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Bains late game heroics give the Pacific Division a 3-2 win over the Atlantic in AHL All-Star Challenge

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Players from the AHL’s Pacific Division celebrate their 3-2 win over the Atlantic Division in the championship game of the 2024 AHL All-Star Challenge at Tech CU Arena on Monday FEB, 5, 2024. (Titus Wilkinson-Sports Radio Service)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — The night belonged to the host division in the host city.

Arshdeep Bains scored the game winning goal with 12.9 seconds remaining in the first period to give the Pacific Division a 3-2 victory over the Atlantic Division in the championship game of the 2024 AHL All-Star Challenge on Monday evening at Tech CU Arena.

Bains, the Abbotsford Canucks forward, came loose on a breakaway down the right boards and beat Hersey Bears goalie Clay Stevenson with a wrist shot to the near corner for the game winning goal to send the pro-Pacific Division sold out crowd into a frenzy.

“It was fun,” said Bains regarding his first AHL All-Star experience. “When you have guys that are of this caliber and they’re competing, it gets really special. I know it a privilege to be here, so it was awesome that I was able to do it.”

Bains finished the night with two goals and three assists and earned All-Star Challenge Most Valuable Player honors, a day after travel delays had caused him to miss the Skills Competition on Sunday evening. The Surrey, BC native led all scorers with five points (two goals, three assists) in the round-robin tournament, a series of 3-on-3 games played among the AHL’s four divisions.

“You never forget your first one and to do it here (in San Jose) was special. (There were) a lot of guys I kind of knew so just being able to spend time with guys that I play against and play against guys I don’t get to play against on the other side was really nice and it’s a great city,” Bains said.

Calgary Wranglers goalie and Gilroy, Calif. native Dustin Wolf earned the victory for the Pacific Division as he recorded one saves on two shots in the final 3:04 as he subbed in for Tucson Roadrunners goalie Matt Villalta who started the championship game.

“Yeah, it was awesome,” said Wolf who had close to 10 family members and friends who watched him perform from the stands. “These are events that you look forward to coming to. It worked out, it was a Cinderella ending to give the Pacific (Division) the win on the West coast.”

San Jose Barracuda defenseman and lone representative for the All-Star Challenge Shakir Mukhamadullin had quite the night. The Russian rookie scored the tying goal against the Atlantic Division in one of the round robin games with seven seconds forcing the second shootout for the Pacific Division. He then set up Wrangler forward Matt Coronado with a spinning highlight reel back pass for the equalizer goal at the 3:38 mark of the first period in the championship game.

“It’s really good the fans love hockey; they love the players. They come to every game and get loud. It’s really nice the reaction they gave me,” Mukhamadullin said.

Other highlights of the night included, Adam Gaudette of the Springfield Thunderbirds, the AHL’s co-leader with 24 goals this season, scored three times for the Atlantic Division. The Chicago Wolves’ Rocco Grimaldi and the Manitoba Moose’s Brad Lambert recorded two goals and two assists each for the Central Division, and Angus Crookshank of the Belleville Senators led the North Division with a pair of goals.

The Iowa Wild’s Jesper Wallstedt led all goaltenders with an .833 save percentage on the evening, stopping 15 of 18 shots.

The 2024 AHL All-Star Challenge featured 24 former first- or second-round NHL draft picks, and 28 players who have skated in the National Hockey League already this season.

2024 AHL All-Star Challenge Results
Game 1 – North Division 1, Pacific Division 1 (SO, tie)
Game 2 – Central Division 4, Atlantic Division 1
Game 3 – North Division 3, Central Division 2 (SO)
Game 4 – Atlantic Division 2, Pacific Division 2 (SO, tie)
Game 5 – Atlantic Division 6, North Division 1
Game 6 – Pacific Division 4, Central Division 3 (SO)
Championship – Pacific Division 3, Atlantic Division 2

UP NEXT: The San Jose Barracuda return to action on Friday 2/9 against the Bakersfield Condors at 7:00pm at Mechanics Bank Arena.

