Tag: Bakersfield Condors

Condors edge Barracuda in 4-3 shootout victory

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

Seth Griffith scored the game-winning goal in the shootout to give the Bakersfield Condors a 4-3 win over the San Jose Barracuda on Wednesday evening at Mechanics Bank Arena.

The Condors extended their point streak at home to 10 games and have dominated the series with the Barracuda winning five of the six games. San Jose is now 0-5 in games in overtime games as this was its first shootout of the season.

San Jose (6-6-4-1) drew first blood in the first half of the first period. Joel Kellman found Nick DeSimone all alone just to the left of the net. Condors goalie Stuart Skinner made a diving paddle save on DeSimone’s shot, but the puck leaked out to the slot, where Stefan Noesen cleaned up the rebound for his first goal of the season at the 7:26 mark.

It was the first time the ‘Cuda scored a first period goal against its Pacific Division rival this season.

Bakersfield (11-6-0-1) scored the equalizer early in the second period as they capitalized on San Jose’s failue to clear the puck out of its own zone. Adam Cracknell sent a cross-ice, no-look pass over to Ostap Safin, who buried a one-timer past ‘Cuda goalie Sam Harvey for his first of two goals on the evening at the 2:41 mark.

For Safin, it was his first AHL goal in the past three years.

Noah Gregor regained the lead for the ‘Cuda when he slipped past Cooper Marody along the right boards after Nicholas Meloche cleared the puck out of the defensive zone. Gregor raced in on a breakaway and snapped home a wrist shot past Stuart for his second goal of the season at the 12:22 mark.

The Condors deadlocked the game at 2-2 just over two minutes later. Once again Bakersfield made San Jose pay for not being able to clear the puck out of their own zone. Marody skated around the net and centered a pass to a wide-open Tyler Benson, who finished off the play with a tap-in for his sixth goal of the season at the 14:44 mark.

Bakersfield outshot San Jose 17-14 in the middle frame.

The Condors gained its first lead of the game early in the third period. Cracknell won a faceoff inside the ‘Cuda zone and acted a screen for Safin, who went behind Cracknell and fired a wrist shot to the short side of Harvey for his second goal of the game and the season at the 2:54 mark.

Cracknell had an assist on every Condors goal and finished with a three-point night.

San Jose finally gave Bakersfield a taste of their own medicine scoring the equalizer late in the third period. Joachim Blichfeld led an odd-man rush after a turnover by Bakersfield in the neutral zone. Blichfeld executed a give-and-go with Gregor before Blichfeld’s attempted pass was blocked back to him and he fired a wrist shot past a screened Skinner for his team-leading 10th goal of the season at the 17:27 mark.

The ‘Cuda had a chance to end it in overtime with a power play at the 1:08 mark with a tripping penalty on Marody, but weren’t able to take advantage of the 4-on-3 opportunity.

Skinner finished with 38 saves on 41 shots to earn the victory. Harvey, who made his first start since early February, made 31 saves on 34 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 0-for-2 on the power play. Bakersfield went 0-for-1.

Marody currently has a 14-game point streak.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Safin 2) Cracknell 3) Griffith

UP NEXT: The Barracuda return home on Tuesday 3/30 as they host the Bakersfield Condors at 6:00 pm PST at Solar4America Ice at San Jose.

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Barracuda took early lead; Knights just too good catch up and win

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The San Jose Barracuda forward Alex True (70) and the Henerson Silver Knights forward Jonas Rondbjerg (46) face off on Sat Mar 20, 2021at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas (@sjbarracuda photo)

On the Barracuda podcast with Marko:

#1 The Barracuda (6-4-4-0) win on Wednesday to the Bakersfield Condors (9-6-0-0) 4-3 was a close contest it might have been a different outcome if not for the fine goaltending of Josef Korenar who stopped 37 shots.

#2 The Barracuda led in the first period but it got away in Saturday afternoon’s game against the Henderson Silver Knights (12-2-0-0).

