Wild special teams power past Barracuda in 5-3 win

San Jose Barracuda and Iowa Wild players skirmish after the whistle at Tech CU Arena on NOV 30, 2022. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — A battle of special teams sunk the home team.

The Iowa Wild scored two power play goals and a short-handed one en route to a 3-1 victory over the San Jose Barracuda on Wednesday evening at Tech CU Arena.

Iowa swept the two-games series and has won two in row. San Jose has lost two in a row and closed out the month of November losing three out of the last five games.

Iowa (7-6-2-2) drew first blood on the power play late in the first period. A clean faceoff resulted in Joe Hicketts finding Sammy Walker on the right side. Walker skated in a snapped home a wrist shot past ‘Cuda goalie Eetu Makiniemi for his ninth goal of the season at the 14:59 mark.

The Wild have scored three power play goals in the two-game series against the ‘Cuda.

Iowa doubled its lead while killing a penalty with less than two minutes remaining in the opening frame. Marco Rossi cleared the puck out of his own zone that sprung Joseph Cramarossa on a breakaway. Cramarossa slid a backhander past Makiniemi into the back of the net for a short-handed goal, his fourth goal of the season at the 18:07 mark.

Cramarossa has begun to heat up for the Wild as has scored in three straight games.

Wild goalie Jesper Wallstedt was busy in the first period as he stopped all 16 shots the Barracuda threw his way.

Iowa scored its second power play goal of the game and third unanswered early in the second period. Hicketts found Steven Fogerty in the right slot and Fogerty roofed a wrist shot over Makiniemi for his fifth goal of the season at the 5:43 mark.

San Jose broke through on the scoreboard with a power play goal halfway through the middle frame. Daniel Gushchin wired a rink wide pass over to Thomas Bordeleau who rifled home a one-timer past Wallstedt for his team leading ninth goal of the season at the 9:48 mark. The ‘Cuda needed only four seconds to cash in their opportunity.

The Barracuda had an excellent opportunity to cut the Iowa lead even smaller when they were awarded a full two-minute 5-on-3 power play when both Ty Ronning and Fogerty went to the sinbin for holding and cross checking. However, the ‘Cuda didn’t generate any quality scoring chances and Iowa was able to kill off both penalties with no damage done.

Iowa made the most of their opportunities with the mad advantage in the two-game series scoring four power play goals compared to two for San Jose.

“I didn’t see anything different structurally, ‘Cuda head coach John McCarthy said regarding his team’s penalty kill. “They had some nice shots (on net) honestly. Secondly, when we take as many (penalties) as we took, our penalty killers get tired. It wears on them. So over time I kind of see that as one of the reasons. We’re looking to get back on track against Tuscon (this weekend).”

The Wild regained their three-goal lead early in the third period. Mike O’Leary cleaned up a rebound with a backhander from a shot by Ronning for his third goal of the season at the 2:36 mark.

San Jose inched closer over a minute later when they scored a goal four-on-four. Gushchin finished a two-on-one inside the Wild zone when he buried a pass from Artemi Kniazev right through the five-hole of Wallstedt for his fifth goal of the season at the 3:54 mark.

The Barracuda the deficit to one-goal when Gushchin, who earned a multi-point game with his goal and two assists, set up William Eklund all alone to the right of the net and Eklund rocketed in a one-timer into an empty net for his fifth goal of the season at the 11:47 mark.

Adam Beckman closed out any chance for a ‘Cuda comeback with an empty net goal with 23 seconds remaining to seal the deal for Iowa.

Wallstedt finished with 31 saves on 34 shots to earn his second straight victory. Makiniemi made 20 saves on 24 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 1-for 6 on the power play. Iowa was 2-for-6.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Gushchin 2) Hicketts 3) Cramarossa.

UP NEXT: San Jose continues its six-game homestand with a weekend series against the Tucson Roadrunners on Saturday 12/3 at 6:00pm at Tech CU Arena.

