Tag: AHL

Ontario Reign forward Andre Lee (#26) crashes the crease in a sea of San Jose Barracuda players including goalie Eetu Makiniemi (#32) in the second period at Toyota Arena on Friday JAN 5, 2024. (Ontario Reign)

by Marko Ukalovic

The Ontario Reign scored two special teams’ goals in the second period to upend the San Jose Barracuda in a 2-0 shutout victory on Friday evening at Toyota Arena.

San Jose has lost three out of its last five games. Ontario has won two of its last three games is undefeated against the Barracuda in three games this season.

Ontario had the ice tilted in their favor in the scoreless first period as they outshot San Jose 11-6 in the opening frame. The Reign had the only power play opportunity but failed to capitalize on it.

The Reign (17-10-3-1) drew first blood late in the second period with a power play goal. TJ Tynan’s attempted pass was knocked out of the air by Shakir Mukhamadullin. The puck pinballed around in front of the net before Akil Thomas poked home the puck for his ninth goal of the season at the 13:19 mark.

Ontario doubled its lead with a short-handed goal late in the middle frame. Thomas battled Tristen Robins for a loose puck in the neutral zone. Taylor Ward, who trailed the play, picked up the puck and skated in a breakaway before depositing the puck past ‘Cuda goalie Eetu Makiniemi for his third goal of the season with 19 seconds remaining.

Ward’s goal snapped a five-game goal-less draught.

San Jose (11-15-4-0) weren’t able to generate any offense despite having three power play opportunities throughout the contest. The ‘Cuda pulled Makiniemi for an extra attacker with 2:37 remaining in the game to no avail as Ontario held down the fort in the final two and a half minutes.

Reign goalie Erik Portillo (9-4-1-1) stopped all 25 shots he faced to earn his second shutout of the season to snap a four-game winless streak. Makiniemi (4-4-0-1) made 25 saves on 27 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 0-for-3 on the power play. Ontario was 1-for-4.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Porillo 2) Thomas 3) Ward.

UP NEXT: San Jose and Ontario conclude their two-games series on Saturday 1/6 at 6:00pm at Toyota Arena.

San Jose Barracuda forward Cole Cassles battles for the puck with Tucson Roadrunners forward Milos Kelemen at Tech CU Arena on Wednesday JAN 3, 2024. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Danil Gushchin scored his second goal late in the third period on the power play as the San Jose Barracuda defeated the Tucson Roadrunners 6-4 in a wild high scoring game on Wednesday evening at Tech CU Arena.

Cole Cassels set up Gushchin’s heroics with a pass out to Russian forward on the right wing who fired home a one-timer with 2:42 remaining in the third period for his team leading 11th goal of the season to break a 4-4 deadlock.

San Jose has won two of its pasts three games. Tucson had its five-game winning streak snapped.

San Jose (11-14-4-0) drew first blood with an even strength goal early in the first period. Nathan Todd led an odd man rush up the ice. Todd centered a pass over to Kyle Rau whose shot was initially saved by Roadrunners goalie Matthew Villalta, but a trailing Gushchin cleaned up the rebound for first goal of the game, his tenth at the time, at the 4:10 mark.

The Barracuda doubled its lead just past the halfway mark of the opening frame. Leon Gawanke’s wrist shot from the right slot hit off the post and landed in front of the crease. Todd punched the puck in with a backhander for his seventh goal of the season at the 12:18 mark.

“To get a win tonight against those guys (Tucscon) was huge,” said Todd on his team beating the Roadrunners for the first time this season. “We battled hard there. Chrones (Chrona) made some big saves there at the end. We owed them one, so it was nice.”

Tucson (19-9-1-1) cut the ‘Cuda lead in half with a power play goal late in the period. Max Szuber’s shot from the point was redirected past ‘Cuda goalie Magnus Chrona by Austin Poganski for his fourth goal of the season at the 17:44 mark.

San Jose regained its two-goal lead with 48 seconds remaining in the first period. A centering pass from Oskar Lindblom went to Cassels who controlled it first with his skate before depositing the puck into the back of the net for his fourth goal of the season.

However, Tucson answered back on its next shift. A defensive breakdown led to a two-on-one down low for the Roadrunners. Jan Jenik centered a pass over to Josh Doan who was all alone and beat Chrona with a wrist shot for his team leading 13th goal of the season 11 seconds later at the 19:23 mark.

The Roadrunners scored the equalizer with an even strength goal late in the second period. Ben McCartney set up Cameron Crotty at the right point and Crotty blasted a slapshot past Chrona for his first goal of the season at the 18:15 mark.