#3 The Barracuda’s Alex True extended his point streak to five games after scoring with just one second left in the first period.

#4 Marko, talk about Maxim Letunov who hadn’t score in five games but found the back end of the net in the first period

#5 The Barracuda lost today by three points 5-2 have another shot at the Knights on Sunday at noon another matinee what will the Barracuda need to work on most their offense or defense against a very talented Knights team.

Join Marko Saturday nights for the Barracuda podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Barracuda edge Condors 4-3, snap two streaks

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Barracuda had a pair of two-goal leads before hanging on to defeat the the Bakersfield Condors 4-3 on Wednesday evening at SAP Center.

A pair of streaks came to an end with the Barracuda’s 4-3 win. The Condors’ nine-game winning streak and the ‘Cuda’s three-game winning streak ended in dramatic fashion.

There was no scoring in the penalty-free first period as Bakersfield outshot San Jose 9-6. Both Josef Korenar and Condors backup goalie Olivier Rodrigue stood their ground, stopping the 15 combined shots on net.

San Jose (6-4-4-0) finally drew first blood early in the second period. Stefan Noesen made a pretty, no-look centering pass from behind the net out to Joel Kellman, who buried the puck past the five-hole of Rodrigue for his second goal of the season at the 1:22 mark.

The Barracuda doubled its lead late in the middle frame to take a 2-0 lead heading into the second intermission.

Sasha Chmelevski led an odd man rush into the Condors zone. Chmelevski sent a cross ice pass to a trailing Jeffery Viel, who snapped home a wrist shot to the short side of Rodrigue for his second goal of the season at the 18:05 mark. Noesen collected his second point of the game, receiving the secondary assist.

Bakersfield (9-6-0-0) cut the lead in half early in the second period. ‘Cuda killer Cooper Marody sent a pass up to Tyler Benson, who was behind the bet. Benson skated out and banked a shot off Korenar for his fifth goal of the season at the 2:40 mark.

The Barracuda scored two unanswered goals in a 4:05 span midway through the third period that proved to be more than just insurance.

Nicholas Meloche sent a cross-ice pass from the right point over to Jacob Middleton. The veteran defenseman’s initial shot was blocked by a Condors defender before Middleton followed up on his own rebound and slid a backhander underneath Rodrigue for his goal of the season at the 7:19 mark.

San Jose went up 4-1 when Kellman led a 2-on-1 odd man rush with Joachim Blichfeld. Kellman sent a cross-ice pass over to Blichfeld, who lasered a one-timer past Rodrigue for what turned out to be the game-winning goal, his team-leading ninth of the season at the 11:24 mark.

The Condors did not go down quietly as they responded just 25 seconds later. Adam Cracknell intercepted a clearing attempt by Viel and skated to the left faceoff circle, rifling a wrist shot to past Korenar to the short side for an unassisted goal, his fourth of the season.

Bakersfield made it a 4-3 game 28 seconds later when Cracknell centered a pass from behind the ‘Cuda net to an open Seth Griffith, who buried a one-timer past Korenar for his third goal of the season at the 12:17 mark.

The Condors’ last ditch effort to get the equalizer was washed away when Korenar robbed Marody of a wide-open chance off a backdoor feed with 10 seconds remaining in the game.

Korenar finished the game with 37 saves on 40 shots to earn the victory. Rodrigue made 21 saves on 25 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 0-for-1 on the power play. Bakersfield went 0-for-4.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Kellman 2) Noesen 3) Korenar

UP NEXT: San Jose travels out to the desert to start a two-game series with the Henderson Silver Knights on Saturday, 3/20 at 1:00 pm PST at Orleans Arena.

Condors Esposito wins it in OT 3-2 over Barracuda, win streak at nine

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The San Jose Barracuda had a 2-1 lead disappear and lost a one goal game to the Bakersfield Condors in overtime at SAP Center in San Jose on Tue Mar 16, 2021 (@ sjbarracuda image) 

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif—It was Deja vu all over again. For the second straight game, the San Jose Barracuda gave up a late lead and the Bakersfield Condors won the game in overtime in a 3-2 victory on Tuesday evening at SAP center.

