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Carlsson’s two goal in third period bury Silver Knights in Barracuda 5-2 win

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Henderson Winger Rapheal Lavoie (#36) skates with the puck inside the San Jose Barracuda zone with Cuda forward Ethan Cardwell (#56) looking on in the background at Lee’s Family Forum on Saturday DEC 28, 2024. (Henderson Silver Knights)

by Marko Ukalovic

Lucas Carlsson scored two power play goals in third period to help the San Jose Barracuda cruise to a 5-2 victory over the Henderson Silver Knights on Saturday afternoon at Lee’s Family Forum.

San Jose snapped its two-game losing streak. Henderson has lost seven of its past eight games.

San Jose (17-9-0-2-36 points) drew first blood just past the halfway mark of the first period as their fourth line magic continued to put up offensive numbers. Scott Sabourin scored his fourth goal of the season at the 10:22 mark. Ethan Frisch and Ethan Cardwell received helpers on the goal.

Cuda captain Andrew Poturalski doubled the Barracuda lead early in the second period. Colin Graff set up Poturalski’s first goal of the contest, his 12th of the season at the 7:52 mark.

Poturalski scored his second goal of the goal and team leading 13th of the season late in the middle frame. Jack Thompson set up Poturalski who beat Silver Knights goalie Carl Lindbom with a wrist shot. Thomas Bordeleau picked up the secondary assist, his fifth of the season.

Henderson (7-21-0-0-14 points) answered back seven seconds later on the very next shift. Rapheal Lavoie netted his sixth goal of the season when he beat Cuda goalie Georgie Romanov with a wrist shot. Christoffer Sedoff and Matyas Sapovaliv recorded assists on the play.

The Silver Knights made it a one-game game 70 seconds later and had the Cuda on their heels. Mitch McLain scored his fifth goal of the season at the 15:30 mark. Mason Geertsen and Calen Addison picked up helpers on the goal.

Carlsson gave the Barracuda an insurance goal near the halfway mark of the third period with San Jose on the man advantage. Cardwell set up Carlsson’s fourth goal of the season at the 9:10 mark.

Then Carlsson put the game away for good for San Jose with his second power play goal just over two minutes as the Cuda made the Silver Knights pay taking back-to-back penalties. Carlsson scored his fifth goal of the season at the 11:49 mark. Cardwell recorded his second assist of the game, his 16th of the season.

Romanov (6-4-1-0) stopped 22 of the 24 shots he faced to earn his sixth win of the season. Lindbom (2-6-0-1) made 38 saves on 43 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 2-for-4 on the power play. Henderson went 0-for-7.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Poturalksi 2) Carlsson 3) Sabourin.

UP NEXT: San Jose and Henderson conclude their two-game weekend series on Sunday 12/29 at 1:00pm at Lee’s Family Forum.

Poison Ivey: Pistons Jayden Ivey scores winning shot to beat Kings 114-113; Sac coughs up 19 point lead for 5th straight loss

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Detroit Pistons Malik Beasly guard (5) congratulates guard Jayden Ivey (right) after Ivey’s game winning basket in the fourth quarter at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Thu Dec 26, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO–The Sacramento Kings were in free fall and back in action on Thursday night. After having two days off for Christmas, the Kings welcomed the Detroit Pistons to town. Previously, the Kings had lost their last four games and were reeling. On Thursday, they looked to get back on track against a Detroit team that had been performing well on their road trip. The Kings were without Domantas Sabonis, who was sidelined due to illness, and Alex Len stepped into the starting lineup in his place. The Kings continued to falter as they lost to the Pistons 114-113.

In the first quarter, it took the Kings a few minutes to adjust to life without Sabonis on the court. They started slowly, falling behind 7-2 early, but eventually found their rhythm. By the end of the quarter, the Kings had outscored the Pistons 37-34 to take an early lead. Keegan Murray led the way for Sacramento with nine points in the opening quarter, while Cade Cunningham paced Detroit with 12 points.

