That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Concussions, Protests and Domestic Violence…Where Is the NFL Headed?

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Photo credit: thesportsdaily.com

By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

The NFL is the second youngest of the four main professional sports leagues in the country. It was founded in 1920.

The NFL is also the richest sports league in the world with revenues above everybody else in the world of sports, and television ratings that beat just about everything that is on television. Not to mention the Super Bowl, which has become the most watched single sporting event on Earth.

Nonetheless, not everything these days is rosy when it comes to the NFL. They still have a problem with players suffering concussions (although the league have worked on the reduction of injuries), changing certain rules on the field to protect players and having a very big domestic violence problem. It seems like every week a player is suspended or fired from his team because he beat his wife or girlfriend. This is a bigger problem than the concussions on the field. Personal responsibility and behavior cannot be controlled by the team because when you take off your uniform and go home or to a bar, you are not playing football, you are just like any regular Joe out there and you are responsible for your action in your community like everybody else.

This past week, Kareem Hunt of the Kansas City Chief and Reuben Foster of the San Francisco 49ers were the latest two players accused of domestic violence and nobody can escape that these days. It goes online and millions of people can see what happened.

There have been protests, mostly fueled by the initial action of ex-49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick to take a knee during the playing of the National Anthem. This action immediately went viral in our social world, left the sports arena and went directly into the political realm. Obviously, this did not help the NFL. Kaepernick lost his job, but it planted the seed for a lot of division among the fans that pay to watch an NFL game. Two things that should unify all of us is the flag and the national anthem, and if we cannot respect that for three minutes, we are in trouble as a country. To the credit of the players association and some owners, these protests also brought more players and owners together in the need to help communities in their respective cities in many social issues–and that is a good thing.

All these problems have spooked a lot of their TV audience and attendance to the games. We live in a different world today, and the NFL better be careful not to continue going down that road, because is not headed to a good place.

A good friend or mine recently told me: “If Kaepernick had been accused of domestic violence, he would probably still be playing in the NFL, but he took a knee and that cost him his career. Yes, it is sarcasm, but it says something about the NFL today. And many people are talking about all these ‘issues.'”

In conclusion, the NFL can do a lot about injures and reduce the concussions in the sport, but the other stuff actually is hard to control. We can protest anything we want, after all this is America, and we have the right under our Constitution. When Kaepernick took his first knee I respected his right to do so, even though I wrote and talked about it. Back then, he was getting paid to play football and he could have called a press conference and said what he what he wanted.

Domestic violence is something that should never be tolerated by the NFL, any other sports franchise or anyplace else. But, then again, this behavior happens usually off the field, so it falls into the category of individual responsibility and accountability. This behavior is in our society, and this is the toughest problem this league has today.

Sharks Beat the Canadiens 3-1 in Montreal

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks finished the road trip with a 3-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre on Sunday. It was the Sharks’ first road win since October 28. Sharks’ goals came from Justin Braun, Brent Burns and Joe Pavelski. Jeff Petry scored the Canadiens’ lone goal. Sharks goaltender Martin Jones made 39 saves for the win, while Canadiens goalie Carey Price made 26 saves in the loss.

After the game, Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer said:

We had a little bit of desperation to our game. We got the first goal, I think, which relieved some pressure. I thought we had a pretty good start in Ottawa and couldn’t find a goal early and got behind. We’ve been chasing the game a lot on this trip. So, you know, we were in front. And I thought the only thing I would have liked to have done better was extend it in the second. We had three or four chances to maybe extend that lead by one and make the third maybe a little bit easier on ourselves. But, a lot of good stuff.

Justin Braun opened the scoring at 2:55 of the first, giving the Sharks that early lead. He intercepted a pass to Michael Chaput near the Montreal blue line, took a couple of strides into the zone and let fly a long shot at the net. It beat Price for an unassisted goal, Braun’s first of the season.

