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Tucson Roadrunners goalie Matthew Villalta (#31) helps keep the puck from crossing the goal line against the San Jose Barracuda at Tech CU Arena on Wednesday DEC 20, 2023. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Defense and discipline got an early start on the holidays.

The Tucson Roadrunners kept coming back and kept pouring it on as they defeated the San Jose Barracuda 8-6 in a game that resembled a shooting gallery on Wednesday evening at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose had its season best three-game winning streak snapped. Tucson has won three of its last four games.

San Jose (8-12-4-0) drew first blood with an even strength goal early in the first period. Bradley Marek whipped around a shot from the left point that pinballed off bodies in front past Roadrunners goalie Matthew Villalta for his second goal of the season at the 3:03 mark. Leon Gawanke and Scott Sabourin were credited with assists.

Marek snapped a 10-game goal-less draught.

Tucson (15-8-1-1) answered back two minutes later. A shot from the point by Patrik Koch was redirected past ‘Cuda goalie Eetu Makiniemi by Aku Raty for his fourth goal of the season at the 5:11 mark.

The ‘Cuda regained the lead with the man advantage at the 7:09 mark. Danil Gushchin fed a pass up to Shakir Mukhamadullin at the point and the Russian defenseman lasered in a wrist shot to the far side for his fourth goal of the season. Cole Cassels received the secondary assist on the play.

Tucson scored the equalizer after a faceoff win inside the ‘Cuda zone. Justin Kirkland fed a pass back up to the point to Lleyton Moore. The rookie defenseman who made his AHL debut for the Roadrunners beat Makiniemi with a wrist for his first career AHL goal at the 10:16 mark.

San Jose gained its third lead of the game near the halfway mark of the second period. Brett Kemp centered a backhand pass from behind the net out to Marek who beat Villalta with one-timer for his second goal of the game and third of the season at the 8:36 mark.

The Roadrunners needed just 18 seconds to score its third equalizer of the contest. Curtis Douglas sent Ben McCartney on a breakaway with an outlet pass out of the ‘Cuda zone. McCartney beat Makiniemi with a low wrist shot for his first goal of the season.

Tucson hit their fifth gear as they gained its first lead on a power play. With Artem Guryev in the sinbin for boarding, Kirkland centered a pass from the slot and Raty tipped the puck past Makiniemi for his second goal of the game and fifth goal of the season at the 9:53 mark.

Raty completed the hat trick as the Roadrunners took advantage of a tired ‘Cuda line. Ryan McGregor sent a rink wide pass over to a wide-open Raty and he buried a wrist shot to the short side for his sixth goal of the season at the 15:32 mark.

“This team (Tuscon) lives off of turnovers. Almost all of their offense comes off transition, off of turnovers. We were just too careless with the puck and it burned us,” ‘Cuda head coach John McCarthy said.

Thomas Bordeleau made it a one-goal game early in the third period when he received the puck at his own blueline, skated into the Roadrunners zone and used a Tucson defender as a screen before depositing a wrist shot past Villalta for his co-leading eighth goal of the season at the 1:51 mark.

Tucson continued its theme of the night of scoring a goal right after a San Jose goal. Austin Poganski cleaned up a rebound into an open net for his third goal of the season at the 3:18 mark as the Roadrunners regained its two-goal lead.

The Barracuda scored its second power play goal of the game to make it 6-5 at the halfway through the final frame. Mukhamadullin’s shot from the point was cleaned up by Sabourin, who was parked in front of the crease, for his fourth goal of the season at the 9:53 mark.

The Roadrunners took advantage of a bad turnover by the Barracuda inside their own zone. Nikolai Knyzhov gave the puck to Raty and he fed it over to Milos Kelemen who beat Makiniemi with a wrist shot for his third goal of the season at the 13:04 mark.

The ‘Cuda weren’t dead yet as they scored their sixth goal of the season on an odd-man rush. Sabourin sent a rink wide pass down to Gawanke who beat Villalta with a shot through the five-hole for his fifth goal of the season at the 16:34 mark.

“We want him (Gawanke) to activate up the ice when the time is right and that was the perfect time to do it. I think that was a good play by him,” McCarthy said.

Victor Soderstrom completed the scoring with a power play goal with 16 second remaining in the game with his fifth goal of the season.

Villalta (13-7-1-1) finished the game making 29 saves on 35 shots to earn his 13th victory of the season. Makiniemi (3-3-0-1) made 30 saves on 38 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 2-for-4 on the power play. Tucson went 2-for-3.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Raty 2) Mukhamadullin 3) Marek.

UP NEXT: San Jose begins a three-game road trip when the take on the Henderson Silver Knights on Friday 12/22 at 7:00pm at Dollar Loan Center.

The San Jose Barracuda celebrate Nathan Todd (#45)’s goal in third period against the Calgary Wranglers at Tech CU Arena on Saturday DEC 16, 2023. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — On a night where giving was the theme of the night, the San Jose Barracuda gave their biggest crowd of the season something to celebrate.