In the second quarter, the Kings extended their lead. A strong defensive effort held the Pistons to just 19 points in the period. On offense, Sacramento scored 31 points, fueled by a breakout 15-point quarter from Trey Lyles. This was a welcome sight for Kings fans, as Lyles had struggled in recent games. Meanwhile, Cunningham continued his strong performance, finishing the first half with 21 points. The Kings entered halftime with a commanding 68-53 lead.

The third quarter saw the Kings ease up slightly. Their shooting cooled off, and the Pistons outscored them 24-23 in the period. However, De’Aaron Fox came alive, scoring 14 points in the quarter to keep the Kings in control. Malik Beasley led the Pistons’ offense with eight points in the quarter. Heading into the final quarter, Sacramento held a 91-77 lead and appeared poised to secure a decisive home victory.

The final quarter proved to be a battle, as a determined Detroit team refused to back down. The Kings’ 14-point lead steadily evaporated, dwindling to just two points with 1:20 remaining in the game. It became a nail-biter. With 18.7 seconds left, De’Aaron Fox hit a clutch pull-up jumper to put Sacramento ahead 111-108. But Detroit wasn’t finished.

With 3.1 seconds left, Jaden Ivey sank a contested, and-one three-pointer over Fox and converted the free throw, giving the Pistons a 114-113 lead. The Kings were unable to respond, and the game ended in heartbreak.

Fox led Sacramento in scoring with 26 points, but it wasn’t enough to secure the win. Cade Cunningham starred for Detroit, finishing with 33 points as the Pistons improved to 14-17 on the season. With the loss, the Kings dropped to 13-18.

After the game, head coach Mike Brown was visibly frustrated by his team’s lack of focus in the closing moments. Brown lamented the failure to properly defend Ivey’s decisive three-pointer, stating, “The only thing that hurts us is a three.”

When asked postgame about where the Kings go from here and how they’ll prepare for their next game in Los Angeles, Fox offered a terse response: “Just get ready to play.” It was not an encouraging sign from the team’s star player after five consecutive loses.

Up Next: The Kings will travel to Los Angeles to face the Lakers on Saturday at 7:30 PM PST inside the Crypto.com Arena.

Sharks fall 4-2 in Blackwood’s return to San Jose

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Valeri Nichushkin (13) celebrating after giving Colorado the lead early in the first period at SAP Center on Thursday December 19th (via Avalanche/X)

By Madison Montez

SAN JOSE- In Mackenzie Blackwood’s first start at home since being traded on the ninth, he recorded a 4-2 win, his second win in a Colorado uniform. “Feels great, I enjoyed my time here, made a lot of great friends that I’ll always be thankful for. ” said Blackwood when asked about the crowd and environment in today’s game.

Colorado jumped out to an early lead after Carl Grundstrom took a high sticking penalty at 3:07. Valeri Nichushkin netted his 9th goal of the season, Makar and MacKinnon registering the assists. Colorado’s powerplay is ranked 10th in the league with a 23.0%.

After a quiet start to the second period, Carl Grundstrom tied the game netting his first career NHL goal at 4:26. Jan Rutta registering his fourth assist and Luke Kunin registering his fifth assist of the season. At 9:29, William Eklund gave the Sharks their first lead of the game netting his sixth goal of the season. Cody Ceci registering his eighth assist and Luke Kunin registering his sixth assist of the season, second of the night. This is also Kunin’s second multi-point night of the season, the first was on December 10th against Carolina.

At 8:26 of the third, Barclay Goodrow took a hooking penalty giving Colorado their fifth powerplay opportunity of the night. The Avalanche scored their second powerplay goal of the night with Mikko Rantanen netting his 19th goal of the season to tie the game at 2-2. Assists went to Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar.

After being tied for majority of the third, Colorado took a 3-2 lead on a Joel Kirviranta, his sixth of the seaon. Logan O’Connor registering the lone assist. Joel Kirviranta went on hat-trick watch at 15:28 of the third scoring his second of the night assisted by Artturi Lehkonen and Casey Mittelstadt to give the Avalanche the 4-2 lead.