Lukas Esposito tipped home a shot from Vincent Desharnais 2:45 into the extra session for the game winning goal. Cooper Maordy received an assist on Esposito’s sixth goal of the season.

Bakersfield (9-5-0-0) extended its win streak to a season high nine games. San Jose has lost three games in a row, all to their Pacific Division rival.

Bakersfield controlled played in the the first period out shooting San Jose 13-6. However they were not able to get the puck past ‘Cuda goalie Josef Korenar as he stopped all 13 shots.

San Jose (5-4-4-0) drew first blood on the power play early in the second period. Ryan Merkley fed a pass out to Joachim Blichfeld on the left wing. Blichfeld skated in a wired a wrist shot past Condors goalie Stuart Skinner to the short side for his team leading seventh goal of the season at the 3:25 mark.

Bakersfield came back with the equalizer when James Hamblin took advantage of a ‘Cuda turnover. Hamblin fed Jacob Stukel whose shot was denied by a diving Korenar with the left blocker pad. Hamblin crashed the net and cleaned up the rebound with a backhander for his third goal of the season at the 14:22 mark.

Hamblin has scored three goals in his past five games.

The Barracuda regained the momentum and the lead late in the middle frame. Jeffery Viel’s centering pass went off the stick of Stuart on to the tape of Sasha Chmelevski and the Long Beach native buried a shot top-shelf past Stuart for his second goal of the season at the 18:08 mark.

Just when the San Jose looked like they were going to hold on to the lead this team, Bakersfield once again struck late in third period to score the equalizer and force overtime.

Esposito centered a pass between two ‘Cuda defenders from behind the net out to Joe Gambardella. The veteran Condor skated in alone on Korenar and lifted a backhander top-shelf into the left corner of the net for his second goal of the season at the 16:30 mark.

Stuart made 22 saves on 24 shots to earn the victory. Korenar finished with 34 saves on 37 shots in an impressive, yet losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 1-for-1 on the power play. They snapped Bakersfield’s 24 straight penalty kills. Bakersfield never had a power play opportunity.

San Jose is now 0-4 in overtime games.

Bakersfield had its nine game streak of scoring the first goal snapped with Blichfeld’s goal.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Blichfeld 2) Korenar 3) Esposito

UP NEXT: The two teams complete their four game series on Wednesday 3/17 at 6:00pm at SAP Center.

 

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Barracuda out to prevent Condors from getting 14th straight win tonight in Bakersfield

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A look at the San Jose Barracuda and the Bakersfield Condors post game results from Fri Mar 12, 2021 at Mechanics Bank Arena as the same two teams match up again tonight (@sjbarracuda image)

On the San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko:

#1 Marko, too much Bakersfield Condors (9-6-0-0) on Friday night as they attacked the net without hesitation scoring two goal in the opening volley and ending up getting a 4-1 win over the San Jose Barracuda (5-4-2-0) at Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield.

#2 For Barracuda goaltender Alexi Melnichuk (2-3-2) a tough night facing 22 shots and allowing four goals. For Milnichuk was it a matter of not getting defensive protection up front or the Condors have a number of snipers who can figure out getting in the back in the net?

#3 The Condors with the win picked up their seventh straight win and they did it with the help of goaltender Stuart Skinner (7-2-0-0) who allowed just one goal and stopped 23 Barracuda shots.

#4 The Condors are a devastating team on offense in the first period they have now outscored their opponents 13-0 during this seven game win streak and have scored the first goal in eight straight games.

#5 Same two teams tonight Marko, does Barracuda head coach Roy Sommer go with Melnichuk or will he go with another goaltender as the Condors look to score their 14th straight win tonight?