Wild score early then hang on to edge Barracuda 4-3

The Iowa Wild celebrate a goal along the bench against the San Jose Barracuda at Tech CU Arena on Tuesday NOV 29, 2022. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — The Iowa Wild scored three unanswered goals in the first period and then hung on at the end for a 4-3 victory over the San Jose Barracuda on Tuesday evening at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose had its two-game winning streak snapped. Iowa snapped its two-game losing streak with its sixth win in the month of November.

San Jose (10-8-0-1) drew first blood early in the first period. Andrew Agozzino intercepted a pass at the red line from a pass that exited the Wild zone. The ‘Cuda captain skated down the left wing and on a delayed penalty beat Wild goalie Jesper Wallstedt with a wrist shot from a tough angle for his fifth goal of the season at the 2:50 mark.

Agozzino has been streaking with points in his last seven of eight games.

Iowa (7-6-2-2) answered back three minutes later. Daemon Hunt fed a pass down to Joseph Cramarossa who slid a backhander past ‘Cuda goalie Strauss Mann for his third goal of the season at the 5:52 mark.

The Wild went ahead with a power play goal late in the opening frame. Joe Hicketts found Marco Rossi along the left slot and Rossi rifled home a wrist shot top shelf past Mann for his first goal of his AHL career at the 13:40 mark.

Iowa scored its third unanswered goal in the first period on its second consecutive goal with the man advantage. Sammy Walker blasted a shot from the point past Mann for his eighth goal of the season at the 15:27 mark. Rossi and Adma Beckman were credited with assists.

San Jose cut Iowa’s lead down to one early in the second period. Luke Johnson beat Wallstedt with a show between the five-hole for his fourth goal of the season at the 4:38 mark. Ryan Merkley and Scott Reedy recorded assists on the team’s second goal.

It didn’t take long for Iowa to regain its two-goal lead. Damien Giroux set up Hunt at the left slot and the Wild defenseman roofed a wrist shot top shelf for his first goal of the season 38 seconds later.

San Jose closed the gap to a one-goal deficit with 58 seconds left in the third period with the man advantage. A shot from right slot by Tristan Robbins deflected off Reedy and was batted out of the air by C.J. Suess for his third goal of the season.

Wallstedt finished with 30 saves on 33 shots to earn the victory. Mann made 29 saves on 33 shots in the losing effort that snapped his two-game winning streak.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 1-for-5 on the power play. Iowa went 2-for-6.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Rossi 2) Hunt 3) Hicketts.

UP NEXT: San Jose and Iowa conclude their two-games series on Wednesday 11/30 at 7:00pm at Tech CU Arena.

Late goal propels Barracuda over Condors 2-1

Photo Courtesy of San Jose Barracuda Twitter. Eetu Makiniemi prepares himself before a game.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

In a low scoring game on the road the Barracuda found a way to pull off a win over the Condors by a final of 2-1.

Bakersfield got off to a great start at home as just 21 seconds in Luke Esposito scored getting his second goal of the season. Graham Mcphee and Olivier Rodrigue got the assists on the play.

Due to it being teddy bear toss night the goal lead to quite the delay as they had to clean the ice of teddy bears. Not only did they have to clean up the teddy bears but they also had to clean the ice as the fuzz messed up the ice.

Finally after the long delay they got back to play with the Condors already up.

Not long after the break Jeffrey Viel both got a penalty and dropped the gloves with a Condor player. The Barracuda were able to kill off the penalty.

Later in the period San Jose got an extra man opportunity of their own ending up in a five-on-three situation.

With the power play on fire the Barracuda extended their goal streak with Danil Gushchin sniping a shot from the point past the blocker of Rodrigue. The assists on the play went to both Thomas Bordeleau and Artemi Kniazev.

That would be all of the scoring in the period with the shots finishing heavily in favor of the Barracuda at 19-5.

The second period got kicked off with a penalty assessed to Andrew Agozzino for cross-checking giving Bakersfield another power play. San Jose killed this PP off as well keeping there penalty kill perfect on the night.