THREE STARS OF THE GAME:

  • 1. Joel Kiviranta
  • 2. Luke Kunin
  • 3. William Eklund

The Sharks will be back in action on Saturday traveling to Edmonton to take on the Oilers for the first time this season.

Barracuda improve to 5-0 against the Firebirds this season, Poturalski 3 point night

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COACHELLA VALLEY, CA – DEC 18, 2024: The Coachella Valley Firebirds vs. San Jose Barracuda at Acrisure Arena. (Photo by Mike Zitek/Coachella Valley Firebirds)

By Madison Montez

SAN JOSE- In an Andrew Poturalski 3 point and a Jake Furlong first professional goal night, the Barracuda remain undefeated against the Coachella Valley FireBirds, improving to a record of 5-0.

With the Barracuda being undefeated against Coachella this season, the Firebirds wasted no time, scoring 34 seconds into the game. Logan Morrison scored his 4th of the season assisted by Ville Ottavainen and John Hayden. At 10:11, Jagger Firkus took a 2 minute penalty, giving the Barracuda their first powerplay of the game. 32 seconds later, San Jose proved why they’re first in the league on the powerplay. Andrew Poturalski scored his 10th goal of the season assisted by Filip Bystedt and Luca Cagnoni.

After getting outshot 10-7 in the first period, Lucas Carlsson gave the Barracuda their first lead of the game at 3:09 of the second. Poturalski registered the only assist and his second point of the night. At 7:44, Lleyton Roed took a 2 minute penalty for holding. A minute and 11 seconds later, Danil Guschin netted his 6th goal of the season assisted by Collin Graf and Andrew Poturalski.

Thomas Bordeleau took a 2 minute penalty for goalie interference giving the Barracuda their second penalty kill opportunity of the game at 14:33. San Jose remains in the top of the league on the penalty kill with a 88.7%. Unfortunately, the top penalty kill wasn’t effective with John Hayden scoring his 6th goal of the season to cut down the Barracuda’s lead to 1 at 14:51.

At 12:14, Collin Graf netted his 6th goal of the season assisted by Luca Cagnoni and Filip Bystedt to put the Barracuda up by two. The Barracuda are now 3 for 7 on the powerplay, keeping their first place spot.

Jake Furlong sealed the win for San Jose scoring an empty net goal for his first professional goal at 19:55.

THREE STARS OF THE GAME:

  • 1. Andrew Poturalski
  • 2. Collin Graf
  • 3. Danil Guschin

The Barracuda will be back in action on Friday where they travel to Bakersfield to take on the Condors. This will be the first official matchup between the two teams this season, the last time they saw eachother was in a preseason game where the Barracuda won 4-2.

San Jose Barracuda fall to Ontario Reign in shootout

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Ontario Reign Reilly Walsh (2) skates in front of Georgi Romanov (31) at Toyota Center on Sunday December 15th 2024. (Via OntarioReign/x)

By Madison Montez

SAN JOSE- After a battle back to take the game into OT, the Barracuda fall in a shootout to the Ontario Reign.

The Ontario Reign got on the board early at 7:55 of the 1st on a Charles Hudon goal assisted by Glenn Gawdin. The Reign are 8-0 when scoring first in the game.

After being down 1-0 after the 1st, the Barracuda went onto their first power play when Francesco Pinelli took a 2 minute penalty for cross-checking. Danil Guschin scored his 5th goal to tie the game at 1 at 7:00 of the 2nd.

The Reign took another penalty at 7:08 when Samuel Fagemo took a 2 minute penalty for tripping which led to back back power play goals. Lucas Carlsson scored his 2nd in a Barracuda sweater assisted by Jack Thompson and Ethan Cardwell.

At 12:22 Thomas Bordeleau extended the Barracuda’s lead to 2 scoring his 6th of the season assisted by Scott Sabourin and Ethan Cardwell.