The second goal came from Brent Burns, a power-play goal at 10:29. The Sharks were playing with a two-man advantage after Mike Reilly cross-checked Barclay Goodrow, and then Michael Chaput caught Logan Couture with a high stick just under a minute later. Erik Karlsson sent the puck to Joe Pavelski who was down by the goal line. Pavelski sent the puck quickly back to Burns in the slot. Burns took a moment to line his shot up and sent a missle into the top corner. It was Burns’ fourth goal of the season, with assists to Karlsson and Pavelski.

Over the course of the first period, the shot count was nearly even, with the Sharks leading 11-9.

Jeff Petry got one back for Montreal 12:15 into the second period. The Canadiens entered the zone three-on-two but the Sharks’ defense pushed them back to the outside. The Canadiens regrouped. On a broken play with a failed pass, Petry found the puck in front of the net and put it by Jones’ glove. Assists went to Jonathan Drouin and Andrew Shaw. Logan Couture got the puck below the goal line and sent it up the boards to Brent Burns, who found Joe Pavelski in the slot for a quick shot through on short side. It was Pavelski’s 17th of the season with assists to Burns and Couture.

During the second period, the shots were again very close, with the Sharks leading 11-10. During the third period, the Canadiens outshot the Sharks 22-7, but Martin Jones was up to the task.

After the game, Jones said: “I thought we played a way better game, despite the shots, it’s the two-on-ones and the odd man rushes that have been hurting us. So I thought we did a great job tonight.”

The Sharks next play on Wednesday in San Jose against the Carolina Hurricanes at 7:30 PM PT.

Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes will be a longtime problem for the Raiders

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Photo credit: chiefswire.usatoday.com

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

OAKLAND, Calif. — There’s no question that after watching quarterback Patrick Mahomes in his first head-to-head matchup against the Raiders, he will be a thorn in the Silver and Black’s side for years to come.

Mahomes, who completed 23-of-38 passes for 295 yards and four touchdowns, led the Chiefs to a wild 40-33 victory over the Raiders on Sunday that moved Kansas City to an AFC-best record of 10-2. Mahomes did miss a couple of deep passes to blazing wide out Tyreek Hill at various points of the game that could’ve really put the game away early for the Chiefs, but didn’t seem rattled by the 54,255 paid crowd at the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum.

Oakland’s 31st ranked defense couldn’t find any answers in stopping Mahomes and the Chiefs’ 2nd ranked offense all day, as the Raiders allowed 442 yards of total offense to the Chiefs and didn’t generate a sack against Mahomes in the contest.

After the Raiders cut Kansas City’s lead to 13-7 behind running back Doug Martin’s 1-yard touchdown shortly before halftime, Mahomes and Chiefs would run five plays in 57 seconds to drive the length of the field.

Mahomes found wide receiver Demarcus Robinson for a 38-yard catch, scrabbling the entire width of the field before going out of bounds with 12 seconds remaining in the second quarter. On the next, Mahomes would find tight end Travis Kelce on a 6-yard score for Kelce’s second touchdown of the day. Arden Key would block the extra point, keeping the score 19-7.

Kelce was the main beneficiary of Mahomes’ passes, hauling in 12 catches for 168 yards, eclipsing 1,000 yards receiving for the third-straight season.  Kelce joined Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen (2014-16) as the only tight ends in NFL history to accomplish that feat per the Elias Sports Bureau.

The sixth-year tight from the University of Cincinnati rebounded nicely after fumbling on Kansas City’s first play of scrimmage following a 24-yard catch-and-run.

Mahomes has now thrown 41 touchdowns to just 11 interceptions on the season through 12 games played for Kansas City, joining future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning (44 in 2004, 41 in ’13) and Tom Brady (44 in 2007) as the only quarterbacks with at least 40 touchdowns in the first 12 games this season, according to ESPN Stats and Information Research.

With 4,207 passing yards on the season, Mahomes became the fastest quarterback in NFL history to throw for over 4,000 yards through 12 games, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

As he continues to grow under head coach Andy Reid, one of the NFL’s best creative offensive minds,  the second-year pro in Mahomes will only get better and that much harder to stop.

The Raiders will continue to see Mahomes’ progression for years to come, having to play the Chiefs twice a season. The two teams wrap up the regular season at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City in Week 17.