Western Conference takes down Eastern Conference in AHL All Star Skills Challenge 18-13

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San Jose Barracuda defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin acknowledges the crowd at Tech CU Arena during the Skill Challenge at the AHL All-Star Classic on Sunday FEB, 4, 2024. (Titus Wilkinson-Sports Radio Service)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — The West was the best in Silicon Valley.

The Western Conference defeated the Eastern Conference 18-13 in the Skills Challenge at the AHL All-Star Classic on a stormy Sunday evening at Tech CU Arena.

Despite the bad conditions outside, a packed arena witnessed the AHL’s best players showcase their skills in seven different events in a team competition where the teams were led by honorary captains; former Sharks defenseman Dan Boyle and former assistant coach Wayne Thomas.

Ontario rookie forward Brandt Clarke led the West as he beat his brother Graeme Clarke of the Utica Comets in an Inglasco Puck Control Relay heat to clinch the event for the West giving them a 5-2 lead after one event.

The Hersey Bears’ Ethen Frank won his second consecutive CCM Fastest Skater title with a time of 13.032 seconds; only his record-setting lap of 12.915 seconds in 2023 has been faster in the event’s history. Milwaukee Admirals’ Spencer Stastney came in second place with a time of 13:41. Texas Stars’ Matej Blumel had the best time for the West with a time of 13:64.

Cleveland Monsters’ goalie Jet Greaves won the Rapid Fire event as he stopped nine shots giving the East the victory in the competition. Bears’ goalie Clay Stevenson finished second with seven saves. Iowa Wild goalie Jesper Wallstedt gave the West’s best effort with six saves.

Colorado Eagles’ Riley Tufte won the CCM Hardest Shot contest with a blast of 100.9 MPH to edge out the Bears’ Dylan Mcllrath who fired a shot at 100.8 MPH. Bakersfield Condors’ Raphael Lavoie finished third with a shot of 99.7 MPH.

Clarke extended the West lead 7-4 when he went a perfect four-for-four in the Sharks Ice Accuracy Shooting event to win his second events of the evening. Clarke became the fifth AHL player ever to hit four targets in four attempts.

“My mentality at the start was not to mess up too hard. I didn’t want to go 0-for-8. I wanted to hit one, then hit the next one. Yeah, I just got into a rhythm, and it was good,” Clarke said.

The West finished off the East in the last event of the competition as they won the Upper Deck Breakaway Relay event. The highlight of the entire event, not just the relay event, for the hometown crown was the last shooter of the event, San Jose Barracuda’s Shakir Mukhamadullin scoring on his breakaway attempt to cap off a fun evening for the fans in attendance.

Mukhamadullin was not able to attend the Red Carpet or and was late to appear on the ice during the Skills Competition due to a delay in the Barracuda flying back from Abbotsford, British Colombia, Canada where they played the Canucks the night before. The ‘Cuda defenseman came on to the ice with a half hour remaining to a standing ovation from the crowd.

“It’s a good thing for me, I like when the fans get loud. I love the ‘Cuda fans and all the other fans, I thank you who came from other cities,” Mukhamadullin said.

The 2024 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Tech CU continues on Monday with the AHL Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Ceremony 11:00 am, featuring the enshrinement of Dennis Bonvie, Gordie Clark, Gerry Ehman and former Barracuda head coach, Roy Sommer, the winningest head coach in AHL history.

The league’s mid-season showcase wraps up Monday night at 6:00pm with the 2024 AHL All-Star Challenge, a round-robin tournament among the league’s four divisions played at 3-on-3.

Canucks over come two-goal deficit to upend Barracuda 3-2

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Abbotsford Canucks winger Danila Klimovich (#18) looks to shoot the puck past San Jose Barracuda forward Tanner Kaspick (#41) during the Canucks 3-2 win over the Barracuda at Abbotsford Centre on Saturday JAN 3, 2024. (Abbotsford Canucks)

by Marko Ukalovic

The San Jose Barracuda headed into the All-Star break on a losing note.

The Abbotsford Canucks scored three unanswered goals in the second period to overcome a two-goal deficit in 3-2 victory over its Pacific Division rival on Saturday evening at the Abbotsford Centre.

