Tag: San Jose Barracuda

San Jose Barracuda forward Ethan Cardwell (#56) celebrates his go-ahead goal in the third period during the Barracuda’s 6-5 win over the Henderson Silver Knights at Tech CU Arena on Wednesday APR 10, 2024. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Ethan Cardwell picked a great time to record his first multi-goal game of the season.

Cardwell scored a shorthanded goal with just over five minutes remaining in the third period as the San Jose Barracuda took down the Henderson Silver Knights in a 6-5 victory on Wednesday evening at Tech CU Arena.

Cardwell’s heroics were set up by Tanner Kaspick as he gave the puck up to Cardwell just outside the ‘Cuda zone. Cardwell fired a wrist shot on Silver Knights goalie Jesper Vikman who made the initial save but gave up a juicy rebound. The rookie forward cleaned up his own rebound with a shot to the short side for his second goal of the game and his team leading 23rd goal of the season at the 14:31 mark.

“You’re not typically looking to get one (a goal) when you’re short-handed with a couple of minutes to play,” said Cardwell about his game winner. “But sometimes, a squirrel finds a nut. I just kind of put one (a shot) on net and was hoping to kind of catch him off guard and the rebound popped up perfectly and I was able to put it home.”

The teams combined for six goals in the final frame that went back and forth from start to finish.

San Jose snapped its three-game losing streak with four games left in the regular season. Henderson has lost four of its last five games.

San Jose (22-33-9-4) drew first blood near the halfway mark of the first period with a power play goal. Nathan Todd found Jack Thompson at the point. Thompson blasted a slap shot that was tipped past Vikman by Cole Cassels for his 11th goal of the season at the 8:31 mark.

Thompson leads all defenseman in the AHL in power play with 22 (3G, 19 A).

Henderson (27-34-3-5) evened the game late in the first period with a short-handed goal. Bryan Froese skated into the Barracuda zone, found Jonas Rondbjerg along the right slot. Rondbjerg’s wrist shot hit off the shaft of Filip Bystedt’s stick and past ‘Cuda goalie Magnus Chrona for his ninth goal of the season at the 14:33 mark.

The Silver Knights gained its first lead of the game with a power play goal early in the second period. Mason Morelli tried to center the puck from the left boards. The puck pinballed around before Jakub Brabenec picked up the loose puck and fired a wrist shot past Chrona for his sixth goal of the season at the 5:01 mark.

The Barracuda answered back with its second power play goal of the game at the halfway mark of the middle frame. Thompson found Danil Gushchin along the left wing. Gushchin threaded a seem pass back door to Nathan Todd who buried a wrist shot for his 19th goal of the season at the 10:17 mark.

San Jose regained the lead late in the second period with an even strength goal. Todd waited to Tristen Robins to get untangled with a Silver Knights defenseman. Robins skated in all alone on Vikman before beating him with a backhand to forehand shot that trickled behind Vikman into the back of the net for his sixth goal of the season at the 14:09 mark.

The Barracuda scored its third unanswered goal in the period just before the second intermission. Ethan Cardwell created a give and go with Gushchin inside the Silver Knights zone. Cardwell skated down the wing before firing an off-balanced shot through the five-hole of Vikman for his team leading 22nd goal of the season at the 19:18 mark.

Henderson scored two unanswered goals to even the game at the start of the third period before a blink of an eye. Mathieu Cataford sent a puck back up to the point where defenseman Daniil Chayka beat Chrona to the stick side with a slap shot for his first goal of the season at the 1:58 mark.

Then 42 seconds later Daniel D’Amato centered a pass from behind the net over to Morelli who fired a one-timer past Chrona for his 12th goal of the season at the 2:40 mark.

Both goals were a result of the Silver Knights outworking the ‘Cuda to the puck and winning battles inside the Barracuda zone.

“It was crazy coming to the third period with a 4-2 lead. It got a little windy out there and they got a few pucks in (the net). (The) boys just kept going and I’m proud of the way we stepped up after that and got us the win,” ‘Cuda center Filip Bystedt said.