Seahawks Move into Playoff Spot with 43-16 Win Over 49ers

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Photo credit: @Seahawks

By: Joe Lami

Make it seven straight years since the 49ers have won in Seattle, as they were annihilated on Sunday 43-16. Nick Mullens threw 30 completions for 414 yards, two touchdowns, and a pick in the loss. Even with many of his yards coming in garbage time, he looked decent in the second half minus a 98-yard pick-six to Bobby Wagner.

The 49ers were abysmal in the first half and avoided a shutout thanks to a Robbie Gould 45-yard field goal to make it 20-3. Things didn’t get too much better in the second for San Francisco, as they were torched in every facet of the game.

Seattle opened the second half with an 84-yard return from Tyler Lockett that ended a chance of a comeback. Rashaad Penny found paydirt on the very next play from 20 yards out for his only touchdown of the day. He finished with 65 yards on 13 carries while Chris Carson ran for 69 yards. Seattle ran for 168 yards on the contest.

Russell Wilson was his usual self, throwing 11 of 18 for 185 yards and four touchdowns.

Dante Pettis was the best player in red and gold. Contributing to the 49ers’ only two touchdowns, he also caught for 169 yards, becoming the first rookie since 1969 in franchise to catch two touchdowns and 100 receiving yards in a game.

Terrell Owens was the last rookie to catch for 100 yards for the 49ers when he did it in 1999.

Stone Cold Geroge Kittle continues to explode onto the scene, catching six balls for 70 yards.

Rookie running back, Jeff Wilson Jr. continues to excel out of the bye week. He showed even more on Sunday with 134 combined yards and proved to be a great check down for Mullens. Though, his fumble counted towards the three turnovers San Francisco committed.

Seattle used those turnovers to start in great field position, averaging at their own 33. San Francisco’s defense failed to slow down the Seahawks and once again went without a takeaway.

Richard Sherman wasn’t a factor in his return to Seattle, not showing on the stat sheet following the game.

The lone bright spot on defense was once against DeForest Buckner, picking up two of the 49ers’ three sacks. Donald Blair gained the other one on a 16-yard mistake by Wilson.

The Seahawks have now won three-straight games (7-5) and climbed into a Wild Card spot with the victory.

The offense didn’t quit in the second half, scoring two touchdowns with the Pettis’ emergence appearing, but for the second straight week were embarrassed. Kyle Shanahan was blowing leads earlier in the year, but now he can’t even get a lead with maybe one winnable game remaining on the year next week against Denver.

NCAAFB podcast with Michelle Richardson: It was the Pitts for Pitt upended by Clemson; Ohio’s offensive unit does the trick in laying out Northwestern; plus more

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photo from Yahoo! Sports: Washington Huskies head coach Chris Peterson hoists the Pac-12 Championship Trophy after defeating the Utah Utes at Levis Stadium in Santa Clara on Friday night.

On the NCAAFB podcast with Michelle:

#1 Clemson (13-0) got a huge win over Pitt (7-6) Saturday 42-10 to their fourth straight ACC title. Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence went 12-24 for 118 yards and Pitt’s quarterback Kenny Pickett struggled, throwing 4-14 for for just 14 yards.

#2 The Ohio State Buckeyes (12-1) finished off Northwestern (8-5) 45-24. The Buckeyes dominated, thanks to fine offensive quarterbacking of Dwayne Haskins throwing for 499 yards, was picked off just once and had five passing touchdowns but the amazing thing was he got one touchdown on a shot gun and his offense did the rest of the work.

#3 The Washington Huskies (10-3) hoisted the Pac-12 Championship trophy on Friday night at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara with a 10-3 win over the Utah Utes (9-4). Huskies quarterback Jake Browning threw for 187 yards and a touchdown as that was enough to get past the Utes in defensive game. Plus Michelle’s final thoughts.

Michelle Richardson does the NCAA football podcasts each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Mahomes throws for four touchdowns in Chiefs’ 40-33 win over the Raiders

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Photo credit: @JustNowSports

By Jeremy Kahn

OAKLAND — Whenever the Oakland Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs meet on the football field, you can throw out the scorebook.