Abbotsford head into the break winning two of its last three games. San Jose headed into the break losing two of its past three games.

San Jose (14-22-7-0) drew first blood in the early in the first period with an even strength goal. Thomas Bordeleau’s wrist’s shot was redirected past Canucks goalie Nikita Tolopilo by Ethan Cardwell for his 13th goal of the season at the 4:55 mark.

The Barracuda doubled its lead near the halfway mark of the second period with a power play goal. Kyle Rau set up Cole Cassels from behind the net with a pass out to the slot and Cassels blasted a one timer past Tolopilo for his sixth goal of the season at the 9:15 mark.

Abbotsford (23-14-3-2) began their comeback with a 5-on-3 power play goal just over three minutes later. Linus Karlsson picked up a puck along the boards. The Swedish right winger skated in and fired a rocket past ‘Cuda goalie Georgi Romanov for his 10th goal of the season at the 12:52 mark.

The Canucks scored the equalizer late in the middle frame when former ‘Cuda defenseman Nick Cicek burned his ex-team. Arshdeep Bains found Cicek while falling down on the ice with a pass and Cicek beat Romanov with a wrist shot for his third goal of the season at the 18:32 mark.

Abbotsford made San Jose for its undisciplined play with its second power play goal with 12 seconds left in the period. Max Sasson scored a tic-tac-toe goal with a wrist shot from the slot for his 13th goal of the season.

San Jose failed to score the equalizer late in the third period as they ended the game short-handed when Ethan Frisch went to the sinbin for interference.

Tolopilo finished the game stopping 24 of the 26 shots he faced to earn the victory. Romanov made 19 saves on 22 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 1-for-3 on the power play. Abbotsford went 2-for-6.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Karlsson 2) Sasson 3) Cicek.

UP NEXT: San Jose hosts the AHL All-Star Classic at Tech CU Arena on Sunday 2/4 with the Skills Competition and Monday 2/5 with the All-Star Game.

Barracuda hold on to win first of back-to-backs against Abbotsford 2-1

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Photo courtesy of San Jose Barracuda.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

The Barracuda took on the Canucks in the first of back-to-backs on Friday night.

In goal for San Jose was Georgi Romanov who coming into this game had a 3-5-3 record with a 3.63 GAA and .889 SV%. While on the other side, it was Artūrs Šilovs who had a 13-7-5 record with a 2.86 GAA and a .901%.

A little over a minute into this one the Barracuda were given a great opportunity to get on the board due to high-sticking penalty against Abbotsford. However, the Canucks penalty kill did their job and kept them off the scoreboard.

Despite the power play not clicking San Jose would find the back of the net at 10:13 as Nathan Todd scored his 10th goal of the season.

The Barracuda continued to push and were able to extend their lead as Kyle Rau scored his third of the campaign against his former team giving them a solid two-goal lead. On the goal, Gannon Laroque got his first point of the season and only the second of his career in the AHL.

The middle frame saw neither team find the back of the net as defense and goaltending reigned supreme. There were two penalties in the period one against Ethan Frisch for hooking and the other against Jett Woo also for hooking.

Looking to hold on to their lead the Barracuda tried to clamp things down in their own end. They were able to do that until 16 minutes in when Marc Gatcomb scored his fifth of the season cutting San Jose’s lead down to one.

Things got stressful for the road team especially as Vancouver pulled Šilovs 16:56 into the period. Abbotsford was not able to do much with the extra man and San Jose held on to win 2-1 in what ended up being a very close game.

For Romanov it was a very good showing as he made 30 saves in what must have been a big confidence booster for him.

Both teams penalty kills also went perfect as San Jose killed off two while Abbotsford killed off three.

The Barracuda have to feel good about this win as historically they do not well against the Canucks as over the last five seasons they are 6-9-1-0.

This win also improves San Jose’s record to 14-21-7 while the Canucks fall to 22-14-3.

The three stars of the game were: 1st: Georgi Romanov 2nd: Tanner Caspick 3rd: Marc Gatcomb

San Jose will look to get one final win in tomorrow before they head back to San Jose for the all-star break.

That game will be on at 7 p.m. and will be against these same Canucks.