Overall it was a quiet period with no goals however the Barracuda did have four shots ring off the post.

The shots at the end of the second continued to favor San Jose at 36-17.

The third period was carefully played with each team trying not to make a mistake.

On the second night of back to backs San Jose towards the end of the third period began to look a little tired.

Despite the tiredness that may have begun to set in at the 1:53 mark C.J. Suess caught a wrist shot from the point dropped it in front of him and tucked it in past Rodrigue. On top of Suess snapping a long goal streak Jalen Smereck got an assist on the play in his debut with San Jose along with Kniazev getting an assist as well.

The Condors tried to make a comeback by pulling their goalie but it was not enough as San Jose held on for the win.

The three stars of the game were 1) Danil Gushchin 2) C.J. Suess 3) Olivier Rodrigue

San Jose’s next game will be at home against the Iowa Wild on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Barracuda beat rival Silver Knights on the road 5-2

Credit to San Jose Barracuda Twitter. Patrick McGrath skates away after finishing a fight with a Henderson player.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

On the road in Henderson the San Jose Barracuda (9-7-0-1) came out on top with a solid third period performance winning 5-2 over the Henderson Silver Knights (5-14-0-0) .

It was a battle between starter Laurent Brossoit for Henderson and Eetu Makiniemi for San Jose.

The PK unit for San Jose would have to be ready quickly in this game as just 1:36 into the first Billy Constantinou took a penalty for hooking.

Thankfully for the Barracuda the penalty unit came through with a solid kill and kept the score even.

At the 8:06 mark though with both teams at even strength Henderson found the back of the net with Jonas Rondbjerg getting his fifth goal of the season. It was a perfect rebound goal that he was able to tuck in with assists going to Bryon Froese and Pavel Dorofeyev.

Less than a minute later though Montana Onyebuchi responded with a slap shot from the right point that beat Brossoit to tie things up at one. Both Andrew Agozzino and Patrick Sieloff got the assists on Onyebuchi’s first goal of the season.

Besides the scoring there was also two fights between the rivals in the first period with McGrath and Onyebuchi both dropping the gloves.

That would end up being all the scoring for the first period with the shots finishing in favor of San Jose at 10-9.

At the 10:14 mark of the second period Tristen Robins on the power play ripped one in past a screened Brossoit to get his seventh goal of the season. The assists went to both Ryan Merkley and Andrew Agozzino.

Not to long after the power play goal by the black-and-blue Henderson responded with oner of their own as Byron Froese scored his third goal of the season. Daniil Miromanov and Sakari Manninen got the assists on the play that tied the game at two.

At the end of the second period the shots now favored Henderson 22-18.

The beginning of the third was a pretty methodical start with both teams trying not to give up that all important third goal.

At the 15:43 mark Thomas Bordeleau decided to play hero and tucked in a rebound out front to give the Barracuda a huge lead late in the third period. William Eklund and Onyebuchi got assists on the play with Montana’s assists giving him a Gordie Howe hat trick.

The Barracuda however were not done with just a one goal lead as Merkley sprang Agozzino on a breakaway with a beautiful pass. Agozzino tucked that pass home five hole and gave San Jose now a two goal lead with assists from Merkley and Scott Reedy.

The Silver Knights after those two goals were forced to pull their goalie but Jeffrey Viel scored on the empty cage to solidify the game at 5-2. Both Jasper Weatherby and C.J. Suess got the assists on the goal.

The shots at the end of the game still favored Henderson at 35-27. While the Barracuda’s power play went 1/3 and the Silver Knight’s power play went 1/5.

The Barracuda’s next game will be on the road against the Bakersfield Condors tomorrow at 7 p.m.

Barracuda come out flat against Reign lose 5-1

Photo credit to San Jose Barracuda Twitter. Defenseman Billy Constantinou makes his debut for the Barracuda against the Ontario Reign.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

After a win on Sunday the Barracuda followed it up with a loss on the road to the Ontario Reign by a final of 5-1.

