Tag: AHL

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

by Marko Ukalovic

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE–The streak is over!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

by Marko Ukalovic

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Iowa Wild winger Liam Ohgren fires a shot on net for his first goal of the season as San Jose Barracuda center Filip Bystedt attempts to defend the shot at Wells Fargo Center on Sunday NOV 3, 2024. (Iowa Wild)

by Marko Ukalovic

The Iowa Wild enacted revenge two weeks later on the San Jose Barracuda as they defeated the visiting team 5-2 to sweep the weekend series on Sunday afternoon at Wells Fargo Center.

San Jose were swept for the first time this season, while Iowa swept a series for the first time this season.

Iowa (2-6-1) drew first blood with a 5-on-3 power play goal late in the first period. Devin Shore found Travis Boyd behind the net to the right of the goal. Boyd centered a pass out to the slot where Liam Ohgren beat Cuda goalie Georgi Romanov with one-timer top-shelf to the far side for his first goal of the season.

The Wild doubled its lead with under two minutes left in the opening frame. After a faceoff win inside the ‘Cuda zone, Ryan O’Rourke found David Spacek at the left point and Spacek blasted a one-timer past Romanov for his first goal of the season.

San Jose (6-2) could not stay out of the penalty box in the second half of the opening 20 minutes as they weren’t able to generate much offense as they only had seven shots on goal. Wild goalie Dylan Ferguson was able to keep the ‘Cuda out of the net.

Iowa scored their third unanswered goal early in the second period. Boyd received the puck in the slot from O’Rourke. Boyd’s shot pass was redirected past Romanov by Michael Milne for his fourth goal of the season at the 5:13 mark. Milne has scored in back-to-back games against the ‘Cuda.

The Barracuda got on the scoreboard late in the middle frame with a power play strength goal. Luca Cagnoni set up Andrew Poturalski at the left slot. Poturalski skated inside the left faceoff circle before beating Ferguson for his first goal of the game and fourth of the season with 47 seconds remaining.

Poturalski made it a one-goal game near the halfway mark of the third period. The Barracuda had pressure inside the Wild zone. Brandon Coe centered a pass from the left board over to Poturalski in the slot. The veteran forward skated in, got Ferguson to go down before depositing the puck into the back of the net for his team leading fifth goal of the season at the 8:32 mark.

Iowa gained an insurance goal late in the final frame. A turnover in the neutral zone by the Barracuda was picked up by Hunter Haight at the red line. Haight skated in and used a ‘Cuda defender as a screen before wiring a wrist shot top shelf to the short side for his fourth goal of the season at the 13:18 mark.

The Wild put the game away thanks to the Barracuda failing to clear the puck of its zone. Ben Jones picked up the puck behind the net and centered the puck back in the slot. Devin Shore buried a wrist shot past Romanov for his first goal at the 15:50 mark.

Ferguson (1-0), who made his first start of the season, earned his first win as he stopped 22 of the 24 shots from San Jose. Romanov (1-2) made 31 saves on 36 saves in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 1-for-6 on the power play. Iowa went 1-for-5.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Boyd 2) Milne 3) Haight.

UP NEXT: San Jose returns home to host the Colorado Eagles for a two-games series starting on Saturday 11/9 at 6:00pm at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose Barracuda defenseman Luca Cagnoni (#42) plays the puck out of his zone during his team’s 4-1 loss to the Iowa Wild at the Wells Fargo Arena on Saturday NOV 2, 2024. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

The Iowa Wild reversed their fortunes against the San Jose Barracuda in a 4-1 victory on Saturday evening at Wells Fargo Arena.

San Jose had its five-game winning streak snapped. Iowa has won two games in a row after starting the season losing their first seven games. Iowa was swept by San Jose when they visited the ‘Cuda two weeks ago.

Iowa (2-6-1) drew first blood 15 seconds to start the game. A failed clearing attempt by ‘Cuda defenseman Jake Furlong was intercepted by Ben Jones. The Wild center skated around Furlong and beat Barracuda goalie Yaroslav Askarov with a wrist shot to the far side for his second goal of the season.

The Wild doubled its lead with an even strength goal right before the opening frame finished. Hunter Haight began an odd man rush up the ice. Haight found Travis Boyd along the left wing. Boyd centered a backhanded pass to Michael Milne who finished off the play with a wrist shot past Askarov for his third goal of the season at the 19:49 mark.