SJSU drops its fourth straight against #17 Utah State 82-61

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Photo courtesy of SJSU Athletics.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

San Jose kicked off their two-game road trip Tuesday taking on one of the best college basketball teams in the country Utah State.

Entering the game SJSU had quite the rough patch losing three in a row against Fresno State, New Mexico, and UNLV.

Things wouldn’t get much easier tonight having to battle the number 17-ranked Utah State on the road.

Despite the tough opponent San Jose State got off to a good start as they lead 13-7 at the 15:30 mark of the first half. This lead was mainly helped by back-to-back threes by Myron Amey Jr. and Trey Anderson.

They would hold on to that lead until 10:55 when Utah State took the lead on a three by Ian Martinez.

The first half continued to swing both ways until towards the end when the Aggies pulled away 37-30 to end the half.

The Spartans had to be somewhat happy with the first as they were hanging in with one of the better basketball teams in the country.

SJSU shot a respectable 36.7% from the field in the first half while Utah State shot an incredible 55.2%. On the flip side though the Aggies shot a dismal 16.7% from beyond the arch with SJSU doing only slightly better at 21.4%.

Once again the Spartans opened the half strong pulling only five points back from the Aggies. A sudden 12-0 run though by Utah State felt like all the home team needed to put SJSU away.

After that run things never really got close again leading Utah State to cruise to a 82-61 victory.

If there was anything in particular that doomed the Spartans it was their shooting beyond the arch as they went 5-23. Myron Amey Jr. continues to lead this team as he put up the most points tonight with 14 while also snagging seven rebounds.

On the other side of things, Great Osobor had a stellar night posting up 31 points against the Spartans and seven rebounds. Osobor also shot an outstanding 9-15 with Darius Brown II racking up five assists leading his team in that category.

Unfortunately for the Spartans, most of these losses have been coming against Mountain West teams making their hopes for the playoffs look bleak.

With this loss, they now fall to 1-7 in conference with an overall record of 8-13. Also to note is their away record where they are 1-7 which unfortunately for SJSU as stated earlier their next game is on the road.

That game will be against a somewhat more manageable team Nevada though their record is 15-4.

If you are looking to tune into that game it will be on Friday at 8 p.m. PST.

49ers fourth quarter comeback propels them into NFC Championship game in 24-21 win over Packers

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San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (#85) celebrates his touchdown reception with wide receivers Chris Conley (#84) and Ray Ray McCloud III (#3) against the Green Bay Packers in an NFC Divisional showdown at Levi’s Stadium on Saturday JAN 20, 2024. (Kym Fortino-San Francisco 49ers)

by Marko Ukalovic

The Cinderella story for the Green Bay Packers ended in Santa Clara.

The San Francisco 49ers scored the game winning touchdown with 1:07 left in the fourth quarter for a 24-21 comeback victory in the NFC Divisional Playoff game on Saturday evening at Levi’s Stadium.

San Francisco advanced to its third consecutive NFC Championship game and fourth in five years where it will host the winner of the Detroit Lions-Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFC Divisional showdown. They have won five games in a row against the Packers. Green Bay’s season comes to an end after winning its last four games, including an upset win over the Dallas Cowboys last week in the NFC Wild Card game.

“We found a way to win. I’m very proud of the guys in there. I thought that was a big mental challenge. It’s a character game, a game we’ve been a part of. When things aren’t going how you want on offense, defense, special teams. The rain (being a factor), guys (were) slipping a lot. Losing Deebo (Samuel) early, things like that, the mistakes we had to overcome. That was a gut check for everybody,” 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said.

Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love marched his team down the field on its opening drive with a 14 play 58-yard drive that ate up more than half of the first quarter and ended with a 29-yard field goal by rookie kicker Anders Carlson. 49ers cornerback Ambry Thomas kept drive alive with a passing interference penalty on wide receiver Romeo Doubs.

San Francisco’s opening drive didn’t garner the same success as Darnell Savage almost had a pick-six against quarterback Brock Purdy on during the 49ers first drive. On the next play wide receiver Deebo Samuel suffered a shoulder injury after a nine-yard reception. The drive ended with a Preston Smith sack on 3rd and 6.