Morelli scored his second goal of the game and Henderson’s third unanswered goal in the period with in the first five minutes. Grigori Denisenko threw the puck toward the front of the net from the left boards. Morelli picked up the puck and wrapped it around the net for his 13th goal of the season at the 5:29 mark.

“Obviously we didn’t like the way we came out (to start the third period. Maybe we thought the game was over (when it was 4-2), I don’t know. We battled back and were able to get the win,” ‘Cuda head coach John McCarthy said.

Gushchin scored the equalizer for the Barracuda thanks to a nice individual play by Gushching. Donovan Houle found Gushchin up the ice at the red line. The rookie skated in from the right wing and beat Vikman with a wrist shot snipe to the short side top shelf for his 18th goal of the season at the 12:02 mark.

Henderson pulled Vikman for a six-on-four advantage with under a minute remaining with Cassels in the sinbin for holding. However, the ‘Cuda penalty kill held their ground to hold on for the win.

Chrona (6-16-5-0) finished the game with 31 saves on 36 shots to earn his sixth victory of the season. Jesper (6-7-2-1) made 21 saves on 27 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 2-for-3 on the power play. Henderson was 1-for-5.

San Jose finished 3-3-2 in the season series with Henderson.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Cardwell 2) Morelli 3) Gushchin.

UP NEXT: San Jose hosts the Texas Stars in a weekend series on Friday 4/12 at 7:00pm at Tech CU Arena.

Ontario Reign’s Andre Lee celebrates his goal against the San Jose Barracuda in the Reign’s 3-2 shootout win at Toyota Arena on Saturday APR 6, 2024. (Ontario Reign)

by Marko Ukalovic

Taylor Ward scored the game winning goal in the shootout as the Ontario Reign came back from a two-goal deficit to defeat the San Jose Barracuda 3-2 in a shootout win on Saturday evening at Toyota Arena.

San Jose has lost five of its past six games and finished 1-4 on their five-game road trip. Ontario has won a season best seven games in a row. The Barracuda went winless against the Reign in the season series 0-6-1-1.

San Jose (21-33-9-4-53 points) drew first blood early in the first period with an even strength goal. Ethan Cardwell came into the Reign zone on a two-on-one odd man rush with Danil Gushchin. Cardwell feathered a pass over to Gushchin who skated in all alone and beat Reign goalie Erik Portillo with a wrist shot to the short side for his 17th goal of the season at the 4:35 mark.

Ontario (38-21-3-4-83 points) out shot San Jose 13-8 in the opening frame but weren’t able to get a puck past ‘Cuda goalie Georgi Romanov, who was impressive and saw the puck well.

The Barracuda doubled in the first two minutes of the second period with an even strength goal. Kyle Rau’s shot went through a scramble in front of the net. The puck leaked out to Tristen Robins who poked home the puck into the back of the net for his fifth goal of the season at the 1:46 mark.

The Reign cut the lead in half just over three minutes later with an even strength goal. Kim Nousiainen set up Francesco Pinelli at the ‘Cuda blueline. Pinelli made a toe-drag past Jack Thompson Pinelli before beating Romanov with a backhander for his 10th goal of the season at the 4:56 mark.

Ontario scored the equalizer late in the third period with an even strength goal. Hayden Hodgen sprung Andre Lee up the ice with a pass in the neutral zone. Lee skated in and his wrist shot hit off the mask of Romanov and through his five-hole for his seventh goal of the season at the 16:22 mark.

The overtime period was filled with drama as Samuel Fagemo thought he had won the game when his wrist shot got past Romanov with 2:07 remaining. However, the officials ruled that there was goaltender interference on the play by Ontario negating the goal. Fagemo had one last attempt that rang off the post with four seconds left sending the game to the shootout.