Patrick Mahomes joined some elite company, as he threw four touchdowns, becoming third quarterback in NFL history to throw 40 touchdown passes in 12 games and the Chiefs defeated the Raiders 40-33 before a crowd of 54,255 at the Coliseum.

The second-year quarterback out of Texas Tech joins Peyton Manning and Tom Brady as the only quarterbacks in this elite club.

Mahomes went 23-of-38 for 295 and four touchdowns, and also led the Chiefs in rushing with 52 yards rushing on nine carries.

It was just another day at the office for Travis Kelce, as he caught 12 passes for 168 yards and three of Mahomes four touchdowns.

Derek Carr threw three touchdowns, as he threw for 285 yards, as he went 29-for-38 on the afternoon.

Jalen Richard led the Raiders in rushing, as he gained 95 yards on just six carries.

Jordy Nelson led the Raiders in catches with 10, and gained 97 yards, while Jared Cook caught seven passes for 100 yards.

With the victory, the Chiefs are now 10-2, while with the loss, the Raiders fall to 2-10 on the season.

This was first game for the Chiefs without the services of their explosive running back Kareem Hunt, who was released from the team on Friday after a video showed Hunt shoved and kicked a woman back in February. TMZ released the nine-month video, and the Chiefs released the running back after he misled the organization about what occurred that night.

Things began well for the Raiders, as they recovered a fumble on the first play of the game, as Mahomes’ pass to Kelce was fumbled, and Nick Nelson recovered the ball at the Raiders 44-yard line.

Unfortunately, the Raiders could not take advantage of the early turnover and went three-and-out on their first series.

Johnny Townsend did not punt the ball long, as his punt traveled just 22 yards and the Chiefs took over at their own 35-yard line.

Tyreek Hill took the handoff and before you knew it, the speedy wide receiver picked up 33 yards down to the Raiders 32.

On the next play, Nelson, who recovered the Kelce fumble on the Raiders initial series on defense picked up an ill-advised penalty, as he picked up a pass interference penalty that gave the Chiefs the ball at the six-yard line. Arden Key then was caught in the neutral zone, and the Chiefs moved up an additional three yards.

Mahomes found Kelce for a three-yard touchdown pass to get the Chiefs on the board.

Just three plays into the Raiders next series, it abruptly came to an end, as Doug Martin fumbled the ball and Justin Houston recovered the loose ball at the Raiders 49-yard line.

The Chiefs took over, and got down to the Raiders 10-yard line, as the drive stalled there and Harrison Butker gave the Chiefs a 10-0 lead, as he hit a 29-yard field goal.

Spencer Ware, who was Hunt’s backup and will now get more of the first team reps in practice came up with the big play on the driver, as he scampered 17 yards thru the Raiders defense.

Butker stretched the Chiefs lead up to 13-0 in the second quarter, as he hit a 50-yard field goal and it looked like the rout was on, but that was not the case.

The Raiders consumed the ball for the nearly six minutes, and it ended with a Martin touchdown run from one yard out to get the Raiders on the board.

Mahomes then led the Chiefs on a quick drive that saw him connect with Kelce for the second time in the half, and the Chiefs went into the halftime break with a 19-7 lead after Butker’s extra point was blocked by Arden Key.

The Mahomes to Kelce touchdown pass was setup by Demarcus Robinson, who hauled in a Mahomes pass for 38 yards and was able to get out of bounds with 12 seconds remaining.

Daniel Carlson ended the Raiders first drive of the second half, as he nailed a 50-yard field goal to pull the Raiders within nine.

Like a game of pinball, the Chiefs marched right down the field and ended up scoring on a one-yard run to give the Chiefs a 26-10 lead.

Barely two minutes later, the Raiders cut the Chiefs down to 10, as Carr found Cook for a 24-yard touchdown pass; however, the two-point conversion run attempt by Martin came up short.

Mahomes threw his third touchdown pass of the afternoon, as he found Demetrius Harris from 13 yards out with just four seconds remaining in the third quarter. It was the second quarter in a row that the Chiefs scored in the end of the quarter.