Samuel did not return to the game.

The Packers second drive drove deep inside 49ers territory as it threatened to extend its lead when Love connected with Doubs on a 38-yard reception down the right sideline. However, Dre Greenlaw stopped running back Aaron Jones on 3rd on 1 for no gain. Then on the subsequent play, Love’s quarterback sneak was snuffed out as San Francisco’s defense forced a turnover on downs.

The 49ers had a long drive of their own on its next possession. Purdy scrambled out to his right and floated a pass over to tight end George Kittle for a 32-yard touchdown reception to complete a 12 play 86-yard drive with 8:42 left in the second quarter.

Once again San Francisco’s defense bent but didn’t break on Green Bay’s third possession. The Packers drove down 64 yards on 10 plays but had to settle for another 29-yard field goal by Carlson. Things got chippy as defensive end Randy Gregory and lineman Josh Myers were called for unnecessary roughness penalties after a Deommodore Lenoir knocked Love out of bounds on a scramble.

“It wasn’t pretty on both sides of the ball,” said Greenlaw. “They (Green Bay) had a real good team. Their young guys were hungry trying to make some plays. For us, we just had to go out there and do our job and execute. We had confidence in us the whole time.”

The Niners ended the first half with Jake Moody 48-yard field goal attempt but Colby Wooden raised his hand high enough to get a piece of the ball as it sailed wide left.

Green Bay forced San Francisco to a three and out to start the second half. Their offense cashed in on its first drive to start the second half with a nine play 75-yard drive. Love connected with a wide-open Bo Melton on a 19-yard touchdown reception to give the Packers their first lead of the game. The key play on the drive was Thomas’ 41 yard passing interference penalty on Melton on 3rd and 15 allowed the drive to continue as Green Bay scored on the next play.

San Francisco answered back on its next drive. Running back Christian McCaffery finally got into a rhythm as he broke one tackle and raced into the endzone for a 39-yard rushing touchdown to give the 49ers back the lead as it finished off a quick four play 75-yard drive. McCaffery had just 33 yards on nine carries before the touchdown.

Keisean Nixon returned the ensuring kick off 73 yards before having the ball knocked out by Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles but the Emanuel Wilson recovered the ball for Green Bay at the San Francisco 20-yard line. Four plays later Tucker Kraft caught a two-yard touchdown reception out in the flat. Jones converted the two-point conversion with a reception out to the right flat.

The Niners defense had been quiet until a pass intended for Kraft was thrown behind him and went off his hand and into the hands of Greenlaw as he returned it to the Green Bay 48-yard line for the game’s first turnover with 2:18 remaining in the third quarter.

Green Bay’s defense pressured Purdy for most of the game as it didn’t allow to San Francisco’s offense to get into a rhythm like it had been during the regular season. Moody’s 52-yard field goal cut the Packers lead to four points to start the fourth quarter.

After a 41-yard field goal attempt by Carlson that sailed wide left, San Francisco marched down the field on 12 play 69-yard drive where McCaffery rushed for his second touchdown of the game, a six-yard scamper up the middle with 1:07 remaining in the game. Purdy was 6 of 7 for 47 yards with 2 rushes for 11 yards on the game winning drive, his first of his playoff career.

The Packers comeback attempt ended when Love threw his second interception to Greenlaw with a desperation throw over the middle with no Packers receiver in sight with 52 second left to seal the deal for San Francisco and end Green Bay’s season.

“He’s (Greelaw) got an unbelievable amount of broken tackles on his picks this year. He does a great job. I was hoping he would get down a little earlier, but he did run off seven seconds so. Yeah it’s amazing how many guys he makes miss (tackling him),” McCaffery said.

Purdy finished the evening 23 of 39 for 252 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions. McCaffery led the 49ers in rushing with 98 yards on 17 carries. Kittle led the 9ers receivers with four catches for 81 yards to go along with his touchdown. Jauan Jennings picked up the slack for the absence of Samuel as he chipped in five catches for 61 yards.