At 4:19 of the 3rd, Samuel Fagemo cut into the Barracuda’s lead scoring his 12th goal of the season assisted Angus Boogh and Arthur Kaliyev. At 5:52, Ontario struck again tying the game with Shawn Element scoring his 5th goal of the season assisted by Aatu Jamsen and Tyler Madden.

At 8:26, Ethan Cardwell gave the Barracuda the lead again scoring his 2nd goal of the season assisted by Andrew Poturalski and Thomas Bordeleau. At 15:10, Aatu Jamsen scored and took the game to overtime.

After 2 unsuccessful attempts by Danil Guschin and Andrew Poturalski, both Reign players Arthur Kaliyev and Taylor Ward scored to secure the win.

THREE STARS OF THE GAME:

  • 1. Aatu Jamsen
  • 2. Ethan Cardwell
  • 3. Erik Portillo

The Barracuda will be back in action on Wednesday December 18th to play the Firebirds for the 5th time this season, looking to keep up their undefeated streak against Coachella Valley.

Spartans make history defeating Cal Poly Mustangs in OT winner

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Sadaidreiene Hall (6) getting interviewed by a broadcaster after a career-high game at Provident Union Center on Sat Dec 14th 2024. (via SanJoseStateMBB/X)

By Madison Montez

SAN JOSE-Coming into today’s game, San Jose State was coming off of a 117-80 win against Lincoln University and Cal Poly was coming off of a 102-91 loss against Cal State Northridge. This game would be a challenge compared to Lincoln University and Head Coach Tim Miles was aware of that “speed, they’re speedy.”

Will McClendon will be back in the lineup tonight after missing the last game due to illness.

Going back into the locker-room after the first-half, the Spartans fought back to be up 45-40. Sadaidrene Hall had 10 points, Will McClendon had four rebounds, and Latrell Davis had two assists. The Spartans weren’t playing their true game allowing Cal Poly to make three pointers throughout the game.

After the second half, Regulation wasn’t enough for these two teams. The second half ended 91-91 when Sadaidreiene Hall shot a 3 pointer to tie the game. Hall had a career high 33 point night tonight with four assists and 11 rebounds. “This performance means that my teammates trust me, we were down players and I felt like it was my night to step up so I did.”

Latrell Davis and Josh Uduje combined scored 44 points, and had three assists, and ten rebounds. Davis also drew seven fouls which was a big contributor. “I feel like I’m my best when I’m aggressive, getting downhill, playing aggressive defense, trying to take charges, just doing the little stuff to help a team win”.

With tonight’s win, San Jose State has now made history by winning back to back games where they scored 100+ points for the first time. “I’m fired up for the guys, to start poorly and then battle back again and find their way in overtime, they did a great job.” said Head Coach Tim Miles.

The Spartans will be back in action on Saturday December 21st against Kennesaw State at 7:30 pm at Provident Union Center. 

Gulls take down Baracuda with 5-2 win

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San Diego Gulls forward Pavol Regenda (#12) attempts a shot on the net while San Jose Barracuda defenseman Ethan Frisch (#79) defends against the shot at Pechanga Arena at San Diego on Saturday DEC 14, 2024. (San Diego Gulls)

by Marko Ukalovic

The San Diego Gulls dominated from start to finish as they cruised to a 5-2 victory over the San Jose Barracuda on Saturday evening at Pechanga Arena at San Diego.

San Jose had it three-game winning streak snapped and overall, seven-game point streak. San Diego has won four out of its last five games.

San Diego (8-12-1-2) drew first blood with its fifth shot of the game late in the first period. Jan Mysak threaded a back pass between two Barracuda defenders over to Yegor Sidorov along the right slot. Sidorov beat Cuda goalie Yaroslav Askarov top shelf to the short side for his eighth goal of the season at the 14:06 mark.

Sidorov has been hot recently with five goals in his past four games for San Diego.

San Jose (15-7-0-1) had two quality chances to open up the scoring in the opening frame. First Thomas Bordeleau missed on an open net after receiving a pass from Colin Graff. Then Ethan Cardwell was stoned on a breakaway attempt by Gulls goalie Calle Clang at the 12:29 mark.