Lee Smith got in on the act on the Raiders first series after Harris touchdown catch that gave the Chiefs a 17-point lead, as he caught a one-yard touchdown pass from Carr that cut the Chiefs lead down to 10.

After a quick three-and-out, the Raiders went right down the field and ended up cutting the Chiefs lead down to three, as Carr found Marcel Ateman for a nine-yard touchdown pass that cut the Chiefs lead down to three.

Unfortunately, the hot hands of Mahomes continued, as he threw his fourth touchdown pass of the afternoon on the Chiefs next series, as Chris Conley snared a two-yard touchdown pass.

Despite trailing by 10, the Raiders would not give up, as they drove down the field and Carlson nailed a 43-yard field goal to get the Raiders within seven; however, his onside kick was recovered by the Chiefs and they kneeled three times to close out the victory.

NOTES: There was a skirmish between Cook and Eric Murray in the second quarter, and both players were assessed unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.

UP NEXT: Once again, a division leader will head into the Coliseum, as the AFC North Division leading Pittsburgh Steelers face the Raiders on December 9.

Originally, scheduled for 5:20 pm on NBC, the game was flexed out and will be played at 1:25 pm on FOX.

NHL podcast with Daniel Dullum: Sharks stunned in Ottawa during Karlsson’s return; Leafs’ Nylander gets 6-year extension; plus more

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file photo from nbcsports.com: The Toronto Maple Leafs’ William Nylander, who received a six year extension from the Leafs over the weekend. On the NHL podcast with Daniel: 1 Senators beat San Jose in Karlsson’s return to Ottawa

2 Sharks seek skid-stopping win against Habs today in Montreal

3 Leafs sign William Nylander to six-year extension

4 Seattle may not be the end of NHL expansion

Daniel Dullum does the NHL podcasts each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

https://soundcloud.com/sports-radio-service/nhl-podcast-with-daniel-dullum-sun-dec-2-2018

Wrong Exit: St. Mary’s too much for Cal in neighborhood clash, beat the Bears 83-71

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By Morris Phillips

MORAGA — St. Mary’s first four-game losing streak since February 2007 essentially ended when the Cal Bears’ charter bus left Berkeley on Saturday and took a full hour to cover the 14 miles between the campuses.

That’s too long to travel, and if the Caldecott Tunnel could speak, the tunnel would confirm that fact. Instead of a timely arrival, the Bears experienced a hasty one, and bad things continued after the opening tip at McKeon Pavilion.

Malik Fitts scored 19 points–one of four St. Mary’s double-digit scorers–in the Gaels’ comfortable 83-71 win over Cal. St. Mary’s shot 55 percent before halftime, and led by 15 at the break.

Both rebuilding programs entered the clash needing a victory with the Gaels’ slide their first in more than a decade. The Bears beat Santa Clara on Monday, but dropped three of four prior to that. But it was apparent early on, Cal’s defense wasn’t going to be good enough to break into the win column.

Tanner Krebs’ 3-pointer with 8:57 remaining increased St. Mary’s lead to 28-18.

“We weren’t communicating enough on defense,” Cal’s Justice Sueing said. “That’s something we have to work on the next couple of days.”

“They came in with a game plan that they’re gonna use their secondary scorers to beat us, and they did a very good job of that,” coach Wyking Jones said.

Initially, Cal struggled to limit the Gaels’ dribble penetration. But that issue compounded when the St. Mary’s 3-point shooters started to get looks. The end result wasn’t pretty: the Gaels shot 60 percent from the field, canned 13 threes, and briefly led by 25 points in the second half.

The 60 percent shooting by their opponent was easily Cal’s worst showing of the season to date.

The West Coast Conference’s leading scorer, Jordan Ford, finished with 16 points and seven assists, off his average of more than 23 points a game. Dan Fotu added 16, and Krebs 11.

Justice Sueing paced the Bears with 16 points. Matt Bradley had 15, and Paris Austin 12. The Bears again struggled with ball movement and offensive cohesion with their absurdly low assist total of six jumping off the stat sheet.

