good crowd today which was awesome. It was two good teams going at it.”

The game was delayed as thousands of teddy bears rained down on the ice from the 3,208 fans in attendance. It began the first intermission as the teams headed into their locker rooms while the Barracuda staff cleaned up all the stuffed animals off of the ice. The teams returned to the ice to play out the final 2:34 of the opening frame before starting the second period.

Coachella Valley (11-7-1-2) controlled play for the first eight minutes of the opening frame but weren’t able to get a puck past Askarov despite registering 12 shots on goal with multiple scoring chances.

The scoreless middle frame featured the Firebirds outshooting the Barracuda by a two-to-one margin, 14-7. Despite having two power play opportunities, Coachella Valley were kept off the board by Askarov and San Jose’s penalty kill.

“As far as the game went, I thought we did a lot of good things. And then there were sometimes where I felt we got really hemmed in. But I felt like we really buckled down and kind of came together as a group and figured it out,” Cuda head coach John McCarthy said.

San Jose held down the fort in the scoreless third period. Firebirds coach Derke Laxdal pulled Stezka with 3:26 remaining in the game to give Coachella Valley a full two-minute of six on four as Ethan Frisch went to the sinbin for tripping. It was all for not as the Firebirds left the building frustrated with a goose egg as they fell behind two points in the standings to the Barracuda.

Stezka (5-7-2) made 29 saves on 30 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 0-for-2 on the power play. Coachella Valley was 0-for-4.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Askarov 2) Vanroboys 3) Carlson.

UP NEXT: San Jose and Coachella Valley conclude their two-game weekend series on Sunday 12/8 at 3:00pm at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose Barracuda forward Anthony Vincent (#76) battles with Calgary Wranglers defenseman Jerrod Tinordi (#26) after the whistle during the Wranglers 6-2 win over the Barracuda at Tech CU Arena on Saturday Nov 16, 2024. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — The Calgary Wranglers scored four unanswered goals to cruise past the San Jose Barracuda in a 6-2 victory on Saturday evening at Tech CU Arena.

Calgary has won two games in a row and remained undefeated on the road with a 5-0 record. San Jose had its two-game winning streak snapped and lost for the just the second time at home.

San Jose (8-5-0) drew first blood in the with Danil Gushchin first goal of the season 90 seconds into the game. Cuda captain Andrew Poturalski started a counterattack over to Colin Graf. Graf led a two-on-one into the Wranglers zone. Graf threw a rink wide pass over to Gushchin who made a move fore-hand to backhand as he beat Wranglers goalie and former San Jose Sharks prospect Devin Cooley with a top shelf goal.

Calgary (12-3-0) had a strong finish to the opening frame with two goals in a span of 2:27 to close out the first period with a 2-1 lead. First, William Stromgren led a 3-on-1 rush inside the Barracuda zone. Walker Duehr made a back handed pass to Jonathan Aspirot who buried the puck into an open net for his first goal of the season at the 16:32 mark.

Then Duehr was on the receiving end of a centering pass from Dryden Hunt and Duehr blasted a one-timer past ‘Cuda goalie Yaroslav Askarov for a power play goal, his ninth goal of the season at the 18:59 mark.

The Wranglers kept their foot on the gas pedal to start the second period as they scored their third goal within two minutes to start the period. A turnover by the Barracuda inside their own zone led to Rory Kerins lifting a backhander from just outside the crease past Askarov for his team-leading 11th goal of the season at the 1:49 mark.

Calgary scored its fourth unanswered goal just before the sixth minute mark of the middle frame. Stromgren maneuvered around three ‘Cuda defenders before finding Sam Morton who redirected Stromgren’s pass into the short corner of the net for his third goal of the season at the 5:54 mark.

Gushchin scored his second goal of the game and season with San Jose having pulled Askarov for an extra attacker late in the third period. Graf slid a pass over from the left slot to Gushchin who beat Cooley to the short side with a wrist shot 2:21 remaining in the game.

Adam Klapka and David Silye added empty net goals to seal the deal for Calgary. Klapka scored his fourth goal of the season at the 18:28 mark and Silye his first goal of the season at the 19:10 mark.

Cooley (9-2-0-3) stopped 31 of the 33 shots he faced to earn his ninth victory of the season. Askarov made 19 saves on 23 shots in the losing effort.

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

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Duehr 2) Gushchin 3) Morton.

UP NEXT: San Jose and Calgary conclude their two-games series on Sunday at 3:00pm at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose Barracuda winger Tristen Robins (#52) sends a shot on goal as he scored two goals during his team’s 5-3 win over the Colorado Eagles at Tech CU Arena on Sunday NOV 10, 2024. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE–The streak is over!

Tristen Robins scored two goals to help the San Jose Barracuda defeat the Colorado Eagles 5-3 on Sunday afternoon at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose snapped two streaks as it split the weekend series with the Eagles. They snapped their season long three-game losing streak and 12-game losing streak to their Pacific Division rival. Colorado left Tech CU Arena with losing two of its past three games.

After failing to finish the game the night before against Colorado, San Jose had a chip on its shoulder as they got off to a strong start in the opening frame. The fourth line got things rolling with an even strength goal early in the first period.

Robins led a rush inside the Eagles zone. A centering attempt by Justin Bailey hit off of Keaton Middleton. Donovan Houle picked up the puck and snapped home a wrist shot to the near corner past Eagles goalie Trent Miner for his third goal of the season at the 6:34 mark.

The Barracuda doubled its lead just past the halfway mark with an even strength goal. Andrew Poturalski found Ethan Frisch along the right point. Frisch skated in from the right wing and ripped an identical shot to Houle’s as it went top shelf in the near corner for his second goal of the season at the 11:56 mark.