The Gulls doubled their lead near the halfway mark of the second period with an even strength goal. Sidorov maneuvered inside the Cuda zone before a backhanded pass to the point over to Tristan Luneau. The rookie defenseman roofed a wrist shot over Askarov for his first career AHL goal at the 7:54 mark.

San Diego scored their third unanswered goal of the game while short-handed. Mysak knocked Filip Bystedt off of the puck and led a two-on-one odd man rush up the ice. Mysak elected to shoot the puck and beat Askarov with a wrist shot top shelf to the far corner for his third goal of the season at the 11:39 mark.

It was only the second short-handed goal given up by the Barracuda this season.

The Gulls made it 4-0 when just under three minutes later when the Cuda couldn’t clear the puck out of their own zone. Sam Colangelo’s shot from the point was tipped through the five-hole of Askarov by Nathan Gaucher for his first goal of the season at the 14:36 mark.

San Jose finally stopped the bleeding with 34 seconds left in the middle frame. Lucas Carlsson received a pass back up to the point from Donovan Houle. Carlsson found Lucas Vanroboys in the left slot and the fourth line winger blasted a wrist shot top shelf to the short side past Clang for his sixth goal of the season in just 23 games.

Vanroboys never scored more than five goal while playing five years at the collegiate level.

Cuda head coach John McCarthy juggled up his lines in the third period to spark the anemic offense. With Askarov pulled for an extra attacker, San Jose cut San Diego’s lead in half.

A shot from the point caromed out in front of the crease. Cardwell’s shot was initially saved by Clang but Bordeleau cleaned up the rebound for his second goal of the season at the 17:17 mark.

Colangelo concluded the game’s scoring with an empty net goal with six seconds left in the final frame, his 10th of the season.

Clang (6-8-1) finished the game stopping 28 of the 30 shots he faced to earn his sixth win of the season. Askarov (9-4-1-3) made 28 saves on 32 shots in the losing effort.

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

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Sidorov 2) Luneau 3) Clang.

UP NEXT: San Jose continues its five-game road trip against the Ontario Reign on Sunday 12/15 at 5:00pm at Toyota Arena.

Bears nearly come back from another large deficit, but once fall short 88-80 to Cornell in third-straight loss

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Cal Bears forward Joshua Ola Joseph takes a jump shot against the Cornell Big Red in non conference action at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley on Tue Dec 10, 2024 (@calmbball twitter photo)

Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024

Haas Pavilion, Berkeley, California

Cornell Big Red 88 (7-3)

California Golden Bears 80 (6-4)

By Stephen Ruderman

The Bears came back from down 23 points to take a late lead, but the Cornell Big Red pulled off an 88-80 win in the late minutes to hand Cal their third-straight loss.

Following their 89-81 loss to Stanford in their first all-ACC game on Saturday, the Bears ventured back out of the ACC, as they welcomed the Big Red into Haas Pavilion. Cornell came on winners of two-straight, following dominant and decisive wins over Colgate and Army.

Tuesday night’s game began as a tight one, as the Bears had an 8-7 lead just under three minutes into the game. It was then 11-11 with 12:18 remaining in the first half before Cornell opened up a 47-29 lead into the half.

It was looking to be a blowout, but the Bears showed a lot of fight in them come the second half. Cornell would open their lead to 52-29 just a minute and 46 seconds into the half. Jeremiah Wilkinson then hit a pair of threes, and the Bears would slowly start clawing themselves back into the game.

The Bears went on a 21-7 run to cut Cornell’s lead to 59-50 with 12:34 to go. Cal had fallen short after turning a 20-point deficit into just a six-point deficit against Stanford on Saturday, and they wanted to more than make up for that Tuesday night.

Mady Sissoko made a layup, and Spencer Mahoney hit a three to cut it to 61-55. Cornell kept pace with a layup by Jake Fiegen and Guy Ragland Jr., but after the Bears kept coming, and closed the deficit to 65-61 with 8:57 to go.