The starting goalie for the Reign would be Pheonix Copley and for the Barracuda Eetu Makiniemi.

The game started off with a power play opportunity for the Barracuda as Jordan Spence headed to the box for delay of game. San Jose whiffed on the opportunity with Danil Guschin getting the lone shot.

Not too long after the Barracuda had their power play the Reign got one as well on a high sticking penalty by William Eklund.

On their chance the Reign capitalized with Samuel Fagemo getting his fifth goal of the season. Quinton Byfield and Jordan Spence both got assists on the play.

The momentum continued in favor of Ontario as Tobias Bjornfot buried one to get his second goal of the season. The assists on the play went to both Martin Chromiak and Samuel Helenius.

Barely two minutes later the Reign saw fit to tack onto the lead as Tobie Bisson got his first goal of the season. Cameron Gaunce and Nate Thompson both were credited with assists on the play.

The score at the end of the period finished at 3-0 with the shots also favoring the Reign at 16-5.

Unlike the first period the first big play of the period would be a goal for the Reign this time coming from Tyler Madden with his fifth goal of the season. The assists both going to Byfield and Alex Turcotte.

It would take a while for another goal to happen but it came again from the Reign this time Spence scored getting his first goal of the season. Byfield and Turcotte once again both got the assists on the goal.

With the score at 5-0 the Barracuda looked pretty much out of it with time dwindling in the second period.

However on the power play San Jose finally got one back as Tristen Robins would rip one in from the top of the right circle. Andrew Agozzino and Scott Harrington got the assists on the goal.

At the end of the period the shots finished still in favor of the Reign 26-14.

Only 1:25 into the first period San Jose would take a penalty as Artemi Kniazev got a penalty for tripping.

That penalty would be killed off as well as a collective five other penalties would be called. Four against the Barracuda and two penalties against the Reign.

At the end of the day there would be no scoring in the period with the final score coming in at 5-1.

The three stars would end up being Byfield, Spence, and Turcotte.

The Barracuda’s next game will be on the road against the Henderson Silver Knights on Friday at 1:00 p.m.

Bounce back game for Barracuda as they blank Roadrunners 6-0

Photo credit to San Jose Barracuda Twitter. The Barracuda celebrate a goal at Rondondo Tower Apartments in Tucson on Sun Nov 20, 2022

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

In the second of back to backs the Barracuda bounced back from their last game against the Roadrunners with a win by the score 6-0.

The first period between the two teams was a slow burn with no goals to speak of. Though three tripping penalties were given out two the Barracuda one to the Roadrunners.

The shots in the period finished at 12-8 in favor of the Barracuda.

In comparison to the first the second was a lot different with the offense coming alive for San Jose.

It began with Danil Guschin getting his third goal of the season and Brandon Coe assisting on the goal.

Not too long after the first goal William Eklund tacked on to the lead with his fourth goal of the season. Assisting on the goal was both Andrew Agozzino and Montana Onyebuchi.

After a brief break in the offense a shorthanded opportunity presented itself for Artemi Kniazev and he capitalized on it. With Tristen Robins and Ryan Merkley getting the assists.

With the lead up to 3-0 Thomas Bordeleau saw fit to add on to it with his fifth goal of the season. Robins and Eklund both got assists on the goal.

The shots at the the end of the second period also favored San Jose at 16-7.

Bordeleau entering the third period was not done as at the 6:17 mark he got his second goal of the game on the power play. The assists going to both Kniazev and Scott Reedy.

Much later in the period Bordeleau would complete the hat trick at the 16:47 mark. Eklund tacked on another assist along with Onyebuchi.

Six would end up being enough as Tucson was shutout by Eetu Makiniemi who made 28 saves on the night.

The shots in total finished in favor of the Barracuda at 40-28.

The Barracuda power play would also go 1/4 while the Roadrunners power play went 0/6.