Colorado cut the Cuda lead in half just under two minutes later. Middleton’s centering pass from the left wing caromed off a sea of traffic in the middle of the crease. Oskar Olausson picked up the loose puck in the middle and buried a wrist shot past Barracuda goalie Georgi Romanov for his third goal of the season at the 13:33 mark.

Both team traded power play goals in the second period that saw the physicality pick up as each team drew two penalties in the middle 20 minutes.

San Jose regained its two-goal lead with its first power play goal of the game after Poturalski finished off a tic-tac-toe goal. Collin Graf sent a pass back up to the point to Luca Cagnoni who made a touch pass down low to Poturalski beat Miner with a wrist shot while falling to his knees for his team leading seventh goal of the season at the 9:07 mark.

Then Colorado scored their power play goal late in the middle frame. Jake Wise set up Jean-Luc Foudy in the left slot and Foudy snapped home a wrist shot past Romanov for his first goal of the season at the 13:56 mark. It was the first goal San Jose’s penalty kill has given a goal down five-on-four. The two other power play goals given up this season were when the Cuda were down 5-on-3.

Robins took over the third period as he scored both of his goal in the final frame. His first came with the Barracuda on the man advantage. Shakir Mukhamadullin found Robins down low in the right slot. Robins skated in and fired a wrist shot that pinballed off of Miner and Jack Ahcan into the back of the net for his second goal of the season at the 2:59 mark.

Robins iced the game for San Jose with 5:36 remaining in the game with his second goal. Brandon Coe got down low inside the Eagles zone. Coe sent a back pass up to the point over to Robins. The veteran forward skated in from the left slot and lasered a wrist shot to the upper right corner of the net for his third goal of the season.

Ahcan completed the scoring as Colorado pulled Miner for an extra attacker. Matthew Phillips centered a pass over to Achan who beat Romanov to the glove side with a wrist shot for his first goal of the season at the 16:22 mark.

Romanov (2-2) stopped 31 of the 34 shots he faced to earn his second win of the season. Miner (3-2-1) made 25 saves on 30 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 2-for-5 on the power play. Colorado went 1-for-5.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Robins 2) Poturalski 3) Romanov.

UP NEXT: San Jose continues its five-game homestand when they host the San Diego Gulls on Wednesday 11/13 at 7:00pm at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose forward Danil Gushchin (#75) shoots a puck on net as Colorado Eagles defenseman Keaton Middleton (#67) tries to block the shot at Tech CU Arena on Saturday NOV 9, 2024. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

The Colorado Eagles scored two goals late in the third period for a 3-2 comeback victory over the San Jose Barracuda on Saturday evening at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose have lost three games in a row for the first time this season. Colorado has won four of its last five games and 12th straight versus San Jose.

“We were in control of the game and then a couple of miscues (that led to the two goals) and that’s how fast it can happen. I would have like for us to have capitalized on our chances we had earlier and put ourselves in better position. But we gotta learn how to close out games,” Barracuda head coach John McCarthy said.

Colorado (6-4) drew first blood late in the first period. A stretch pass from Jayson Megna made its way up the ice to Jere Innala at the Barracuda blueline. Innala set up Mattew Phillips who made a move around Cuda goalie Yaroslav Askarov, and his shot deflected off Ethan Frisch into the back of the net for his fourth goal of the season at the 12:35 mark.

San Jose (6-4) responded just under two minutes later with a power play goal. From the point Danil Gushchin set up Andrew Poturalski with a pass in the left slot. Poturalski made one toward the net before firing a wrist shot past Eagles goalie Kevin Mandolese short side for his team leading sixth goal of the season at the 14:28 mark. Luca Cagnoni picked up the secondary assist.

Gushchin earned his 100th career AHL point with the primary assist on Poturalski’s goal.

There was no scoring during the second period. It was a period where the physicality picked up as both teams were throwing the body around both legally and illegally. Colorado had one full power play opportunity while each team had an abbreviated power play. San Jose had a slight edge in shots in the middle frame 12-11.

San Jose gained its first lead of the game near the midway point of the third period thanks to a nice individual effort by Collin Graf. Poturalski sent a rink wide pass from his own zone up to Graf at the Eagles blueline. Graf skated in, cut to the right as he deked out an Eagles defender and rifled a wrist shot top shelf to the far corner for his fourth goal of the season at the 8:59 mark.

“I just wanted to use my speed and push them back,” Graf reminisced. “Obviously I wanted to shoot some more pucks personally today, so I decided to shoot, and good things happened.”

Colorado scored the equalizer thanks to a turnover by the Cuda in the neutral zone. Innala collected the puck near the right boards and fired a backdoor pass over to an unmarked Megna who buried a one-timer past Askarov for his fourth goal of the season at the 13:01 mark.

The Eagles scored the game winning goal exactly four minutes later. Wyatt Aamodt’s shot from the point hit off of Jack Ahcan. Jake Wise collected the puck just in front of the crease and poked it over to Ty Felhaber who beat Askarov with a backhander for his third goal of the season at the 17:01 mark.

Mandolese (3-1) stopped 37 of the 39 shots he faced to earn his third victory on the season. Askarov (5-2) made 24 saves on 27 shots in the losing effort and has lost back-to-back games for the first time this season.

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

Barracuda forward Tristen Robins made his home debut after missing the past seven games with an upper body injury.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Megna 2) Poturalski 3) Felhaber.

UP NEXT: San Jose and Colorado conclude their two-game weekend series on Sunday 11/10 at 3:00pm at Tech CU Arena.