Portillo (21-10-3-2) finished the game stopping 27 of the 29 shots he faced and all three ‘Cuda attempts in the shootout to earn his 21st win of the season. Romanov, who had another great game in net, made 41 saves on 43 shots as he lost for the first time in a shootout this season.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 0-for-2 on the power play. Ontario was 0-for-3.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Portillo 2) Lee 3) Romanov.

UP NEXT: San Jose returns home for their final homestand, three games, to take on the Henderson Silver Knights on Wednesday 4/10 at 7:00pm at Tech CU Arena.

Coachella Valley Firebirds forward Cameron Hughes (#19) celebrates his go ahead goal against the San Jose Barracuda during the Firebirds 3-1 win at Acrisure Arena on Thursaday APR 3, 2024. (Coachella Valley Firebirds)

by Marko Ukalovic

The Coachella Valley Firebirds scored three unanswered goals in the third period to defeat the San Jose Barracuda 3-1 on Thursday evening at Acrisure Arena.

San Jose has lost four of its last four games. Coachella Valley has won four of its past five games and sits comfortable in first place in the Pacific Division with 91 points.

Neither team was able to put a dent on the scoreboard in a goal-less first period. Despite Coachella Valley having two power play opportunities and San Jose had one, both team’s goalies Georgi Romanov and Chris Driedger had clean slates in the opening frame that featured both teams have 11 shots on goal.

San Jose’s (21-33-9-3-54 points) fourth line drew first blood early in the second period. Anthony Vincent found Jeremie Bucheler in the right slot. Bucheler’s wrist show was redirected off the post and into the back fo the net by Tanner Kaspick for his sixth goal of the season at the 4:53 mark. The goal snapped a 14-game goal-less skid for Kaspick.

Coachella Valley (41-14-5-4-91 points) dominated the middle frame, but Romanov had another stellar period stopping all 15 shots the Firebirds peppered him with. Romanov did receive help from his two best friends: the posts, late in the period when the Firebirds were on the power play, including 30 seconds of 5-on-3 play. Two different Firebirds hit the post in less than a minute span.

The Firebirds finally broke through on its 33rd shot of the game early in the third period with an even strength goal. Jacob Melanson skate in from the left slot and beat Romanov with a wrist shot falling down to the ice for his sixth goal of the season at the 6:49 mark.

Coachella Valley gained its first lead at the halfway point of the final frame moments after its fifth power play opportunity had expired. Villa Ottavainen’s shot from the left point was tipped past Romanov by Cameron Huges for his 23rd goal of the season at the 10:02 mark.

Kole Lind iced the game for the Firebirds with an insurance goal with two minutes remaining left in the game. Cale Fleury set up Lind with a stretch pass out to the neutral zone. Lind skated in and beat Romanov with a wrist shot through the five-hole for his 16th goal of the season.

Driedger (22-6-5-4) stopped 34 of 35 shots he faced to earn his 22nd win of the season. Romanov (8-9-7), who deserved a better fate as he kept the ‘Cuda in the game with big save after big save, made 39 saves on 42 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 0-for-3 on the power play. Coachella Valley was 0-for-5.

UP NEXT: San Jose concludes its five-game road trip in Ontario as the take on the Reign on Saturday 4/6 at 6:00pm at Toyota Arena.

San Jose Barracuda goalie Magnus Chrona (#30) makes a save against San Diego Gulls right winger Judd Caulfield (#28) as Akim Aliu (#83) pressured Caulfield during the Gulls 6-5 shootout win at Pechanga Arena at San Diego on Wednesday APR 3, 2024. (San Diego Gulls)

by Marko Ukalovic

It was quite the North American professional debut for the San Jose Sharks 2022 first round draft pick.

In a game that went back and forth all night long, the San Diego Gulls won a wild affair with a 6-5 shootout win over the San Jose Barracuda on Wednesday evening at P Pechanga Arena at San Diego.

San Jose has lost three out of its last four games. San Diego has won two out of its last three games.