The Bears host the USF Dons on Wednesday night, their third consecutive neighborhood clash, at 8:00 pm.

Kings pull one out of the fire, beat the Pacers 111-110 on Saturday night in SAC

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By Charlie O. Mallonee

SACRAMENTO — The Sacramento Kings broke a three-game losing skid on Saturday night when they defeated the Indiana Pacers 111-110 on their home court. The Kings took the lead with 16.1-seconds to go in the game and then had to battle through one of the ugliest jump ball endings any NBA has ever seen.

Even after the final buzzer, the game’s ending remained in doubt as the officials called for a replay to determine who committed a violation on the jump ball play. The violation was charged to the Pacers’ Darren Collison (yes, the former King) and 1.3 seconds was put back on the clock with the ball being awarded to Sacramento.

The Kings inbounded the ball and held it until the clock expired to seal the victory.

This was not a “typical” Kings win
The Kings were not able to run the Pacers into the ground as they have so many other teams this season. Indiana entered the game holding their opponents to the second lowest average points per game at 102.3. The Pacers were seventh in shooting defense holding their opponents to a 46.6 Field Goal Percentage.

Sacramento did win the battle of the Fast Break Points 18-10, but that is a far cry from a team that has twice this season scored 38 points on the break.

One of the keys to the Kings win was their offensive rebounding. They pulled down 14 rebounds off their own shots while the Pacers grabbed only six offensive rebounds. Those offensive rebounds would lead to 15 Kings second chance points while Indiana could muster only six of their own.

The Kings also helped themselves with some well-timed 3-point shooting in the game. The Pacers came in holding their opponents to a 37.7 3-point shooting percentage. The Kings shot 44.8 percent (13-for-29) from downtown on Saturday night. Indiana shot above their normal 3-point shooting percentage of 37.8, hitting 10-of-24 attempts (41.7-percent), but their effort fell short of the Kings’ pace.

Both teams were missing key players
The Pacers were without Victor Oladipo for a seventh game due to sore right knee. The bad news for Indiana is that there is no timetable for Oladipo’s return. It is not easy to replace 21.4 points per game in your lineup.

The Kings had to play without Marvin Bagley III, who was suffering from back spasms that flared up late in the game versus the Clippers. Sacramento is hoping that he will be available on the upcoming four-game road trip.

Battle of the Bogdanovics
Each team’s leading scorer had the name Bogdanovic on his jersey. Bojan Bogdanovic was the Pacers leading scorer and the high scorer in the game with 27 points in just over 37 minutes on the floor. He hit 10-of-19 shots from the field, including two 3-point baskets. Indiana’s Bogdanovic converted 5-of-6 opportunities from the free throw line.

The Kings’ Bogdan Bogdanovic led his team in scoring with 20 points coming off the bench as the sixth man. Bogdanovic also added six assists and two steals for Sacramento. He put 7-of-12 shots through the hoop with three of those buckets being 3-pointers. Bogdanovic was a perfect 3-for-3 from the charity stripe.

Dave Joerger had a lot to say after the game

Joerger point of emphasis
Coach Dave Joerger met the press corps at the entrance to the locker room to tell us he overlooked something in postgame remarks to the media. He wanted to be sure to let us know that in his opinion that Justin Jackson had his best game of the season on Saturday night.

Jackson scored eight points, hauled in three rebounds and dished out two assists in just under 25 minutes of playing time. Jackson also played some tenacious defense for the Kings that will not show up in hard numbers but helped lead them to a win.

Don’t overlook Troy Williams
Troy Williams scored 12 points in 16 on the floor Saturday night. He connected on 4-of-6 shots and was a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the 3-point arc. Williams brought a high charge of energy to court every time he entered the game.