Love went 21 of 34 for 194 yards with two touchdowns to go along with his two interceptions on the night. Jones led all rushers with 108 yards on 18 carries, including a 53 yarder in the fourth quarter. Doubs led the Packers in receiving with four catches for 83 yards.

GAME NOTES: San Francisco finished 10-for-16 on third down conversions. Green Bay was 7-for-13.

San Francisco recorded its 37th playoff victory, tying them with the New England Patriots and Green Bay for the most playoff wins in NFL history.

UP NEXT: San Francisco hosts the Detroit Lions/Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Championship Game next Sunday 1/28 at 3:30pm at Levi’s Stadium.

Sourdif’s heroics in overtime give Checkers 5-4 win over Barracuda

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Charlotte Checkers forward Patrick Giles (#36) get checked by San Jose Barracuda defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin (#85) during the Checkers 5-4 OT win at Bojangles Coliseum on Tuesday JAN 16, 2024. (Charlotte Checkers)

by Marko Ukalovic

Justin Sourdif scored the game winning goal at the 2:34 mark of overtime as the Charlotte Checkers defeated the San Jose Barracuda 5-4 on Tuesday evening at Bojangles Coliseum.

San Jose has lost a season-worst six games in a row. Charlotte has won two games in a row.

Brendan Perlini set up Sourdif on a two-on-one odd man rush into the ‘Cuda zone. Sourdif beat goalie Magnus Chrona with a wrist shot top shelf for his second goal of the game and eighth goal of the season.

Charlotte (19-13-4-0) opened the game with two goals in the first two minutes of the game. First Justin Sourdif set up Mackie Samoskevich with a drop pass and Samoskevich beat starting ‘Cuda goalie Eetu Makiniemi with a wrist shot for his 11th goal of the season at the 1:29 mark of the first period.

Santuu Kinnunen then scored his third goal of the season 46 seconds later when he beat Makiniemi with a wrist shot from the left slot as the Checkers used an odd man rush after a turnover inside the ‘Cuda zone.

That ended the evening for Makiniemi as he made just two saves on four shots as Chrona replaced him the rest of the game.

San Jose (11-8-6-0) cut the lead in half 26 seconds later. Brent Marek’s battle for the puck inside the Checkers zone bounced up in the air and over to Tristen Robins who collected the puck and beat Checkers goalie Ludovic Waeber with a wrist shot for his first goal of the season.

The Checkers regained their two-goal lead on the power play late in the opening frame. Uvis Balinskis found Wilmer Skoog at the point and the Charlotte defenseman’s wrist shot beat Chrona through a sea of traffic in front of the crease at the 18:43 mark.

The Barracuda made it a 3-2 game 46 seconds into the second period with a power play goal. Leon Gawanke’s shot from the point was tipped past Waeber by Oskar Lindblom for his first goal of the season.

Charlotte answered back its second power play goal of the game. Samoskevich found Sourdif up in the left slot. Sourdif waited before depositing a wrist shot to the short side for his seventh goal of the season at the 12:29 mark.

San Jose once again cut their deficit to one goal after winning a faceoff inside the Checkers zone. Ethan Frisch found Danil Gushchin along the right boards. Gushchin then fed a rink wide pass over to Ethan Cardwell who one-timed a wrist shot past Waeber for his 11th goal of the season at the 14:59 mark.

The ‘Cuda tied with just over two minutes left in the middle frame when Tanner Kaspick outbattled Waeber behind the net for the puck. Kaspick fed a wide open Lindblom who backhanded the puck into an empty net for his second goal of the game at the 17:57 mark.

Spencer Knight replaces Waeber to start the third period. Waeber finished with eight saves on 12 shots. Knight (12-7-4-2) stopped all seven shots he faced to earn his 12th victory of the season. Chrona (4-10-3-0) finished with 32 saves on 35 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 1-for-2 on the power play. Charlotte was 2-for-3.

San Jose is 0-6 in games that have ended in overtime this season.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Sourdif 2) Lindblom 3) Samoskevich.

UP NEXT: San Jose and Charlotte conclude their two-game series on Wednesday 1/17 at 4:00pm at Bojangles Coliseum.