Join Marko for the Barracuda podcasts each Saturday night at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Condors cruise to a 4-1 win over Barracuda

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The San Jose Barracuda forward Jayden Halbgewachs (89) and the Bakersfield Condors left winger Jakob Stukel (10) make brief contact during Fri Mar 11, 2021 game at Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield (@ sjbarracuda photo)

by Marko Ukalovic

BAKERSFIELD, Calif-The Bakersfield Condors scored four unanswered goals in a commanding 4-1 victory over the San Jose Barracuda on Friday evening at Mechanics Bank Arena.

The Condors have won seven games in row, including 2-0 versus San Jose. The Barracuda have have lost three of its past five games.

Bakersfield (7-5-0-0) opened the scoring early in the first period. Seth Griffith set up Adam Cranknell on the left wing and Cracknell buried a wrist shot past ‘Cuda goalie Alexei Melnichuk for his third goal of the season at the 6:29 mark.

The Condors doubled its lead while short-handed. James Hamblin carried the puck into the ‘Cuda zone where he split two defenders and sent a back pass over to Cracknell who then returned the favor back to Hamblin and he went top-shelf with a wrist shot past Melnichuk for his second goal of the season at the 14:10 mark.

Despite starting the game 7-0 on the shot clock, San Jose’s chances were thwarted away by Condors goalie Stuart Skinner.

“I thought Stu (Skinner) was a rock early for us when we needed him,” said Condors head coach Jay Woodcroft. “Allowed us to work out way into the game. It’s not always going to feel pretty, it’s not always going to feel nice. Learning how to win is a skill.”

Bakersfield extended its lead to 3-0 on the power play early in the second period. Cooper Maordy sent a cross ice pass over to Tyler Benson, who then sent a backdoor pass over to Luke Esposito and he finished off the tic-tac-toe play with his fifth goal of the season at the 3:47 mark.

“We’re making a lot better decisions with the puck. We’re playing with our legs. We’re checking hard. That’s creating offense, making the other team tired,” Marody said regarding his team’s winning streak.

The middle frame didn’t have as many scoring chances as in the first period. Both teams combined for only 12 shots in the period.

The Condors scored its fourth unanswered goal early in the third period. Benson recorded his second assist of the game when he centered a pass from behind the net out to Marody and he snapped home a wrist shot past Melnichuk for his ninth goal of the season at the 4:19 mark.

San Jose (5-4-2-0) broke up Skinner’s shutout bid halfway through the final period. Alexander True cleaned up the rebound of a Jaycob Magna shot when lifted a backhander past Skinner for his third goal of the season at the 10:53 mark.

Skinner finished 21 saves on 22 shots to earn the victory. Melnichuk made 20 saves on 24 shots in the losing effort,

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

Marody recorded his 100th point in a Condors uniform.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Cracknell 2) Marody 3) Hamblin

UP NEXT: Both teams square off again with each other on Saturday 3/13 at 6:00pm at Mechanics Bank Arena.

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Power play working, Cuda get big win in San Diego; play

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The San Jose Barracuda defenceman Nicolas Meloche (53) congratulates goaltender Alexi Melnichuk following the San Jose’s win over the San Diego Gulls at FourPoints Arena in San Diego on Fri Mar 5, 2021 (@sjbarracuda photo)

On the Barracuda podcast with Marko:

#1 Marko, the Barracuda (4-3-1-0) on Friday night got plenty of offense opening the three game series in San Diego with a 5-1 win over the Gulls (8-5-0-0) .

#2 A little team history was set when the Barracuda had three native Californians in the line up Friday night, Sasha Chmelevski (Huntington Beach), Jake McGrew (Orange), and Evan Weinger (El Segundo).

#3 Barracuda Jayden Halbgewachs scored his second and third goals of the season against San Diego it was Halbgewachs’ fourth career multi goal game.

#4  Marko talk about the power play the Barracuda capitalized on it going two for four on the man advantage.