The Barracuda’s next game will be against the Ontario Reign on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m at the Toyota Center in Ontario

Barracuda drop road game against Roadrunners 6-3

(Photo credit San Jose Barracuda) Montana Onyebuchi (79) throws down with Tucson Roadrunner Ryan McGregor (16) in the first period in Tucson.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

On the road the San Jose Barracuda did battle with the Tucson Roadrunners and came out on the losing end by a final of 6-3.

The first period took a minute for either team to find a goal but at the 10:33 mark William Eklund got his third goal of the season on the power play. Jasper Weatherby and Ryan Merkley both got apples on the goal as well.

The Eklund goal seemed to awaken something in the offense for the Barracuda as less than a minute later Scott Reedy during a power play potted his fourth of the season. Thomas Bordeleau and Danil Guschin contributed with assists on the goal.

Seeing an opportunity to add on to the lead Andrew Agozzino put the biscuit in the basket for this third goal of the season. Montana Onyebuchi contributed the lone assist.

Looking for a response in an otherwise dominant Barracuda period Adam Cracknell did just that scoring his fourth goal of the season. Bringing the game back to a 3-1 score Nathan Smith and Michael Carcone got the assists.

At the end of the second period the shots were 11-5 in favor of the Tucson.

Similar to the first period the second also took a minute to find a goal but that silence would be broken by Carcone making the score 3-2. Jan Jenik and Jean Sebastien Dea both got assists on the power play goal.

The power play continued to click for the Roadrunners as Milos Kelemen scored his fourth goal of the season. The assists going to Ben McCartney and Laurent Dauphin.

That would be all of the scoring in the first period with the shots finishing in favor of Tucson at 8-6.

In the third period the collapse began at the 12:29 mark with Keleman getting his second goal of the game. Victor Soderstrom and Carcone both got assists on the goal.

Adding on to the momentum for the Tucson Nathan Smith scored his third goal of the season. Connor Timmins and Vladislav Kolyachonok both contributed to the goal.

In desperation the Barracuda pulled their goalie to try to bring the game back to even.

It would not work though as Keleman would get the hat trick on the empty net. Sebastian Dea would get the lone assist on the goal.

On the night starting goalie for San Jose Aaron Dell would finish the night with a 5.22 GAA and 0.853 SV%

The Barracuda’s next game will be against Tucson again at Tucson Arena Sunday at 3 pm PST

Mann earns first career shutout in 3-0 Barracuda win over Eagles

Jeffery Viel celebrates with Strauss Mann after the San Jose Barracuda’s 3-0 win over the Colorado Eagles at Tech CU Arena on Wednesday NOV 16, 2022. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Strauss Mann is making the most of his opportunities.

The San Jose Barracuda goalie made 21 saves to record his first AHL career shutout in a 3-0 victory over the Colrado Eagles on Wednesday evening at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose has won three out its past four games. San Diego has lost five of its past five six games and only have one win in the month of November.

A week after getting his first AHL win, Strauss didn’t need to do much to earn his first career shutout as San Diego weren’t able to generate many good scoring chances during the game. San Jose had the ice tilted in its favor the majority of the 60 minutes.

After a scoreless opening 20 minutes, the Barracuda broke through the deadlock just past the halfway mark of the second period. Montana Onyebuchi’s pass off the board landed on the foot of Jasper Weatherby and the former 2018 fourth round draft pick roofed a backhander past Gulls goalie Lukas Dostal for his second goal of the season at the 11:02 mark.

San Diego (5-9-0-0) were only able to generate five shots in the middle frame as San Jose’s defense played one of its best periods of the season.

San Jose (7-5-0-1) put the game away with two goals in third period, one early and one late to seal the Gulls fate.

William Eklund sprung an odd man rush for the ‘Cuda with a pass out to the neutral zone. Thomas Bordeleau skated into the Gulls zone on a two-on-one break with Scott Reedy. Bordeleau centered a pass over to Reedy who beat Dostal with a one-timer for his third goal of the season at the 5:00 mark.

