Barracuda fall to Reign 2-1 in OT fight

San Jose Barracuda vs Ontario Reign on Tuesday November 4th at Toyota Arena (via ontarioreign on x)

By Madison Montez

The Ontario Reign and the San Jose Barracuda have faced each other twice this season already. The Ontario Reign visited San Jose this past weekend Oct 31-Nov 1 where they split the series. The Barracuda lost a close 2-1 overtime match with the Reign on Wednesday night at the Toyota Center in Ontario.

After a scoreless first period, Akil Thomas put his team on the board first. Taking advantage of their powerplay, Ignor Cherynoshov netted his first powerplay goal of the season. A minute into overtime, Ontario took the win with Taylor Ward being the hero.

Although there was a scoreless first period, San Jose outshot Ontario 8 -3, with most shots going their way. San Jose then outshot Ontario again after the second period 10-9. San Jose ended the game outshooting Ontario 27-20 but ultimately ended up with the loss.

The Barracuda were the first to the box when Cole Clayton took a two minute high-sticking penalty 59 seconds into the second period. San Jose ended up taking three penalties while Ontario took one penalty. Coming into tonight’s game, San Jose was last on the PK and Ontario was sixth. Since Ontario took one penalty, San Jose was able to showcase their powerplay and did. San Jose was fifth on the powerplay with a 22% while Ontario was eighth with a 17.9%.

Both goalies saw the ice and faced off last on San Jose’s ice. Gabriel Carriere who’s last game was a loss, recorded 32 saves on 34 shots. Erik Portillo who’s last game was against this Barracuda team, made 36 of 37 shots in his 6-1 win. In Tuesday night’s game, Carriere recorded the loss making 18 saves on 20 shots while Portillo recorded the win making 26 saves on 27 shots.

THREE STARS OF THE GAME:

  1. Taylor Ward
  2. Akil Thomas
  3. Erik Portillo

The Barracuda will be back in action on Thursday November 6th where they will visit Scotiabank Saddledome to take on the Calgary Wranglers. The last time these two teams faced off was on March 31st in Calgary when San Jose took the 4-1 win. Ethan Cardwell, Jack Thompson, Danil Guschin, and Nathan Todd all scored in the win. Jack Thompson is the only one left from that group that is still on the team.

San Jose Barracuda podcast Marko Ukalovic: Barracuda-Reign meet again this time in Ontario Tuesday

San Jose Barracuda left wing Pavol Regenda (84) tries to get control of the puck against the Ontario Reign at the Toyota Center in Ontario on Sat Nov 1, 2025 (San Jose Barracuda photo)

San Jose Barracuda podcast Marko Ukalovic:

#1 Marko the San Jose Barracuda won a key game against the Ontario Reign on Saturday night 4-2. Scoring twice in each of the first and third periods at Tech CU.

#2 In first period action the Barracuda got scoring from Jack Thompson for his first goal of the season and Zack Ostapachuk for his second of the season. For a 2-0 lead.

#3 The Reign got on the scoreboard when Martin Chromiak scored at 10:23 in the second period. Chromiak picked up his third goal of the season cutting San Jose’s lead 2-1.

#4 The Barracuda in the third period picked up a goal from Quentin Musty at 7:34, the Reign’s Taylor Ward scored his fifth goal of the season at 16:07 making it 3-2. The Barracuda’s Pavol Regenda got the insurance goal for San Jose scoring at 17:10 and the Barracuda came away with a 4-2 win.

#5 The Barracuda’s next game is in Ontario against these very same Reign on Tue Nov 4 for a 7:00pm face off at the Toyota Center in Ontario. How do you see this match up?

Marko Ukalovic does the San Jose Barracuda podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Barracuda upend Reign in 4-2 win, split weekend series

San Jose Barracuda forward Zach Ostapchuk (#63) reacts after scoring a goal on Ontario Reign goalie Phoenix Copley (#29) during the Cuda’s 4-2 win over the Reign at Tech CU Arena on Saturday NOV 1, 2025. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

The San Jose Barracuda rebounded nicely after a very poor performance the night before in a 4-2 victory over the Ontario Reign on Saturday evening at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose snapped it’s two-game losing streak and won for just the second time in their past six games. Ontario lost for the just the second time in its past six games.

The Barracuda (3-5-0) drew first blood defenseman Jack Thompson scored his first goal of the season at the 8:07 mark of the first period. Ethan Cardwell, who was back in the lineup after being a healthy scratch the night before, picked up the primary assist and Lucas Carlsson received the secondary helper.