Filip Bystedt, who the Sharks selected with the 27th pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, donned the number 21 on his jersey as he made his pro debut with the ‘Cuda. He centered the top line with Ethan Cardwell and Kyle Rau. Bystedt finished with 17 points (8G, 9A) in 47 games this season for Linkoping HC of the Swedish Hockey League.

Akim Aliu (who wore number 83) also made his debut on the blueline as the 34-year-old veteran played in a game for the first time since 2020 when he played in Czechia. The Sharks signed him to an AHL tryout contract back on March 20th.

San Diego (24-31-8-0) drew first blood near the halfway mark of the first period with an even strength goal. Judd Caulfield sent a pass back up to the point where Nick Wolff’s slapshot was redirected past ‘Cuda goalie Magnus Chrona by Nathan Gaucher for his 10th goal of the season at the 9:09 mark.

Gaucher has scored a goal in four straight games for the Gulls.

San Jose (21-32-9-3) answered back with a power play goal less than four minutes later. Danil Gushchin’s wrist shot was redirected by Rau past Gulls goalie Alex Stalock for his seventh goal of the season at the 12:56 mark. Rau snapped a 14-game goal-less draught.

The Gulls regained the late in the opening frame. Glen Gawdin led a rush into the ‘Cuda zone. Chase De Leo found an uncontested Ben King in the right slot and King scored his 15th goal of the season into an empty net at the 16:23 mark.

The Barracuda scored the equalizer with nine seconds left in the first period. Cole Cassels skated out from behind the net and found Scott Sabourin just outside the faceoff circle. Sabourin beat Stalock with a one-timer top-shelf to the short side for his 17th goal of the season.

Sam Colangelo regained the lead with an even strength goal past the halfway point of the second period. Sam Colangelo, who made his AHL debut for San Diego, collected a block shot off a ‘Cuda defender and fired a wrist shot through a sea of traffic past Chrona for his first professional goal at the 12:10 mark.

Bystedt evened the contest with his first professional career goal late in the middle frame. Cardwell entered the Gulls zone on an odd man rush. Rau found Bystedt along the right slot and the Swedish center wired a one-timer past Stalock at the 18:10 mark.

If that wasn’t memorable enough, Bystedt scored his second goal of the game to give the Barracuda its first lead of the game near the halfway mark of the third period. Ethan Frisch cruised around a Gulls defender along the left board before centering a pass over to Bystedt who beat Stalock from point-blank range at the 8:31 mark. Rau picked up his second assist for a three-point night (1G, 2A), his third of the season. Bystedt also finished the game with three points in his debut.

San Jose’s lead was short lived as Carrick evened the game when he completed a two-on-one as he buried a pass from Caulfield into an empty net for his eighth goal of the season 89 seconds later at the 10-minute mark.

The back-and-forth action kept going as San Jose regained the lead 92 seconds after Carrick’s goal. Nathan Todd skated in along the left slot and sent a centering pass over to Cardwell who chipped the puck top-shelf for his team-leading 21st goal of the season at the 11:32 mark.

San Diego made San Jose pay for back-to-back trips to the sinbin for interference late in the period. Sasha Pastujov centered a backdoor pass over to Pavol Regenda who tapped home the puck into an empty net for his 17th goal at the 15:32 mark with the game’s fifth tie.

King scored the only goal in the shootout as the five other four other skaters were unsuccessful with their attempts.

Stalock (2-9-1) finished the game, in what may be the last of his long career, with 22 saves on 27 shots (and all three in the shootout) to earn his second win of the season. Chrona (5-16-4-1) made 28 of 33 saves in the losing effort.

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

De Leo became the all-time Gulls scoring leader with an assist on an Anderw Agozzino goal in a 7-3 loss to Tuscon Roadrunners for his 182nd point on March 30th, surpassing Sam Carrick’s mark of 181 points.

San Jose is now 3-1 in the season series against San Diego.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Colangelo 2) Gaucher 3) Regenda.