#5 The Barracuda have always had a tough time in San Diego and got a big victory there. The loss was the Gulls first lost on home ice this season (7-1-0-0)

Join Marko for the Barracuda’s podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic Sat Mar 6, 2021 by Sports Radio Service | Free Listening on SoundCloud

 

Condors rout Barracuda in 6-0 shutout win

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Photo credit: @Condors

By Marko Ukalovic

The Bakersfield Condors used five different goal scorers in a dominating 6-0 shutout victory over the San Jose Barracuda on Wednesday evening at Mechanics Bank Arena.

Bakersfield have won three games in a row after beginning the season losing their first five games. The loss snapped San Jose’s two-game winning streak.

The Condors (3-5-0-0) scored the game’s opening goal early in the first period. James Hamblin fed a pass out to Janis Jaks, who skated in from the right wing and snapped a wrist shot that beat ‘Cuda goalie Alexei Melnichuk to the blocker side for his first goal of the season at the 5:48 mark.

Bakersfield doubled its lead just over two minutes later when Tyler Benson worked a give-and-go with Luke Esposito from the left slot and Esposito one-timed a shot past the five-hole of Melnichuk for the first of his two goals on the night at the 7:58 mark.

The Condors continued its onslaught scoring on the power play. After a clean faceoff win, Cooper Marody found Adam Cracknell between the faceoff circles and Cracknell fired home a wrist shot past Melnichuk for his second goal of the season at the 10:42 mark.

San Jose (3-3-1-0) had no answer to the Condors’ attack as they were outshot 10-6 in the opening frame.

Esposito scored his second goal of the game and fourth of the season when he redirected Markus Niemelainen’s shot from the left point past Melnichuk at the 3:04 mark of the second period.

Once again, Bakersfield controlled play in the middle frame, outshooting San Jose 12-8.

The Condors sealed the game in the third period with two goals in a span of 33 second at the halfway mark.

Joe Gambardella created a turnover in the ‘Cuda zone and fed a pass over to Jakob Stukel, who buried a wrist shot from the slot into the back of the net for his first goal of the first goal of the season at the 10:57 mark.

Seth Griffin closed out the scoring when he finished off a two-on-one odd man rush from Ostap Safin for his second goal of the season at the 11:30 mark.

Condors goalie Stuart Skinner made 22 saves to earn the shutout win. Melnichulk made 21 saves on 27 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 0-for-3 on the power play. Bakersfield went 1-for-2/

Zach Gallant and Max Gildon exchanged fisticuffs in a spirited fight in the first period.

The Three Stars of the Game were:
1) Stuart Skinner
2) Luke Esposito
3) Janis Jaks

UP NEXT: San Jose continues its road trip on Friday 3/5 when they travel out to San Diego to take on the Gulls at 7:00 pm PT at Pechanga Arena.

SJ Barracuda report: San Jose-Bakersfield postponed for Thursday night due to Covid-19

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San Jose Barracuda left winger Jayden Halbgewachs battles for the puck in front of the Bakersfield Condors net in a previous meeting with Bakersfield. The game between the two teams on Thu Feb 25, 2021 has been postponed due to the San Jose Sharks Tomas Hertl testing positive for Coronavirus. (sjbarracuda.com file photo)

By Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE-Due to the San Jose Sharks and Vegas Golden Knights NHL game that was scheduled at SAP Center in San Jose on Thu Feb 25th that was postponed due the San Jose Sharks Tomas Hertl having tested positive for Covid 19  been the game between the Bakersfield Condors and San Jose Barracuda has been also postponed for Thursday night as the Condors and Barracuda were scheduled to play at Solar 4America Ice in San Jose.

Despite both teams playing and doing morning skates in separate facilities the AHL and the San Jose Barracuda were on the side of caution and decided to postpone Thursday night’s game.