San Jose scored its third unanswered goal when Andrew Agozzino snapped a 10-game goaless draught. Reedy carried a turnover at the neutral zone into and centered a backhand pass over to the ‘Cuda captain who rifled home a wrist shot past Dostal for his second goal of the season at the 17:43 mark.

Dostal had a busy night as he made 39 saves on 42 shots in the losing effort.

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

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Mann 2) Weatherby 3) Reedy

UP NEXT: San Jose begin a five-game road trip with a two-game weekend series against the Tuscon Roadrunners starting on Saturday 11/19 at 6:00pm at the Tucson Convention Center Arena.

Eagles take down Barracuda in 3-1 win

San Jose Barracuda forward Thomas Bordeleau chases the puck against the Colorado Eagles at the Teach CU Arena on Sunday NOV 13, 2022. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

The Colorado Eagles scored three unanswered goals en route to a 3-1 victory over the San Jose Barracuda on Sunday evening at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose had its two-game winning streak snapped. Colorado has won four of its past five games.

Ben Tardif drew first blood for Colorado (7-5-1-0) late in the first period. He scored his first goal of the season at the 14:30 mark. Justin Scott and Ryan Wagner assisted on the goal.

After a scoreless second period, the Eagles put the game away with two goals in the third period.

Charles Hudson scored his team leading seventh goal of the season on the power play at the 8:16 mark. Brad Hunt and Alex Galchenyuk recorded assists on Hudson’s goal.

Anton Blidh put the game away with an empty net goal with 2:32 remaining after ‘Cuda head coach John McCarthy pulled goalie Eetu Makiniemi for an extra attacker. It was Blidh’s fourth goal of the season.

San Jose (6-5-0-1) spoiled Jonas Johansson’s bid for a shutout with a power play goal from Tristian Robins with 35 seconds left in the game. Derrick Pouliot and captain Andrew Agozzino were credited with assists.

Johansson stopped 28 of the 29 shots he faces to earn the victory. Makiniemimade 34 saves on 36 shots in the losing effort.

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

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Tardif 2) Makiniemi 3) Johansson

UP NEXT: San Jose travels to the desert to take on the Tuscon Roadrunners on Saturday 11/19 at 6:00pm at Tuscon Convention Center Arena.

Johnson’s overtime winner gives Barracuda 2-1 win over Eagles

The San Jose Barracuda celebrate their win over the Colorado Eagles at Tech CU Arena on Saturday Nov 12, 2022. (San Jose Barracuda

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Luke Johnson scored the game winning goal 40 seconds into overtime to give the San Jose Barracuda a 2-1 victory over the Colorado Eagles on Saturday at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose has won two games in a row. Colorado had its three-game winning streak snapped.

Colorado (6-5-1-0) drew first blood just past the halfway mark of the first period. Charles Hudon picked up a rolling puck in front of the crease and roofed a shot top shelf past ‘Cuda goalie Aaron Dell for his sixth goal of the season at the 11:04 mark. Jean-Luc Foudy and Alex Galchenyuk received assists.

San Jose (6-4-0-1) answered back almost three minutes later. Ozzy Wiseblatt fed a cross ice pass over to Japser Weatherby who buried a one-timer past Eagles’ goalie Justus Annunen for his first goal of the season at the 13:58 mark.

Both teams played a tight defensive battle for the final 40 minutes of regulation as neither goalie allowed a goal sending the game to overtime.

In overtime, CJ Suess led a three-on-two counterattack up the ice. Derrick Pouliot found Johnson in between the faceoff circles and Johnson blasted a shot past Annunen for the game winner, his third goal of the season.

Dell stopped 35 of the 36 shots he faced to earn the victory. Annunen made 21 saves on 23 shots in the losing cause.

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

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Johnson 2) Dell 3) Weatherby

UP NEXT: San Jose and Colorado conclude their two-games series on Sunday 11/13 at 3:00pm at Tech CU Arena.