Tag: AHL

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

by Marko Ukalovic

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

by Marko Ukalovic

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

by Marko Ukalovic

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tucson Roadunners Nathan Smith skates into the San Jose Barracuda zone during his team’s 5-1 win at Tucson Convention Center Arena on Friday DEC 1, 2023. (Tucson Roadrunners)

by Marko Ukalovic

The Tucson Roadrunners scored four goals in the first period as they blew out the San Jose Barracuda 5-1 on Friday evening at Tucson Convention Center Arena.

San Jose has lost three out of its last four games and had its two-game winning streak on the road snapped. Tucson has won three out its last four games.

Tucson (11-6-1-1) drew first blood on a penalty shot in the second minute of the game. Ehtan Frisch crosschecked Josh Doan into the back of the net while Doan was on a breakaway. Referee Jim Curtin rewarded Tucson with a penalty shot Doan into the net backhand 1:34 mark.

Doan skated in and beat ‘Cuda goalie Magnus Chrona with a backhander shot top shelf for his team-leading eighth goal of the season.

Doan scored his second goal while the Roadrunners had the man advantage just past the midway point of the opening frame. Dylan Guenther found Doan along the left slot and the native of Scottsdale, Ariz. sniped home a one-timer past Chrona for his ninth goal of the season at the 11:02 mark.

Tucson scored its third unanswered goal of the period thanks to the ‘Cuda not being able to clear the puck out its own zone. Jan Jenik slipped a pass over to Zach Sanford who beat Chrona with a one-timer for his first goal in a Roadrunners sweater at the 17:29 mark.

Travis Baron made it 4-0 with 1:01 remaining in a nightmare first period for the ‘Cuda. Baron beat Chrona with a wrist shot on the short side for his second goal of the season after receiving a pass from Aku Raty.

San Jose (5-9-4-0) played on its heels during that opening 20 minutes as they only had a season low three shots on goal in a period as they were outshot 15-3.

The Roadrunners scored it second power play goal early in the second period. Victor Soderstrom blasted a slap-shot from the point that beat a screened Chrona for his third goal of the season at the 5:07 mark.

The ‘Cuda spoiled Roadrunners goalie Matthew Villalta’s shutout bid early in the third period with a power play goal. Nathan Todd sent a rink-wide pass down to Ethan Cardwell who skated past the Tucson defense to go in all alone on net before he deposited the puck past Villalta for his fifth goal of the season at the 4:04 mark.

Villalta (10-5-1) stopped 24 of the 25 shots he faced to earn the victory. Chrona (1-5-2) made 30 saves on 35 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 1-for-4 on the power play. Tucson went 2-for-5.

Tucson snapped a five-game losing streak against San Jose.

‘Cuda forward Bradon Coe celebrated his 22nd birthday.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Doan 2) John Leonard 3) Villalta.

UP NEXT: San Jose and Tucson conclude their two-game series on Saturday 12/2 at 6:00pm at Tucson Convention Center Arena.

San Jose Barracuda’s Thomas Bordeleau (#17) celebrates with his teammates one of the five goals against the Coachella Valley Firebirds at Acrisure Arena on Wednesday NOV 29, 2023. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

The San Jose Barracuda finally broke the desert curse.

The ‘Cuda scored three power play goals in route to a 5-3 victory over the Coachella Valley Firebirds on Wednesday evening at Acrisure Arena. It was the first win for the ‘Cuda against the Firebirds in their history as Coachella Valley won all 10 games last season against them in its inaugural season.

San Jose snapped a two-game losing streak. Coachella Valley has lost two of its past three games.

Coachella Valley (9-7-0-0) drew first blood at the halfway mark of the first period on the man advantage. Devin Shore roofed a wrist shot 22 seconds into the power play past ‘Cuda goalie Eetu Makiniemi for his second goal of the season at the 13:39 mark.

San Jose (5-8-4-0) even the game with its first power play goal at the midway point of the second period. Leon Gawanke found Danil Gushchin near the left faceoff circle and Gushchin deposited a wrist shot to the far side past Firebirds goalie Chris Driedger for his team leading sixth goal of the season at the 10:15 mark.

The Barracuda gained the lead with 40 seconds left in the middle frame with a 5-on-3 power play goal. Thomas Bordeleau’s shot from the point was redirected by Nathan Todd through the five-hole of Driedger for his second goal of the season.

San Jose cashed in the second penalty, that had 53 seconds left on it, to begin the third period for its third straight power play goal. Cole Cassels found Gawanke at the point and the German defenseman blasted a one-timer past Driedger for his third goal of the season.

Gawanke finished the game with a three-point night, his first in a ‘Cuda uniform.

Scott Sabourin scored the ‘Cuda’s fourth unanswered goal just over five minutes later. Jacob Peterson fed Sabourin, and his shot pinballed off a Firebirds defender past Driedger for his second goal of the season at the 5:59 mark.

Logan Morrison scored an even strength goal for Coachella Valley at the 13:32 mark. Morrison’s fifth goal of the season cut the lead to 4-2.

The Firebirds made it a one-goal game late in the game with a power play goal. Cameron Hughes scored his third goal of the season at the 17:31 mark.

Peterson squashed any comeback attempt by Coachella Valley with an empty net goal with 39 seconds, his fourth goal of the season, remaining to seal the deal for San Jose.

Makiniemi (1-2-0) finished the game stopping 31 of the 34 shots he faced to earn his first win of the season. Driedger (6-5-0) made 30 saves on 34 shots in the losing effort. It was Driedger’s first loss against San Jose.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 3-for-5 on the power play. Coachella Valley went 2-for-5.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Todd 2) Gawanke 3) Peterson.

UP NEXT: San Jose continues its three-game road trip with a two-game series with the Tucson Roadrunners on Friday 12/1 at 6:00pm at Tucson Convention Center Arena.