San Jose State wins off buzzer beater from Myron Amey Jr. against Air Force 70-67

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Photo courtesy of Spartan Athletics.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

The Spartans looked to end their three-game losing skid with a win over Air Force on Saturday night.

Heading into this one the Spartan’s record had dipped to 7-9 while Air Force was sporting a record of 7-7.

The first half started off rather close as the teams exchanged buckets with neither being able to pull away.

Their lethal shooting helped San Jose pull away, though, as they shot 62% in the first half while going 5-10 from three. Leading the way in points for the Spartans was Tibet Goerner who had 11 points in the first half along with four rebounds.

Air Force shot at a decent 54% with Ethan Taylor contributing the most as he had ten while Jeffrey Mills racked up four assists in the half.

While Mill’s four assists were good Alvaro Cardenas outdid him with six assists in the first.

Heading into halftime the Spartans had the lead at 46-33.

The second half did not start out well for SJSU as Air Force went on a 9-0 run to start the half cutting their lead to 46-42.

Trey Anderson would break the run with a layup but Air Force continued to hang around.

Then at 3:41 with the score tied Air Force took the lead for the first time in the game off a pair of free throws by Rytis Petraitis.

The teams continued to exchange leads leading up to an insane finish as the game was tied with 1.5 seconds left on the clock.

San Jose State had one last chance to put the game away or it meant overtime as Cardenas would inbound the ball from Air Force’s baseline.

As Cardenas scanned the floor he saw Myron Amey Jr. who had been hot all second half stick out his hand for the pass. Without hesitation, Cardenas flung it to Amey who with a defender draped all over him drained the three-ball ending the game right then and there.

As the players rushed the floor SJSU’s record now improved to 8-9 while Air Force’s fell to 7-8.

Amey ended up being the leader in points on the night with 16 and rebounds as he had nine while Cardenas racked up nine assists. For Air Force Ethan Taylor had the most points with 19.

San Jose State will look to keep the good times rolling in their next game against Fresno State on the road on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Gleason and Condors stay hot in 3-2 win over Barracuda

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Bakersfield Condors Ben Malone (#17), Seth Griffith (#39), Drake Caggiula (#9) celebrate with Ben Gleason (#6) who scored a goal against the San Jose Barracuda at Mechanics Bank Arena on Saturday JAN 13, 2024. (Bakersfield Condors)

by Marko Ukalovic

The Bakersfield Condors scored two goals in the first period en route to a 3-2 victory over the San Jose Barracuda on Saturday evening at Mechanics Bank Arena.

San Jose has lost five games in a row and three straight against the Condors. Bakersfield has won four games in a row and have points in nine straight games (7-0-1-1).

Bakersfield (15-10-1-2) drew first blood with an even strength goal early in the first period. A shot from the point by Philip Broberg went off the skate of Nikolai Knyzhov and onto the stick of Alex Peters who beat ‘Cuda goalie Magnus Chrona with a wrist shot for his third goal of the season at the 5:44 mark.

The Condors doubled its lead on the power play late in the opening frame. Lane Pederson sent a pass through a sea of traffic over to Raphael Lavoie who lasered in a wrist shot for his 11th goal of the season at the 14:27 mark.

San Jose (11-18-5-0) registered 11 shots on net in the first 20 minutes of play but didn’t have anything to show for it on the scoreboard thanks to the play of Condor’s goalie Jack Campbell.

Ben Gleason kept his goal streak alive when he blasted a slapshot past a screened Chrona for his seventh goal of the season at the 17:51 mark of the second period. Gleason has scored a goal in his fifth straight game and has four of his seven goals have come against the ‘Cuda. Drake Caggiula picked up the primary assist on the goal.

The Barracuda’s best scoring chance in the middle frame came on a 3-on-1 short-handed chance led by Shakir Mukhamadullin. However, Ethan Cardwell’s shot from the slot was stoned away by Campbell.

San Jose ended Campbell’s shutout bid with a power play goal to begin the third period. On the back end of a double-minor to Matvey Petrov that occurred late in the second period, Jack Studnicka centered a pass through the crease and Dani Gushchin scored into an open net with a one-timer for his team leading 13th goal of the season at the 1:38 mark.