San Jose scored twice on the power play in route to a 5-2 victory over the Calgary Wranglers at Tech CU Arena on Saturday evening.

San Jose swept the two-game series with its third win a row as they won back-to-back games for the first time this season. Calgary has lost three games in a row.

Calgary (16-6-2-0) drew first blood at the halfway mark of the first period with a power play goal. Emilio Pettersen set up Brady Lyle up at the point and Wranglers defenseman blast a one-timer past ‘Cuda goalie Magnus Chrona for his fifth goal of the season at the 10:39 mark.

San Jose (8-11-4-0) even the score less than two minutes later. A shot from the left point by Nikolai Knyyzhov was redirected into the back of the net past by Wranglers goalie Connor Murphy by Ethan Cardwell for his seventh goal of the season 12:29 mark.

Cardwell’s goal sent the Tech CU Arena crowd into a throwing frenzy as it was the annual ‘Cuda Teddy Bear Toss Night where 3,126 fans throw stuffed animals from the stands for charity after the home team scores its first goal of the contest. San Jose dressed for the occasion as the donned their festival holiday “ugly sweater” jerseys during the weekend series.

San Jose gained its first lead with a 5-on-3 power play late in the opening frame. Thomas Bordeleau set up Danil Gushchin along the right slot and Gushchin lasered in a one-timer past Murphy for his team-leading eighth goal of the season at the 17:32 mark. Leon Gawanke received the secondary assist on the play.

The ‘Cuda survived a shaky start to the second period. They began the period already short-handed. Then 24 seconds in, they went down 5-on-3 when Cole Cassels went into the sinbin for holding. Their parade to the penalty box continued when Tanner Kaspick and Scott Sabourin took separate high sticking penalties 47 second apart in the first two minutes of the middle frame.

San Jose’s penalty kill led by Chrona kept Calgary from getting the equalizer during their extended 5-on-3 opportunities and eventually killed all of them to get back to equal strength.

Scott Sabourin stopped the power play infertility of the second period when he redirected a point shot from Shakir Mukhamadullin for his third goal of the season at the 14:52 mark. It was San Jose’s second power play goal of the game.

Calgary made it a one-goal game near the halfway mark of the third period. Matt Coronato came in alone on a breakaway, but his shot was initially saved by Chrona. However, on a delayed penalty call, Ben Jones cleaned up the rebound for his eighth goal of the season at the 8:39 mark.

The Barracuda scored an insurance goal with an even strength goal at the 12:36 mark. Radim Simek led a two-on-one odd man rush along with Nathan Todd. Simek set up Todd with a pass down the middle of the ice and Todd beat Murphy top-shelf with a wrist shot for his sixth goal of the season. Todd extended his point streak to seven games.

Cassels completed the scoring with an empty net goal, he was dragged down by a Wranglers defender on a breakaway attempt, his second of the season with 21 seconds remaining.

Chrona (2-6-2) finished the game stopping 27 of the 29 shots he faced to earn just his second victory of the season as he snapped a four-game losing streak. Murphy (0-1-0), who made his first start of the season for Calgary, made 17 saves on 21 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 2-for-9 on the power play. Calgary was 0-for-8.

Cassels’ goal broke a 19-game goal-less draught.

San Jose were 0-6 in back-to-back games after winning the first one before tonight’s win.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Todd 2) Sabourin 3) Gushchin.

UP NEXT: San Jose concludes its three-game homestand against the Tucson Roadrunners on Wednesday 12/20 at 7:00pm at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose Barracuda players Shakir Mukhamadullin (#85), Leon Gawanke (#26) and Danil Gushchin (#75) celebrate their second period goal against the Calgary Wranglers at Tech CU Arena on Friday DEC 15, 2023. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Barracuda took advantage of a five-minute power play as they defeated the Calgary Wranglers in 3-0 shutout victory on Friday evening at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose has won two games in a row. Calgary is 5-2-1 over its past eight games.

“I think the group did a good job recognizing we got more (to our game). We had a pretty hard week of practice to get ready for tonight and I thought the guys responded pretty well,” ‘Cuda head coach John McCarthy said.

The opening frame featured a scoreless 20 minutes as the Wranglers edged the Barracuda in shots 10-9 in a first period that didn’t feature many stoppages of play. Each team had a short power play opportunity to no avail.

San Jose (7-11-4-0) goalie Eetu Makiniemi made two point-blank saves near the end of the first period to keep the deadlock intact. Calgary (16-5-2-0) goalie Oscar Dansk made a point-blank chance from Brandon Coe as the highlight for the Wranglers.

The ‘Cuda broke the deadlock late in the second period with an even strength goal. Danil Gushchin led a rush into the Wranglers zone. He found Leon Gawanke along the right boards. Gawanke then found Shakir Mukhamadullin in the center of the ice and the rookie defenseman sent a seeing-eyed wrist through a sea of traffic for his third goal of the season at the 14:35 mark.