Zach Ostapchuk doubled the Cuda’s lead with a short-handed goal late in the opening frame. Ostapchuk skated in a breakaway and beat Reign goalie Phoenix Copley with a wrist shot for his second goal of the season at the 15:05 mark.

Ontario (5-3-1) cut their deficit in half when Martin Chromiak scored his third goal of the season just past the halfway mark of the second period at 10:23. Glenn Gawdin and Joe Hicketts set up Chromiak’s second goal in as many games.

The teams traded power play goals in the third period. Quentin Musty regained San Jose’s two-goal lead when he buried a shot past Copley for his second goal of the season at the 7:34 mark. Colin White and Cam Lund were credited with assists. Then Taylor Ward answered with fifth goal of the season at the 16:07 mark to bring some late game drama.

However, 63 seconds later, Pavol Regenda shut down any Reign attempt at a comeback when he scored his first goal of the season to seal the deal for San Jose with 2:50 remaining in the game. Filip Bystedt had the only assist on the play.

Cuda goalie Gabriel Carriere stopped 27 of the 29 shots he faced to earn his first win of the season. Copley made 26 saves on 30 shots in the losing effort.

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

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Musty 2) Ostapchuk 3) Thompson.

UP NEXT: San Jose starts a five-game road trip when they take on the Ontario Reign on Tuesday November 4th at 7:00pm at Toyota Arena.

Reign bury Barracuda with second period barrage in 6-1 route

Ontario Reign forward Taylor Ward celebrates his goal along the wall with his teammates against the San Jose Barracuda at Tech CU Arena on Friday OCT 31, 2025. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — It was ghoulish night for the first ever game played on Halloween in the franchise history of the San Jose Barracuda.

The Ontario Reign played the role of Frankenstein’s monster with a four goal second period en route to a 6-1 blowout victory on Friday evening at the haunted house known as Tech CU Arena.

San Jose has lost three out of its last four games. Ontario has won four out of its last five games.

Ontario (5-2-1) drew first blood early in the first period. Martin Chromiak centered a pass from behind the net out to Taylor Ward whose initial shot was stopped by Cuda goalie Jakub Skarek. Ward fought through a check in front of the crease and collected his own rebound and beat Skarek for his fourth goal of the season at the 4:48 mark.

San Jose (2-5-0) responded a power play goal late in the opening frame. A shot from the point by Luca Cagnoni was stopped by a sprawled-out Reign goalie Erik Portillo in front of a sea of traffic. Colin White pounced in from the point and his shot attempt hit off of Oliver Wahlstrom after a mad scramble in front of the crease for Wahlstrom’s first goal of in a Cuda sweater at the 18:09 mark.

It was the seventh consecutive game San Jose has conceded the game’s first goal. Ward has seven points in his past two games.

The Reign regained the lead with an even strength goal early on in the second period. Koehn Ziemmer’s shot from the right wing was redirected past Skarek by for his third goal of the season at the 6:59 mark.

Ontario went up by two goals after a turnover by San Jose in the neutral zone at the halfway mark of the middle frame. Samuel Bolduc skated in on a breakaway before sliding a backhander through the five-hole of Skarek for his fourth goal of the season at the 10:27 mark.

The Reign scored its third unanswered goal in the period. A shot from the point caromed off of both posts before Jack Hughes poked home the rebound at the 12:40 mark. Ziemmer and Angus Booth were credited with the assists on Hughes’ first goal of the season.

That was the end of the night Skarek as Cuda head coach John McCarthy inserted backup goalie Gabriel Carriere. Skarek went to the showers with 13 saves on 17 shots.

San Jose immediately didn’t do any better after the goalie change. Jakub Dvorak made it 5-1 with a four-on-four game at the 13:47 mark. Ward sent a cross-ice pass over to Dvorak who beat Carriere with a one-timer top shelf for his first goal of the season.

Kenny Connors made it five straight unanswered goals for Ontario as the puck deflected off of Cagnoni and Connors fired a shot past Carriere for his first career AHL goal at the 4:32 mark of the third period.

Portillo finished the game stopping all but one of the 36 shots he faced to earn his third win of the season. Carriere made four saves on six shots in mop up duty.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 1-for-5 on the power play. Ontario went 0-for-4.

UP NEXT: San Jose and Ontario conclude their two-game weekend series on Saturday November 1st at 6:00pm at Tech CU Arena.

Barracuda shut out by Gulls 3-0

San Jose Barracuda vs San Diego Gulls on Wednesday October 29th at Pechenga Arena (via sdgulls/x)

By Madison Montez

Coming off of a 3-2 win against the Milwaukee Admirals, splitting the previous series. Wednesday night, they were looking to extend that win streak.