UP NEXT: San Jose continues its five-game road trip against the Coachella Valley Firebirds on Thursday at 7:00pm at Acrisure Arena.

Calgary Wranglers forward Adam Klapka (#43) looks for the puck as he positioned himself near San Jose Barracuda goalie (#31) Georgi Romanov during the Barracuda’s 4-1 win at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Sunday MAR 31, 2024. (Calgary Wranglers)

by Marko Ukalovic

The San Jose Barracuda had goals from four different goal scorers as they defeated the Calgary Wranglers in 4-1 victory on Sunday afternoon at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

San Jose earned its 21st win as they split the weekend series with the Wranglers and won the season series 5-3. Despite the loss, Calgary has clinched a playoff spot in the Pacific Division.

San Jose (21-32-9-2-53 points) drew first blood with an even strength goal early in the first period. Joe Carrol found Ethan Cardwell inside their own zone. Cardwell skated in along the left wing and beat Wranglers goalie Oscar Dansk for his team-leading 20th goal of the season at the 6:56 mark.

The Barracuda doubled its lead with a four-on-four goal just under five minutes later. Jack Studnicka began a counterattack as he found Danil Gushchin in the neutral zone. Gushchin skated near the left boards before sending a backhand pass down to a trailing Jack Thompson. The recently acquired defenseman’s wrist shot deflected off Yan Kuznetsov’s stick to the far side post and into the back of the net for his first goal in a ‘Cuda uniform and sixth overall of the season at the 11:11 mark.

Calgary (34-24-5-3-76 points) did not manage much offense in the opening period as they only had nine shots on goal compared to San Jose’s 14.

San Jose scored its third unanswered goal of the game at the halfway through the second period. Ethan Frisch sent a long pass out to Danil Gushchin in the neutral zone. Gushchin skated past a Wranglers defender before beating Dansk with a wrist shot through the five-hole for his 16th goal of the season at the 9:48 mark.

That would end the afternoon for Dansk (11-11-3) as head coach Trent Cull he replaced Dansk in the net with Connor Murphy, who made the start on Friday. Dank gave up three goals on 22 shots.

The Wranglers got on the scoreboard early in the third period with an even strength goal. Adam Klapka centered a pass from the left board over to a wide-open Sam Morton who beat ‘Cuda goalie Georgi Romanov with a wrist shot to the right corner for his third goal of the season at the 3:40 mark.

Nathan Todd concluded the scoring with an empty net goal late in the final frame when Jordan Oesterle misplayed the puck along the end boards. Todd collected the puck from behind the net and wrapped around the puck into the net for an unassisted goal, his 18th of the season at the 16:22 mark.

Romanov (8-8-7) finished the game stopping 30 of the 31 shots he faced to earn his eighth victory of the season. Murphy stopped all 10 shots he faced in mop up duty.

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

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Gushchin 2) Thompson 3) Romanov.

UP NEXT: San Jose continues its five-game road trip on Wednesday 4/3 as they take on the San Diego Gulls at 7:00pm at Pechanga Arena at San Diego.

Calgary Wranglers Defenseman Jonathan Aspriot (#48) tries to jam home the puck past San Jose Barracuda goalie Magnus Chrona during the Wranglers 4-2 win at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Friday MAR 29, 2024. (Calgary Wranglers)

by Marko Ukalovic

The Calgary Wranglers scored three unanswered goals to defeat the San Jose Barracuda 4-2 on Friday evening at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

San Jose has dropped three out of its past four games as it anchors the Pacific Division. Calgary won its second game in a row and is 5-3-1-1 in its last 10 games.

Calgary (34-23-5-3-76 points) needed just 49 seconds into the first period to draw first blood. Clark Bishop caromed the puck off of the boards to Rory Kerins who then banked the puck off of ‘Cuda goalie Magnus Chrona into the back of the net for his 13th goal of the season.

It was Kerins’ first goal in his last eight games.