“He (Mukhamadullin) has made a lot of strides. I think his breakout skills have improved. Using his net, skating using his retrievals. He’s been able to beat his forecheckers, which is something we’ve been working on with him and it’s starting to show up in his game,” McCarthy said.

A scary situation happened with three seconds left in the middle frame. Dryden Hunt ran into Cole Cassels at center ice that resulted in a five-minute major penalty on Hunt for interference and an automatic ejection. Cassels, who was visibly upset on the play, did not sustain an injury.

Thomas Bordeleau made the Wranglers pay during the extended power play early in the third period with a 4-on-3 goal. Gawanke sent a rink wide pass over to Bordeleau who blasted a one-timer past Dansk for his seventh goal of the season at the 1:01 mark.

Nathan Todd scored the ‘Cuda’s third unanswered goal and second on the extended power play when he came into the Wranglers goals unattended and beat Dansk to the short side with a wrist shot for his fifth goal of the season at the 3:14 mark.

Todd has a point in six consecutive games with eight points during the streak.

Makiniemi (3-2-0) stopped all 22 shots he faced to earn his first shutout and third win of the season. Dansk (6-2-2) made 34 saves on 37 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 2-for-7 on the power play. Calgary went 0-for-2.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Mukhamadullin 2) Gawanke 3) Makiniemi.

UP NEXT: San Jose and Calgary conclude their two-game series on Saturday 12/16 at 6:00pm at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose Barracuda forward Danil Gushchin (#75) celebrates along the bench with his teammates Leon Gawanke’s (#26) goal against the Henderson Silver Knights at Tech CU Arena on Friday DEC 8, 2023. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Score early and score often was the theme of the night.

The San Jose Barracuda scored early in every period in a dominate 6-1 victory over the Henderson Silver Knights on Friday evening at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose snapped its two-game losing streak with it first win against the Silver Knights this season. Henderson has lost four games in a row/snapped its three-game losing streak.

San Jose (6-10-4-0) drew first blood early in the first period with an even strength goal. Nathan Todd found Radim Simek in between the faceoff circles and Simek beat Silver Knights goalie Jordan Papimy with wrist shot top shelf for his third goal of the season at 4:56 mark.

Henderson (10-10-1-2) answered late in the opening frame with an even strength goal. Mason Primeau led a counterattack up the ice. Primeau fed Daniel D’Amato in the neutral zone. D’Amato skated in and beat ‘Cuda goalie Eetu Makiniemi with a wrist shot to the far side for his first goal of the season at the 14:00 mark.

The ‘Cuda regained just before the end of the opening 20 minutes with a power play goal. Jacob Peterson sent a pass back up to the point to Leon Gawanke. The German defenseman lasered in a wrist shot past Papimy to the far side for his fourth goal of the season at the 18:36 mark.

San Jose went up 3-1 56 seconds into the second period. Peterson’s backhand attempt was saved by Papimy but Ethan Cardwell cleaned up the rebound into an empty net for his sixth goal of the season. Simek received the secondary assist.

The ‘Cuda’s penalty kill helped keep the Silver Knights off the board in the middle frame as they killed off three Henderson power play attempts.

“I like our (penalty) kill a lot,” said ‘Cuda head coach John McCarthy on his team being a perfect five-for-five. “I thought we took advantage of our chances. I thought the third period was our best period.”

San Jose opened the third period as it did the previous two, with an early goal to start the period. A shot from Cole Cassels from the left slot was cleaned up by Todd with a backhand shot around Papimy for his fourth goal of the season at the 1:41 mark.

Gushchin joined the goal party as the ‘Cuda’s fifth different goal scorer when he blasted a one-timer past Papimy after receiving a feed from Cassels. Gushchin’s fourth point of the game was his team leading seventh goal of the season at the 5:16 mark.

He’s (Gushchin) is a dynamic offensive player. So, it’s good to see him having success there,” McCarthy said.

The Barracuda kept their foot on the gas pedal. A turnover inside the Silver Knights zone led to a 2-on-0 odd man rush. Ozzie Weisblatt set up Brett Kemp’s one-timer for Kemp’s first goal of his AHL career at the 9:12 mark.

Makiniemi (2-2-0) finished the game stopping 26 of the 27 shots he faced to earn his second victory of the season. Papimy (1-4-1) made 23 saves on 29 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 1-for-2 on the power play. Henderson went 0-for-5.

Henderson forward Girgori Denisenko suffered an upper body injury when he took a puck up to the face on a clearing attempt by Simek early in the second period. He was able to finish the game.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Gushchin 2) Todd 3) Simek.

UP NEXT: San Jose and Henderson conclude their two-games series on Saturday 12/9 at 6:00pm at Tech CU Arena.