San Jose regained the lead on the power play to start the third period. Shakir Mukhamadullin’s wrist shot from the point was redirected underneath Villalta by Scott Sabourin for his seventh goal of the season at the 1:00 mark.

Sabourin’s power play goal snapped a four-game power play draught for the ‘Cuda.

Yeah it was huge, it won the game for us (tonight),” said ‘Cuda head coach John McCarthy on their success with the man advantage. “We spent some time (practicing) on it over the week with some different things. Good to see them go in for us tonight. Guys start feeling good about it. Sometimes it’s very streaky, so hopefully we can ride that a little bit.”

Tucson scored the equalizer near the halfway mark of the third period. Victor Soderstrom skated into the ‘Cuda zone and from the left boards beat Chrona with a wrist shot through the five-hole for his seventh goal of the season at the 9:20 mark.

Artem Guryev completed the scoring with an empty net goal, his first of the season with 43 seconds remaining to seal the deal for the ‘Cuda.

Chrona (4-7-2) finished the game stopping 31 of the 35 shots he faced to earn his fourth victory of the season. Villalta made 32 saves on 37 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 2-for-4 on the power play. Tucson was 1-for-3.

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

UP NEXT: San Jose travels down to Ontario to take on the Reign in a two-game weekend series on Friday 1/5 at 7:00pm at Toyota Arena.

San Jose Barracuda forward Thomas Bordeleau battles for the puck against Bakersfield Condor’s center Greg McKegg at Tech CU Arena on Saturday DEC 30, 2023. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — The Bakersfield Condors scored two goals in the third period en route to a 4-2 victory over the San Jose Barracuda on Saturday evening at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose has lost three out of its last five game. Bakersfield split the series with the win and has points in six consecutive games.

Bakersfield (12-10-1-2) drew first blood early in the first period on an even strength goal. Brad Malone found Carter Savoie on an odd man rush and Savoie beat ‘Cuda goalie Magnus Chrona with a wrist shot to the short side for his second goal of the season at the 1:52 mark.

San Jose (10-14-4-0) answered back with an even strength goal at the 8:10 mark. Shakir Mukhamadullin found Leon Gawanke down in the right slot. Gawanke skated in before beating Condor’s goalie Jack Campbell with a wrist shot through the five-hole for his seventh goal of the season. The rookie defenseman has scored a goal in back-to-back games.

“That’s what we’re looking for out of him,” said ‘Cuda head coach John McCarthy regarding Gawanke’s recent offensive outburst. “He’s (Gawanke) got the big shot. So, we’re looking for him to get that off and get it through. He’s had some success the last couple of games.”

The Barracuda gained its first lead late in the opening frame after Tristen Robins won a faceoff inside the Condor’s zone. Nikolai Knyzhov’s shot from the point sneaked its way through a sea of traffic for his first goal of the season at the 15:19 mark. Danil Gushchin recorded the primary assist on Knyzhov’s first goal since 2020.

The Condors scored the equalizer late in the second period. A slapshot from the left point by Drake Caggiula was redirected past Chrona by Cameron Wright for his sixth goal of the season at the 16:04 mark on what was the Condors fourth shot of the period.

“I liked our first two periods. At the end of the second (period) they kind of got back in the game. In the third (period) they came out with a little push and got us on our heels and never were able to reestablish our game,” McCarthy said.

Bakersfield regained the lead at the 6:20 mark of the third period. Ben Gleason rifled a slapshot from the right point that screamed past a screened Chrona top shelf for his third goal of the season.

Gleason iced the game for Bakersfield with an empty net goal with 44 seconds remaining in the game, his second of the game and fourth of the season.

Campbell (5-6-0-1) finished the game stopping 31 of the 33 shots he faced to earn his fifth victory of the season. Chrona (3-7-2-0) made 24 saves on 27 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 0-for-4 on the power play. Bakersfield went 0-for-3.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Gleason 2) Knyzhov 3) Gawanke.

UP NEXT: San Jose starts the New Year off hosting the Tucson Roadrunners on Wednesday 1/3 at 7:00pm at Tech CU Arena.

Bakersfield Condors forward Raphael Lavoie (#50) makes a move away from San Jose Barracuda center Jacob Peterson at Mechanics Bank Arena on Friday DEC 29, 2023. (Bakersfield Condors)

by Marko Ukalovic

The San Jose Barracuda scored three goals in the third period to overcome a two-goal deficit and went on to defeat the Bakersfield Condors 5-4 in a shootout victory on Friday evening at the Mechanics Bank Arena.