The Wranglers doubled its lead late in the opening frame with a power play goal. William Stromgren sent a pass back up to the point and Jeremie Poirier quick one-timer went off the glove of Chrona for a fluky goal, Poirier’s third goal of the season at the 17:12 mark.

Ben Jones scored the Wranglers’ third unanswered goal early in the second period. Mitch McLain skated down the right wing before finding Jones with a backdoor pass as the Calgary center buried the puck into an empty net for his 21st goal of the season at the 5:48 mark.

San Jose (20-32-9-2-51 points) finally broke through with 21 seconds left in the middle frame with a power play goal. Cole Cassels was in the right place at the right time. A pass over to Kyle Rau bounced off of him and right over to Cassles who beat Wranglers goalie Connor Murphy for his 10th goal of the season.

With Chrona pulled for an extra attacker late in the third period, Adam Klapka ended any comeback attempt by San Jose when he scored an empty net goal, his 20th of the season at the 17:51 mark.

Brandon Coe completed the scoring with 12th goal with 1:03 remaining in the game. Ethan Cardwell and Jack Studnicka recorded assists on Coe’s fourth goal in his last five games.

Murphy (3-2-2-1) finished the night stopping 27 of the 29 shots he faced to earn back-to-back victories for the first time this season. Chrona (5-16-4) made 28 saves on 31 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 1-for-3 on the power play. Calgary was also 1-for-3.

San Jose is now 4-2 against Calgary in the season series.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Poirier 2) Kerins 3) Murphy.

UP NEXT: San Jose and Calgary conclude their two-game weekend series on Sunday 3/31 at 12:00pm at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

San Jose Barracuda defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin (#85) dives to the ice to swipe the puck away from Ontario Reign forward Colton Young during the Reign’s 3-2 victory at Tech CU Arena on Wednesday MAR 27, 2024. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Taylor Ward scored the game winning goal for the Ontario Reign in the third period as they defeated the San Jose Barracuda 3-2 on Wednesday evening at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose has lost two out of its last three as it finished 2-2 on its homestand. Ontario has won four games in a row. The Reign are tied with the Tucson Roadrunners for second place in the Pacific Division with 77 points.

San Jose (20-31-9-2-51 points) drew first blood on the opening shift of the game. Danil Gushchin threaded a pass between two Reign defenders over to Brandon Coe and the ‘Cuda winger beat former San Jose Sharks goalie Aaron Dell with a wrist shot top shelf to the far side for his 11th goal of the season 15 seconds into the first period.

The Barracuda doubled its lead late in the opening frame. Cole Cassels used a backhand pass from the behind the net to center the puck out to Nathan Todd who made one move inside before sliding the puck past the five-hole of Dell for his 17th goal of the season at the 13:04 mark.

Ontario (35-21-3-4-77 points) cut the lead in half early in the second period with an even strength goal. Tyler Madden sent a pass up to the Barracuda blue line over to Charles Hudon. The Reign forward made a touch pass over to Akil Thomas who skated in an beat ‘Cuda goalie Magnus Chrona with a wrist shot top shelf for his 22nd goal of the season at the 6:44 mark.

San Jose had a two-man advantage for 1:16 just past the halfway mark of the middle frame when Madden and Brandt Clarke went to the sinbin for hooking but Ontario was successful in killing off both penalties.

The Reign evened the score with a power play goal late in the second period. TJ Tynan intercepted a clearing attempt by Jack Thompson along the left boards. Tynan centered a pass over to a trailing Hudon who blasted a one-timer past Chrona for his 20th goal of the season at the 18:53 mark.

“They (Ontario) are a good second period team. We haven’t been as of late. We’ve looked at it, we’ve talked about it, and we out and did it again. And it cost us the game,” ‘Cuda head coach John McCarthy said.

Ontario gained its only lead of the game late in the third period thanks to a turnover by the Barracuda in the neutral zone. Martin Chromiak led the counterattack as he sent a cross ice pass over to Ward who rifled in a one-timer from just outside the faceoff circle past Chrona for his eighth goal of the season at the 16:22 mark.