It was the worst first period by San Jose (6-2) this season as they started and finished the period giving up goals. They had 10 shots on goal but weren’t able to get one passed by Wild goalie Jesper Wallstedt.

Iowa scored its third unanswered goal of the game early in the second period. Graeme Clark skated into the ‘Cuda zone on a counterattack. Clark deked out a Barracuda defender before sending a rink wide pass over to Brendan Gaunce who beat Askarov to the far side with a wrist shot for his third goal of the season at the 4:54 mark.

The Barracuda had two power play opportunities in the middle frame but weren’t able to cash in either one as the Wild penalty kill kept San Jose off of the board.

San Jose spoiled Wallstedt’s shutout bid with an even strength goal in the third period. A shot from the point by Jimmy Schuldt was initially saved by Wallstedt, but Colin White crashed the net and cleaned up the rebound for his fourth goal of the season at the 12:23 mark.

Body completed the scoring with an empty net goal, second of the season, with 1:05 remaining in the game to seal the deal for Iowa.

Wallstedt (2-3-1) stopped 31 of the 32 shots he faced in earning his second win of the season. Askarov (5-1) made 32 saves on 35 shots in suffering his first loss of the season.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 0-for-5 on the power play. Iowa was also 0-for-5.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Wallstedt 2) Boyd 3) Milne.

UP NEXT: San Jose and Iowa conclude their two-game series on Sunday 11/3 at 1:00pm at Wells Fargo Center.

San Jose Barracuda forward Andrew Poturalski, who was the number one star of the game, battles with Coachella Valley Firebirds defenseman Gustav Oloffson during the Barracuda’s 5-1 win over the Firebirds at Tech CU Arena on Wednesday OCT 30, 2024.

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Barracuda are scorching hot.

Team Teal had five different goal scorers in a 5-1 route of the Coachella Valley Firebirds on Wednesday evening at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose has won a season best five games in a row and just their second game against their Pacific Division rival. Coachella Valley has lost their third game in five games.

San Jose (6-1) drew first blood with an even strength goal in the first period. Brandon Coe intercepted a pass in the neutral zone and skated into Coachella Valley zone. Coe threaded a pass to an unmarked Luke Grainger who made one move to get Firebirds goalie Ales Stezka to go down before roofing a backhander top-shelf for his first goal of the season at the 7:34 mark.

The Barracuda doubled its lead 58 seconds later. Luca Cagnoni kept the puck inside the Firebirds zone. The rookie defenseman found Andrew Poturalksi along the slot and Poturalski’s shot deflected off of the leg of Colin Graf and into the back of the net for Graf’s third goal of the season at the 8:32 mark.

Coachella Valley (2-3) had 12 shots on net in the opening frame but weren’t able to solve the mystery known as Barracuda goalie Yaroslav Askarov who made some key stops to keep the Firebirds off of the scoreboard.

The Firebirds cut the lead in half midway through the second period. Jager Firkus found Ben Meyers down low behind the net. Meyers made a move to get past Shakir Mukhamadullin before skating out from behind the net and lifting a backhander past Askarov for his second goal of the season at the 10:30 mark.

San Jose regained their two-goal lead with a short-handed goal. Justin Bailey won a battle along the boards and sent a pass up the ice that sprung Colin White on a breakaway. White beat Stezka with a back hand shot for his third goal of the season at the 13:02 mark.

The Barracuda earned its biggest lead of the contest early in the third period. Donovan Houle, who had a great night throwing his body around against the Firebirds, threw a shot on net that was initially saved by Stezka. Lucas Vanroyboys crashed the net and on is second attempt cleaned up the rebound for his second goal of the season at the 3:52 mark.

Poturalski completed the scoring with an empty net from deep inside his own zone for his third goal of the season at the 16:50 mark as Coachella Valley pulled their goalie with over four minutes remaining in the final frame.

Askarov (5-0) remained undefeated as he stopped 36 of the 37 shots to earn his fifth win of the season. Stekaz (1-3) made 33 save on 37 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 0-for-2 on the power play. Coachella Valley was 0-for-1.

San Jose is 2-10-2-3 in the all-time series with Coachella Valley.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Poturalski 2) Askarov 3) Grainger.

UP NEXT: San Jose heads to the Midwest this weekend to take on the Iowa Wild in a two-games series. The first game is Saturday 11/2 at 4:00pm at Wells Fargo Arena.