San Jose has won two of its past three games in its first shootout of the season. Bakersfield had its two-game winning streak snapped but have points in its past five game (3-0-1-1).

Danil Gushchin and Tristen Robins scored in the shootout for the ‘Cuda and goalie Eetu Makiniemi stopped Mayev Petrov’s attempt to clinch the win as San Jose.

The ‘Cuda welcomed back Oscar Lindblom who hadn’t played in an AHL game since November 5th. due to an injury. Also, Jacob Peterson was back in the lineup after missing the past six games with an undisclosed injury.

Bakersfield (11-10-1-2) drew first blood early in the first period on the man advantage. A shot from the point by Alex Peters hit off the stick of Makiniemi then off the post before finding the back of the net for the second goal of the season at the 4:57 mark. Greg McKegg, who received the secondary assist on Peters’ goal, provided a screen on the play.

San Jose (10-13-4-0) even the scored less than two minutes later with an even strength goal. Shakir Mukhamadullin found Leon Gawanke at the left point. The rookie defenseman blasted a slapshot top self to the far corner past Condors’ goalie Olivier Rodrigue for his sixth goal of the season at the 6:50 mark. Cole Cassels received the secondary assist for his team leading 17th of the season.

Bakersfield regained the lead near the halfway mark off the second on a fluky goal. Xavier Bourgault sent from the left boards hit off the skate of Ty Tullio and the puck sneaked underneath the pads of Makiniemi for his third goal of the season at the 8:33 mark.

The Condors took advantage of a double-minor penalty by Gushchin for high sticking. Former Barracuda forward Lane Peterson cleaned up the rebound off a Raphael Lavoie by tucking the puck inside the left post for his sixth goal of the season for a power play goal at the 9:19 mark.

San Jose cut the deficit to a one goal game on a delayed goal early in the third period. Gushchin intercepted a pass off of Xavier Bernard at center ice. Gushchin skated into the Condors zone before ripping a wrist shot top shelf past Rodrigue. However, the officials waved it off initially as play went on for another minute and half. After review, Gushchin was awarded the goal, his co-leading ninth goal of the season officially at the 2:28 mark.

Scott Sabourin scored the equalizer just under three minutes later. Sabourin used his skate to pick the puck away from Pederson just in front of the crease. Sabourin made one move to the right before beating Rodrigue top shelf to the far side for his sixth goal of the season at the 5:03 mark.

As it did earlier in the game, Bakersfield took advantage of the ‘Cuda’s misconduct to regain the lead. Lavoie scored a 5-on-3 power play goal when he lasered in a wrist shot top shelf for the Condors third power play goal of the game at the 9:29 mark. Lavoie’s 10th goal of the season was also his team-leading fifth power play goal.

The Barracuda scored the equalizer with Makiniemi pulled for an extra attacker with 1:24 remaining in the period. Kyle Rau found Cassels with a rink wide pass along the right flank. Cassles buried a wrist shot past Rodrigue to the far side for his third goal of the season.

San Jose had a chance to end the game in overtime when they had a power play when Max Wanner went into the sin bin with 2:32 left in the extra session. However, the ‘Cuda didn’t register a shot on the power play as the game went to the shootout.

Makiniemi (4-3-0-1) stopped 33 of the 37 shots he faced and two of the three shots in the shootout to earn his fourth victory. Rodrigue (5-2-2-1) made 24 saves on 28 shots and was 1-2 in the shootout in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 0-for-4 on the power play. Bakersfield went 3-for-7.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Cassels 2) Gawanke 3) Peters.

UP NEXT: San Jose and Bakersfield conclude their home and home series on Saturday 12/30 at 6:00pm at Tech CU Arena.

Henderson Silver Knights Brandon Hickey (#41) and Daniil Chayka (#5) celebrate one of the team’s three goals against the San Jose Barracuda at Dollar Loan Center on Saturday DEC 23, 2023. (Henderson Silver Knights)

by Marko Ukalovic

Gage Quinney scored the game winning goal late in the third period as the Henderson Silver Knights came back from a two-goal deficit to defeat the San Jose Barracuda 3-2 on Saturday evening at Dollar Loan Center.

Henderson have won five of its last six games as it split the weekend series with its Pacific Division rival. San Jose has lost two of its past three games. It was the third time this season the ‘Cuda had a multi-goal lead against the Silver Knights and still lost the game.

San Jose (9-13-4-0) drew first blood with an even strength goal just past the halfway mark of the first period. Ethan Cardwell picked up a loose puck off of a Artem Guryev shot. He skated back into the middle and wired a wrist shot past Silver Knights goalie Jordan Papirny for his team leading ninth goal of the season at the 11:04 mark.