“They’re an opportunistic team. They got some guys that can score. So, we can’t spot them grade-A chances and unfortunately, we did, and it ended up in our net,” McCarthy said.

Dell (6-3-1-1) finished the game stopping 32 of the 34 shots he faced as he kept San Jose off the scoreboard in the final two periods to earn his sixth win of the season. Chrona (5-15-4) made 24 saves on 27 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 0-for-3 on the power play. Ontario was also 1-for-2.

‘Cuda right winger Akim Aliu has a chance to play on this upcoming road trip as his conditioning is ramping up for his return to the ice according to McCarthy. “Obviously it’s been a while since he’s played. We’re kind of slow playing it as far as getting his conditioning back up. We’re looking at the (upcoming) road trip, probably not the beginning part of it, but we’ll see where were at (with Aliu).”

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Ward 2) Coe 3) Hudon.

UP NEXT: San Jose starts a five-game road trip on Friday 3/29 as the take on the Calgary Wranglers at 12:00pm at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

San Jose Barracuda forwards Cole Cassles (#60) and Nathan Todd (#45) celebrate Cassels goal in the second period during the Barracuda’s 4-0 win at Tech CU Arena on Sunday MAR 24, 2024. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Barracuda scored three power play goals and goalie Eetu Makiniemi stopped all 27 shots he faced in a 4-0 shutout victory over the Tucson Roadrunners on Sunday afternoon at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose split their weekend series with its second win in three games. Tucson fell back down to earth as they have lost two of their last three games. It was only the third time the Roadrunners have been shutout this season.

The Barracuda (20-30-9-2) drew first blood late in the first period with its first power play goal of the game. Kyle Rau threw the puck in front of the crease as the puck laid loose in front of a sea of traffic. Danil Gushchin dug out the puck and buried it into the back of the net for his 15th goal of the season at the 18:36 mark.

Tucson (36-21-3-2) only generated six shots in the opening frame that was dominated by San Jos who outshot them by eight with a 14-6 margin.

San Jose doubled its lead with its second power play goal late in the second period. Gushchin led a rush up the ice and sent a pass far side over to Cole Cassels along the right slot. Cassels wrist shot deflected off a Roadrunner defender through the five-hole of Roadrunners goalie of Dylan Wells for his ninth goal of the season at the 17:35 mark.

Oskar Lindblom scored the ‘Cuda’s third unanswered goal, an even strength one, just before the halfway mark of the third period. Shakir Mukhamadullin centered a pass through the crease as Lindblom’s first attempt was saved by Wells. The veteran forward cleaned up his own rebound for his eighth goal of the season at the 8:47 mark.

Tucson was never able to establish any offensive rhythm as they were busy going to the sinbin throughout the game as they took nine penalties, most of them undisciplined, that allowed San Jose to have a sustained forecheck.

Ethan Cardwell got back on the scoring sheet with San Jose’s third power play goal of the game just under three minutes later. Tristen Robbins sent a no look rink wide pass over to Cardwell who blasted a one-timer past Wells for his team-leading 19th goal of the season at the 11:37 mark. Cardwell has goals four of his past five games.

Things became chippy in the final two minutes of the game with two fights and a total of nine players between both teams given 10-minute misconducts with 1:53 remaining. There was a total of 148 combined penalty minutes between the two teams.

Makiniemi (8-8-0-3) had a relatively easy afternoon as he earned his third shutout of the season with his 27 saves. Wells (8-5-2-1) made 36 saves on 40 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 3-for 9 on the power play. Tucson was 0-for-5.

San Jose is now 2-4 against Tucson in the season series.

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

Who let the dogs out? The Barracuda had their annual Pucks and Paws Day as 3,982 showed up with their canine friends.

UP NEXT: San Jose concludes their four-game homestand when they host the Ontario Reign on Wednesday 3/27 at 7:00pm at Tech CU Arena.