This will be the Barracuda’s fifth game postponement in a row. The Barracuda had one game in Texas postponed due to freezing weather conditions in the Cedar Park area on Sun Feb 14th. They then flew to Tucson and had their games  and for Fri 19th, Sat 20, and Sun 21st postponed due to Covid 19 issues from the Tucson Roadrunners side. Thu Feb 25th’s cancelation is due to a San Jose Sharks player testing positive for the virus. That player is unnmamed.

The Barracuda are scheduled to host the Ontario Reign on Sat Feb 27th the first of a two game series concluding Sun 28th in San Jose. If they play it it will be the Barracudas first taste of action since Sat Feb 13th when they played the Texas Stars in the second of a intended three game series.

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

Barracuda shoot down Condors 5-2 snap 8-game losing streak

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photo from sjbarracuda.com

by Marko Ukalovic

BAKERSFIELD, Calif- The San Jose Barracuda scored five unanswered goals to snap a season high eight-game losing steak in a 5-2 victory over the Bakersfield Condors on Sunday evening at Mechanics Bank Arena.

San Jose hadn’t won since January 17th when they beat Iowa 3-1 on the road. They have points in three consecutive games and now have 35 points. Bakersfield have lost five games in a row as they have fallen to sixth place in the Pacific Division during their slide.

Bakersfield (20-24-4-2) drew first blood in the first period. Jakob Stukel scored his fifth goal of the season at the 8:12 mark. Luke Esposito and and Keegan Lowe assisted on the goal.

San Jose (15-25-3-2) scored the equalizer just under three minutes later in what started a streak of five unanswered goals. Danil Yurtaykin led a 2-on-2 rush up the ice. He made a move around a Condors defender before firing a wrist shot that Condors goalie Shane Starrett kicked out to the middle where Manny Weiderer deposited the rebound into the back of the net for his second goal of the season at the 10:59 mark.

The Barracuda gained the lead at the end of the opening frame when Ivan Chekhovich won a battle along the boards and fed the puck over to Sasha Chmelevski. Chmelevski quickly threw it down to a wide open Jayden Halbgewachs along the right side of the net. Halbgewachs got Starrett to go down before skating around him and tapping home the puck past Starrett for his co-team leading 15th goal of the season at the 17:04 mark.

San Jose scored the only goal in the second period when Yutaykin centered a pass from behind the net out to Weiderer. His shot deflected off Dmitri Samorukov’s skate out to the left of the net where Jeremy Roy, who played up at forward for the first time in his pro career, cleaned up the rebound for his first goal of the season at the 12:57 mark. Roy’s first goal in 26 games this season was his first since March 2, 2019 at Bakersfield, totaling a 37 game goal-less draught.

The ‘Cuda out shot the Condors 22-15 through the first 40 minutes as they controlled the majority of the zone time.

San Jose put the game away with two goals within the first five minutes of the third period to squash any hopes of a Bakersfield comeback attempt.

Chmelevski used his speed to up the left wing and gave a drop pass to a pinching Thomas Gregoire in between the faceoff circles. The ‘Cuda defenseman hopped the puck over the stick of Brandon Manning and wired a wrist shot past Starrett on the shortside for his fourth goal of the season 53 seconds into the third period.

San Jose scored their fifth unanswered goal on the power play when Gregoire sent in a slap shot from the point that Lean Bergmann redirected past Starrett for his seventh goal of the season at the 5:02 mark. Halbgewachs received the secondary assist.

Nolan Vesey completed the scoring 43 seconds later when he scored his first goal of the season. Beau Starrett and Evan Bouchard received assists.

Zachary Sawchenko snapped a three-game losing streak by making 22 saves on 24 shots to earn his fourth win of the season. Starrett suffered his fourth-straight loss after allowing five goals on 36 shots.

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

Wiederer earned first-star honors with his goal and an assist, his third multi-point game of his career.

Bergmann has scored a goal in a back-to-back games.

Yurtaykin recorded his first multi-point effort of his AHL career with his two assists.

The announced attendance was 3,384.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda return home to host the Tucson Roadrunners on Monday 2/17 at 6:00pm at SAP Center.