It was the second consecutive game Cardwell scored the game’s first goal.

The Barracuda doubled its lead a minute and a half later. Danil Gushchin led a counterattack. Kyle Rau sent a rink wide pass over to Bradley Marek who beat Papirny with a one-timer for his fourth goal of the season at the 12:35 mark.

Henderson (15-11-1-2) cut the lead in half with 57 seconds remaining in the opening frame with an even strength goal. Sheldon Rempal won a battle behind the net and centered a pass back out to Mason Morelli. The veteran forward beat ‘Cuda goalie Georgi Romanov for his ninth goal of the season.

The Silver Knights scored the equalizer with an even strength goal at the 12:12 mark of the second period. Notorious ‘Cuda killer Adam Cracknell centered a pass out to Tyler Benson who directed the puck past Romanov for his fourth goal of the season.

Quinney’s heroics were set up by Rempal after the Silver Knights took advantage of a delayed hand pass by the ‘Cuda. Rempal found Quinney all alone between the faceoff circles and he beat Romanov with a wrist shot for his fourth goal of the season at the 16:29 mark of the final frame.

Papirny (2-4-1) finished the game stopping 15 of the 17 shots he faced to earn his second victory of the season to snap a four-game losing skid. Romanov (3-4-2) made 29 saves on 32 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 0-for-1 on the power play. Henderson went 0-for-7.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Quinney 2) Benson 3) Morelli.

UP NEXT: San Jose returns to action after the Christmas break to take on the Bakersfield Condors on Friday 12/29 at 7:00pm at Mechanics Bank Arena.

San Jose Barracuda forward Tristen Robins (#52) gives a friendly look to Tanner Kaspick (#41) at Dollar Loan Center as they beat the Henderson Silver Knights 2-1 on Friday DEC 22, 2023. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

Magnus Chrona played one of his best games in an inspired performance.

Chrona played lights out with 30 saves and the San Jose Barracuda needed every single one of them as they held on for a 2-1 victory over the Henderson Silver Knights on Friday evening at Dollar Loan Center.

San Jose has won four out of its last five games as they improved to 2-2-2 against the Silver Knights this season. Henderson had its four-game winning streak snapped.

Tristen Robins made his ‘Cuda season debut. He played on a line with Danil Gushchin and Kyle Rau.

San Jose (9-12-4-0) drew first blood early in the first period with an even strength goal. Tanner Kaspick connected with Ethan Cardwell on the right slot and Cardwell literally flew in with a wrist shot past Silver Knights goalie Michael Bullion for his eighth goal of the season at the 5:46 mark.

Cardwell thought he had his second goal less than two minutes later when he cleaned up a rebound into the back of the net. However, the officials ruled that Kaspick interfered with Boullion on the play and wiped away the goal.

The Barracuda went up 2-0 on a power play influenced goal late in the opening frame. Cardwell centered a pass in front of the crease over to Scott Sabourin who tapped home the point-blank shot for his fifth goal of the season at the 15:58 mark. Sabourin has a three-game goal streak.

Shakir Makhamadullin received the secondary assist on Sabourin’s goal to extent his point streak to five-games.

Henderson (14-11-1-2) was held to just six shots in the first period. ‘Cuda goalie Magnus Chrona had an easy opening 20 minutes.

The second period featured no goals but a lot of scoring chances. The Silver Knights had consecutive short-handed chances thwarted by Chrona. First Jonas Rondbjerg was robbed on a two-on-one opportunity. Then moments later Chrona stoned Tyler Benson’s short-handed chance.

The key moment of the game came at the 15:28 mark of the middle frame. Mason Morelli was awarded a penalty shot when Nikolai Knyzhov held him on a breakaway attempt. However, Chrona stayed sharp as he denied Morelli’s five-hole attempt.

Sabourin and Gushchin each had a chance to increase San Jose’s lead but each of their shot attempts hit the post.

Henderson cut the lead in half with a power play goal at the 7:47 mark of the third period. Adam Cracknell’s shot on the net was saved by Chrona but Grigori Denisenko cleaned up the rebound for his 10th goal of the season.

Chrona (3-6-2) stopped 30 of the 31 shots he faced to earn back-to-back victories. Boullion (1-1-0) made 23 saves on 25 shots in his second start of the season.

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

San Jose improved to 3-10-1-1 against Henderson down in the desert.

The Stars of the Game: 1) Cardwell 2) Chrona 3) Denisenko.

UP NEXT: San Jose and Henderson conclude their two-game series on Saturday 12/23 at 7:00pm at Dollar Loan Center.

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.