Cooper Noard was fouled and hit two from the line, and Ak Okereke made a layup to extend Cornell’s lead back to 69-61.The Bears pulled back within four, but Okereke was fouled and hit two from the line to keep the Big Red’s lead at 71-65 with 6:57 remaining.

Sissoko slammed one down, and Wilkinson made a layup to close it to 71-69. Andrej Stojakovic then hit a three, and the Bears had come all the way back from down 23 points to take a 72-71 lead with 5:15 remaining.

Guy Ragland Jr. hit a three to put Cornell back ahead with exactly five minutes to go, and after a minute with no scoring, Joshua Ola-Joseph hit a layup to tie it at 74-74 with 3:51 left to go. Noard made a layup to put Cornell back ahead 76-74 with nearly 3:20 left, and the score would remain stagnant for nearly another two minutes.

With 1:34 left, Jake Fiegen hit a layup to extend Cornell’s lead to 78-74, but he was fouled and made his shot from the line to make it 79-74. That seemed to kill any late hopes for the Bears to pull this one off, and Cornell won by a final of 88-80.

Ola-Joseph was the leading scorer for the Bears with 21 points, as he was 7-for-11 in field goals. Stojakovic was just 4-for-11 in field goals, but he scored 13, as did Sissoko, who was a perfect 6-for-6. Wilkinson scored 12, and Jovar Blacksher Jr. scored 11.

The Bears fall to 6-4, and they will look to bounce back against the Northwestern State Demons of the little-known Southland Conference on Saturday. Just an FYI, Northwestern State is a different university then Northwestern, though the two teams shared a very-similar shade of purple. Tipoff will be at noon on Saturday.

San Jose State Spartans smash in 117-80 win over Lincoln University

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San Jose Spartans player preparing before the match against Lincoln University on Monday December 9th at Provident Union Center (SanJoseStateMBB/x)

By Madison Montez

SAN JOSE-The San Jose State Spartans hosted the Lincoln University Oaks for a Monday night matchup. San Jose State is coming off of a 83-77 loss against the New Mexico Lobos on December 4th. Lincoln University is coming off a 117-72 loss against UC Merced. Both teams will be looking to get back in the win column.

Head Coach Tim Miles went with the same starting five except making a minor change in replacing Will McClendon and inputting Latrell Davis at point-guard. Will McClendon was out tonight with illness making him unavailable.

After the first half, the Spartans went into the locker room up 57 to 47. San Jose’s lead point scorer was Josh Uduje. Lincoln University’s was Joshua Russ with 18 points. Lincoln made 12 out of 27 3 point shots with a blistering 44% which is what kept them in the game. “We knew that was their MO. I didn’t feel good about the first half but felt good about the second half.” said Head Coach Tim Miles.

In the 2nd half, San Jose’s defense stepped up allowing Lincoln to attempt 15 3 pointers but only making 4, going down to 26%. The Spartans picked up their 3-point game making 7 of 18 for 33% after going 1-12 in the first half. San Jose got a boost from Latrell Davis, accounting for 8 assists. “He requires so much attention because of his ability to go downhill, so that’s a next step for his game to create problems” said teammate Josh Uduje.

San Jose got a good game out of their monster center Robert Vaihola. Vaihola registered 17 points, 18 rebounds, 4 blocks, and went 7-9 in shooting only missing the basket twice. 14 out of the 18 rebounds were defensive. “Just chillin around the rim, I just happened to be there”. said the Center.

“Credit Lincoln and Coach Middlebrooks, they did a good job, playing loose, playing fast, and shooting the ball extremely well.” said Head Coach Tim Miles after the 117-80 win. The Spartans will be back in action on Saturday against Cal Poly at 7pm. When asked about preparation for that game, Coach Miles said “One of the fastest teams in the country. Credit Cal Poly, they’ve done a great job.”

Askarov is masterful with 36 save performance in Barracuda’s 1-0 shutout win over Firebirds

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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.