San Diego was the first on the board, taking advantage of being on the powerplay. Yegor Sidorov scored his second power-play goal of the season. Coming into Wednesday night’s game, San Diego was last in place on the powerplay, with a 13.6%.

On the other side, San Jose was in last place with a 60.9%. San Diego struck again in the second period when Tim Washe scored his second goal of the season, his second point of the night. With two minutes left, San Diego sealed the win with an empty net goal, Tim Washe scored his second of the game.

The shots on goals were pretty equal throughout the night. After the first period, San Diego outshot San Jose 17 to 9. After the second period, San Jose outshot San Diego 12 to 11. After the third period, San Diego ended up outhooting San Jose 7 to 6. In the end, San Diego ultimately outshot San Jose 35 to 27.

Both teams went to the penalty box an equal amount of times. When Quentin Musty was called for a two minute penalty, that’s when the Gulls took advantage and scored first to take their first lead of the game. San Jose was zero and five on the powerplay while San Diego was one for four.

For San Jose, Gabriel Carriere got the start, looking for his first win of the season. For San Diego, Ville Husso got the start, coming into Wednesday night’s game with a 1-3 record. Carriere with 27 saves on 19 shots recorded his 3rd loss of the season. Husso with 24 saves on 24 shots recorded his second win and shutout of the season.

THREE STARS OF THE GAME:

  1. Ville Husso
  2. Tim Washe
  3. Matthew Phillips

The Barracuda will be back in action on Friday, October 31st against the Ontario Reign. The last time these two teams faced off was in the Calder Cup playoffs when San Jose kicked Ontario out of the playoffs.

San Jose Barracuda podcast Marko Ukalovic: Barracuda tie series with Admirals Saturday with 3-2 win at Tech CU

San Jose Barracuda line left to right left wing Egor Afgfanasyev (11), defenseman Luca Cagnoni (42), forward Quentin Musty (13), center Colin White (16) and forward Igor Chernyshov (92) battle the Milwaukee Admirals at Tech CU in San Jose on Sat Oct 25, 2025 (San Jose Barracuda photo)

San Jose Barracuda podcast Marko Ukalovic:

#1 How did San Jose Barracuda forward Kasper Halttunen impact the game on Oct 25 in terms of shot volume or scoring chances, and how does that reflect his adjustment to the AHL level?

#2 In what ways did Barracuda defenseman Mattias Havelid influence the Barracuda’s transition game during the contest, and how effective was he at minimizing the Admirals’ odd-man rushes?

#3 With Barracuda goaltenders Matt Davis and Gabriel Carrière both on the roster, which goalie was used on Oct 25, and how did his performance (rebound control, high-danger saves) affect the outcome?

#4 Barracuda forward Filip Bystedt is a rising prospect — how did his deployment ( line-mate combinations, special-teams usage) on Oct 25 reflect the Barracuda’s coaching strategy for his development?

#5 How did Barracuda defenseman Luca Cagnoni perform on the penalty kill or during key defensive-zone face-offs on Oct 25, and what does that tell us about his readiness for higher-level competition?

San Jose Barracuda podcasts with Marko Ukalovic are heard Mondays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

White’s power play goal lifts Barracuda over Admirals 3-2, split series

San Jose Barracuda forward Colin White (#16) celebrates his third period and eventual game winning goal against the Milwaukee Admirals with his teammates at Tech CU Arena on Saturday OCT 25, 2025. (Bridget Whitaker-Bay Area Sports Wrap)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Colin White picked a good time to score his first goal of the season.

White’s heroics in the third period gave the San Jose Barracuda a 3-2 victory over the Milwaukee Admirals on Saturday evening at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose snapped its three-game losing streak as it split the series with the Admirals. Milwaukee has started the season splitting its first four games.

The game winning goal began when Luca Cagnoni’s shot from the point was initially saved by Admirals (and former Cuda) goalie Magnus Chrona. Igor Chernyshev collected the puck, went around the net before centering the puck out in front of the crease. Egor Afanasyev’s shot attempt was blocked in front, but White pounced on the rebound and went top shelf for his first goal of the season at the 7:08 mark of the final frame.

Milwaukee (2-2-0) continued its success on the power play from last night as they drew the game’s first goal on the man advantage early in the first period. Jake Lucchini’s shot from the point was initially save by Cuda goalie Jakub Skarek but Ryan Ufko cleaned up the rebound with a quick wrist shot to the short side for his second goal of the season at the 7:37 mark.