San Jose cut the deficit to a one-goal game late in the period. Nathan Todd sent a pass back up to the point where Leon Gawanke blasted a slapshot past Campbell for his eighth goal of the season at the 13:28 mark.

Campbell (6-6-0-1) finished the game stopping 33 of the 35 shots he faced to earn his sixth victory of the season. Chrona (4-9-3), who made back-to-back starts, made 28 saves on 31 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 1-for-5 on the power play. Bakersfield was 1-for-3.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Gleason  2) Peters 3) Lavoie.

UP NEXT: San Jose travels back east to begin a two-game series with the Charlotte Checkers on Tuesday 1/17 at 4:00pm at Bojangles Coliseum.

Condors early third period blitz sink Barracuda in 3-2 win

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San Jose Barracuda forward Tanner Kaspick and Bakerfield Condors center Brad Malone battle for position during a 3-2 win by the Condors at Tech CU Arena on Friday evening JAN 12, 2024. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — The Bakersfield Condors three unanswered goals, including two early goals in the third period, and held on at the end to defeat the San Jose Barracuda 3-2 on Friday evening at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose has lost four games in a row. Bakersfield has won three games in a row and five of its past six games.

San Jose (11-17-5-0) drew first blood with an even strength goal just past the halfway mark of the first period. Kyle Ray centered a pass from the behind the net out to Ethan Cardwell who beat Condor’s goalie Olivier Rodrigue with a quick shot to the short side for his 10th goal of the season at the 12:12 mark.

Cardwell snapped a six-game goal draught after getting off to a hot start to the season.

Bakersfield (14-10-1-2) out shot San Jose 12-9 in the opening frame but were kept off the scoreboard thanks to ‘Cuda goalie Magnus Chrona making key saves late in the period.

The Condors scored the equalizer with a power play goal near the halfway mark of the second period. Raphael Lavoie centered a pass out to an unmarked Seth Griffith and the veteran forward beat Chrona with a wrist shot for his fourth goal of the season at the 7:47 mark.

Bakersfield gained its first lead of the game 66 seconds into the third period with a short-handed goal. Former ‘Cuda forward Lane Pederson collected a loose puck inside the Barracuda zone. Pederson centered a pass over to Ben Gleason who buried a wrist shot past Chrona for his sixth goal of the season.

That killed us, absolutely killed us,” said ‘Cuda head coach John McCarthy on trailing while on the power play. “It comes down to details, we didn’t have…it was the short-handed goal against it was one guy (on the play). We had three back and lost it. That’s the type (of goal) that’s going to lose you games.”

Gleason is on a four-game goal streak in which he has scored five goals.

The Condors scored their third unanswered goal with its second power play goal of the game over two minutes later. Griffith set up Dylan Holloway, who made his season debut for Bakersfield, who tapped home the puck into an open net for his first goal of the season at the 3:15 mark.

“That’s always a key to our game is staying out of the (penalty) box. We’re not taking retaliation penalties. It’s something we’ve worked on year long. We gotta continue to clean up, we have to get our stick on the puck. We get our stick tied up on people’s feet. No one is going out there trying to trip somebody, but if you get your stick caught in someone feet, you’re playing with fire,” McCarthy said.

Nathan Todd made it a one-game with a 6-on-5 goal when the ‘Cuda pulled Chrona for an extra attacker with 37 seconds remaining in the game. Oskar Lindblom’s wraparound attempt leaked out to the left and Todd cleaned up the rebound for his eighth goal of the season.

Rodrigue (7-2-3) finished the game stopping 36 of the 38 shots he faced to earn his seventh victory of the season. Chrona (4-8-3) made 28 saves on 31 shots in the losing effort.

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

It was the second of the three Tigers Del Mar nights of the season as the Barracuda donned a specialty jersey that consisted of the color purple with orange trim and a tiger logo in the center. The first one was back on October 28, 2023.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Gleason 2) Griffith 3) Cardwell.

UP NEXT: San Jose and Bakersfield conclude their home-and-home series on Saturday 1/13 at 7:00pm at Mechanics Bank Arena.