De’Aaron Fox is always ready to talk after a win

Final Takeaways

  • The Kings are now back to .500 for the season with a record of 11-11
  • The Pacers’ record now stands at 13-10
  • Bogdan Bogdanovic has scored 20 or more points in his last three games
  • Willie Cauley-Stein recorded his eighth double-double of the season with 17 points and 13 rebounds
  • Bojan Bogdanovic put up 27 points which is a new season-high for the Pacers star
  • The Kings win broke a four-game overall losing streak to Indiana
  • This game featured 25 lead changes, 11 ties and neither team ever held a lead of more than seven points
  • The Kings are now 8-2 when they outrebound their opponents

Up Next
The Kings will head out on the road for a four-game trip that will take them to Phoenix, Cleveland, Indianapolis and Chicago. Sacramento will kick off the trip on Tuesday night in Phoenix.

The Pacers will return to Indianapolis and will host the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday evening.

Barracuda douse the Heat with 6-4 victory

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@sjbarracuda: The San Jose Barracuda Maxim Letunov (84) puts one on net against Stockton Heat goalie Nick Schneider (30) Saturday night at Stockton Arena 

by Marko Ukalovic

The San Jose Barracuda started off a quick and never looked back as they scored three first period goals en route to a 6-4 victory over their Nor Cal rival the Stockton Heat on Saturday evening at the Stockton Arena. The win snapped the Cuda’s four-game losing streak on the road.

Alex True and San Jose (12-3-1-2) drew first blood before the game was even two minutes old. True scored his fourth goal of the season at the 1:25 mark of the first period, putting the puck past Heat goalie Nick Schneider’s five-hole (6-2-0). Cavan Fitzgerald and Francis Perron received assists.

The Cuda would double their lead 50 seconds later when Maxim Letunov
threaded a pass from the right wing to Manny Weiderer, who stood atop the crease on the near swiped it in to give San Jose a 2-0 lead. Weiderer’s fifth goal of the season came at the 2:15 mark. Jeremy Roy also received the secondary assist. 

Captain John McCarthy concluded the three unanswered goals by San Jose in the first period as he scored his scored fourth goal of the season tipping in a shot by Fitzgerald at the 16:46 mark. It marked Fitzgerald’s second assist on the night. Rourke Chartier also received the secondary assist.

In the second period, Stockton (11-11-1-0) would break through early on when Glenn Gawdin’s initial shot was stopped by Cuda’s goalie Antoine Bibeau (5-2-2) but Matthew Phillips jammed in the loose rebound for his fifth goal of the season at the 2:21 mark. Dillon Dube received the secondary assist.

In what would be the turning point in the game, San Jose regained their three-goal lead when Jeffery Truchon-Viel spun in a puck in from close range at the 4:01 mark.

San Jose extended their lead to 5-1 after Jayden Halbgewachs received a pass wide open in the slot from True and buried it past Schneider for his sixth goal of the season at the 6:24 mark. The goal snapped a seven-game goaless drought for Halbgewachs.

Schneider’s was sent to the showers right after allowing five goals on only 14 shots. Jon Gillies came in mop-up duty for the rest of the game.

Spencer Foo scored the first of his two goals on the night when Alan Quine fed a pass to over to a wide-open Foo on the back door, who swept it past Bibeau for his seventh goal of the season at the 8:56 mark.

In the third period, Stockton made it 5-3 early into the final frame. Scott Sabourin snapped a shot past Bibeau into the short side of the goal for his second goal on the season at the 3:06 mark.

Chartier then finished off the scoring for the Cuda with an empty-netter at the 17:32 mark. Dylan Gambrell and Bibeau were credited with assists.

Foo completed the scoring with his eight goal and second of the evening to make the score look respectable with 49 seconds left in the contest but it was too little, too late for Stockton, who are 1-5 against the Cuda on the season.

Bibeau earned the victory after stopping 26 of 30 Stockton shots, while Schneider suffered the loss and Gillies (4-7-1) took a no-decision after stopping all 12 shots he faced in 32 minutes and 35 seconds of work.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 0/3 on the power play. Stockton was 0/1.

With the victory, it was San Jose’s third straight against the Heat and improved their record at Stockton Arena to 3-0 on the season. The win also placed San Jose atop the AHL with a .750 winning percentage

The announced attendance was 3,080.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda return home on Monday, Dec. 3 to host the San Diego Gulls at 7:00 pm at SAP Center.