The Admirals have scored five power plays in six attempts during the weekend series against the Barracuda.

San Jose (2-3-0) evened the score late in the opening frame with an even strength goal. Ethan Cardwell finished off a give-and-go with Luca Cagnoni inside Milwaukee’s zone when he beat Chrona with a backhand shot through the five-hole for his second goal of the season at the 13:20 mark.

The Barracuda gained its first lead on the power play late in the middle frame. Cagnoni blasted a shot from the point past a screened Chrona for his second goal of the season at the 13:12 mark. Afanasyev picked up his first point in a Cuda sweater with the primary assist. Quentin Musty was credited with the secondary assist.

Milwaukee scored the equalizer with 65 seconds left in the period. The puck hit off of the right boards past an outstretched Cagnoni who fell to the ice. Oasiz Wiesblatt hopped over Cagnoni, gathered the puck and beat Skarek with a wrist shot to the short side for his second goal of the season and second in as many games.

Skarek finished the match stopping 20 of the 22 shots he faced to earn his second win of the season. Chrona made 36 saves on 39 shots in the losing effort.

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

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) White 2) Cagnoni 3) Afanasyev.

UP NEXT: San Jose travels down to San Diego for a midweek tilt with the Gulls on Wednesday October 29 at 7:00pm at Pechanga Arena San Diego.

Admirals make Barracuda pay for sinbin carousel in 6-2 win

Milwaukee Admirals forward Oasiz Wiesblatt (#88) celebrates his second period goal with his teammates along the boards against the San Jose Barracuda at Tech CU Arena on Friday OCT 25, 2025. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — The Milwaukee Admirals scored four goals on the man advantage in the second period to power past the San Jose Barracuda in a 6-2 victory on Friday evening at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose has lost three games in a row. Milwaukee has won two of its first three games to start the season.

San Jose (1-3-0) had three power play opportunities in the first period but weren’t able to capitalize on them thanks to the Admirals penalty kill led by goalie Matthew Murray who stopped all 15 shots.

Milwaukee (2-1-0) drew first blood at the end of the opening frame despite only registering 4 shots on goal in the first 15 minutes of the game. Ryan Ufko’s shot from the point clanked off of the back of Cuda goalie Gabriel Carriere and then off of the post. Former San Jose Sharks prospect David Edstrom poked home the rebound for his first goal of the season at the 19:56 mark.

The Admirals doubled its lead with a 5-on-3 power play goal to open up the second period. Ufko’s shot from the point was initially saved by Carriere. Cole O’Hara partially fanned on the rebound that trickled back into the middle and tapped home by Zach L’Heureux for his second goal of the season at the 2:02 mark.

Milwaukee scored its second power play goal of the game and third unanswered goal just over a minute later. Jake Lucchini received a puck from behind the net and centered the puck over to Daniel Carr open in the slot. Carr’s quick wrist shot falling down beat Carriere top shelf for his second goal of the season at the 3:24 mark.

Oasiz Wiesblatt scored Milwaukee’s third straight power play goal when he finished a tic-tac-toe play after getting behind Jake Furlong to beat Carriere with a point-blank shot for his first goal of the season at the 5:52 mark. Reid Schaefer and L’Heureux were credited with the assists.

San Jose had a 1:50 worth of a 5-on-3 power play opportunity with nine minutes remaining in the middle frame but Filip Bystedt’s tripping penalty at the 12:44 mark wiped away the chance for the Cuda to get back into the game.

The Barracuda finally got off the schneid with an even strength goal exactly two minutes later at the 7:52 mark. Samuel Laberge found a trailing Mattias Havelid who sniped a wrist shot past Murray for his first goal of the season.

Milwaukee scored its fourth power play goal of the period when Ufko’s shot from the left point deflected off of Cole Clayton and past Carriere for Ufko’s first goal of the season at the 14:10 mark. O’Hara and Joey Willis picked up helpers on the play.

Kasper Halttunen scored a power play goal for the Barracuda at the 18:02 mark when he blasted a shot past Murray for his second goal of the season. Cam Lund and Filip Bystedt recorded assists.

Ryder Rolston concluded the game’s scoring with an empty netter, his second of the season, with 2:16 remaining in the contest.

Murray finished the game stopping 37 of the 39 shots he faced to earn his second win of the season. Carriere made 18 saves on 23 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 1-for-8 on the power play. Milwaukee was 4-for-4.

UP NEXT: San Jose and Milwaukee conclude their two-game weekend series on Saturday October 25 at 6:00pm at Tech CU Arena.

Firebirds swoop past Barracuda with five unanswered goals in 6-3 win

Coachella Valley Firebirds forward Osacar Fisker Molgarrd celebrates his first period goal against the San Jose Barracuda at Tech CU Arena on Wednesday OCT 22, 2025. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — The Coachella Valley Firebirds scored five unanswered goals during a late second period blitz for a 6-3 come from behind victory over the San Jose Barracuda on Wednesday evening at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose has dropped two games in a row. Coachella Valley won for the first time this season.

Coachella Valley (1-2-1) drew first blood at the halfway mark of the first period with a power play goal. Logan Morrison found Oscar Fisker Molgaard who outwaited Cuda goalie Jakub Skarek before ripping a wrist shot to the far side of the net for his first goal of the season at the 10:29 mark.

San Jose (1-2-0) had two power play opportunities in the opening 20 minutes but failed to cash in on both chances. Firebirds goalie Nikke Kokko helped keep the Cuda off of the scoreboard as he made 11 saves.

The Barracuda evened the game early in the second period with an even strength goal. Cole Clayton sent a pass behind the Firebirds out to Anthony Vincent along the goal line. Vincent looked up and fired a quick shot on the net that deflected off of Kokko for his first goal of the season at the 4:33 mark. Zack Ostapchuk recorded the secondary assist.

San Jose gained it first lead with a pretty tick-tac-toe of a goal near the halfway mark of the middle frame. Colin White’s back pass found Cam Lund at the top of the faceoff circle. Lund gave it up to Lucas Carlsson in the right slot and the right-handed defenseman beat Kokko with a wrist shot for his first goal of the season at the 8:56 mark.

The Cuda scored its third unanswered goal on the power play just under two minutes later. Filip Bystedt found his linemate Kasper Halttunen wide open in the slot and Finnish winger blasted a one-timer past Kokko for his first goal of the season at the 10:51 mark. White picked up his second helper of the game with the secondary assist.

The Firebirds cut their deficit to a one goal thanks to a failed clearance by the Barracuda. Morrison scored his first goal of the season 51 seconds later. David Goyette and Jagger Firkus recorded assists on the play.

Coachella Valley scored the equalizer at the 14:24 mark when Carson Rehkopf circled out from behind the Cuda net and found Mitchell Stephens alone in the slot and Stephens buried a one-timer past Skarek for his first goal of the season.

Firkus regained the lead for the Firebirds exactly a minute later when after a faceoff inside the Cuda zone, Firkus marched in all alone on Skarek and beat him to the near side for his first goal of the season and Coachella Valley’s third unanswered at the 15:24 mark.

Kaden Hammell gave the Firebirds an insurance goal at the halfway mark of the third period. Hammell collected the puck near the red line, made a move around a Cuda defender along the right boards before skating in and beating Skarek through the five-hole for his first goal of the season at the 10:28 mark.

Morrison scored his second goal of the game with an empty netter with 44 seconds remaining in the game to close out the scoring.

Kokko finished the game stopping 24 of the 27 shots he faced in earning his first win of the season. Skarek made 28 saves on 33 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 1-for-5 on the power play. Coachella Valley was 1-for-7.

UP NEXT: San Jose continues its three-game homestand with a weekend series with the Milwaukee Admirals on Friday October 24th at 7:00pm at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose Barracuda podcast Marko Ukalovic: Barracuda host Firebirds Wednesday; Cuda were 7-1 against Coachella last season

San Jose Barracuda forward Patrick Giles (54) takes the puck down ice against the Bakersfield Condors at Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield on Sat Oct 17, 2025 (San Jose Barracuda photo)

San Jose Barracuda podcast Marko Ukalovic:

#1 What went wrong defensively for San Jose Barracuda in Saturday’s game against the Bakersfield Condors, given the Barracuda allowed multiple goals in key moments and ultimately lost by a narrow margin 2‑1?

#2 Did the Barracuda fail to capitalize on any power‑play or special teams opportunities, and if so, how did that impact the outcome?

#3 How did the goaltending matchup play out — was San Jose’s goaltender beaten by one or two mistakes, or did Bakersfield take advantage of strong chances?

#4 Was there a shift in momentum during the game for example, a period where San Jose dominated but failed to score, and could that explain how Bakersfield secured the win?

#5 The Barracuda face off against the Coachella Valley Firebirds Wed Oct 22 at Tech CU. The Barracuda had lots of success against the Firebirds last season going 7-1 do you see that happening again for this next game in San Jose?

Join Marko for the San Jose Barracuda podcasts Mondays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com