Tag: San Jose Barracuda

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

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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

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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

Barracuda sustain first loss of the season, 2-1 against Condors

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San Jose Barracuda vs Bakersfield Condors on Saturday October 18th at Dignity Health Arena (via condors/x)

By Madison Montez

The San Jose Barracuda (1-1-0) dropped their first road game of the season with a loss at Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield on Saturday 2-1 losing to the Bakersfield Condors (1-1-0).

After a scoreless first period, Bakersfield was the first to get on the board when Roby Järventie scored his first powerplay goal of the season. Cole Clayton tied the game in the third period to show some fight but Bakersfield ultimately won, scoring again later in the third. Condors Quinn Huston scored his first of the season and his pro career with four minutes left to lead his team to their first win in their home opener.

San Jose nearly dominated outshooting Bakersfield but it wasn’t enough. After the first period, San Jose outshot Bakersfield 7 to 3. After the second period, Bakersfield outshot San Jose 13 to 6. And after the third period, San Jose outshot Bakersfield 9 to 5. This came out to San Jose outshooting Bakersfield 22-21 but Bakersfield still walked away with their first win.

Both teams struggled to stay out of the penalty box, each taking seven penalties throughout the game. It was also a very physical game, with five of those penalties either for fighting or roughing. A fighting penalty taken by Egor Afanasyev is what gave Bakersfield their 1-0 lead in the second. San Jose had three opportunities but didn’t capitalize. Bakersfield had four opportunities and capitalized on one.

For San Jose, Gabriel Carriere got his first start of the season. He made 19 saves on 22 shots with a 0.905 save percentage. After Saturday night’s loss, Carriere’s record will now fall to 0-1. For Bakersfield, Connor Ingram also got his first start of the season. He made 21 saves on 22 shots with a 0.995 save percentage. After tonight’s win, Ingram’s record will move to 1-0.

THREE STARS OF THE GAME:

  1. Quinn Huston, 1G
  2. Roby Järventie, 1G
  3. Connor Ingram, 21 svs on 22 shots

The Barracuda will be back in action on Wednesday October 22nd where they will face the Coachella Valley Firebirds for the first time this season. Last season, San Jose and Coachella went head to head quite a few times, playing each other eight times, San Jose with a 7-1 record against them.

San Jose Barracuda podcast Marko Ukalvoic: Barracuda hit the road face off with Bakersfield Saturday

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San Jose Barracuda forward Ethan Cardwell (56) winds up to take a shot against the Bakersfield Condors defenseman Luke Procop (77) at Tech CU in San Jose on Sat Oct 11, 2025 (San Jose Barracuda staff photo)

San Jose Barracuda podcast Marko Ukalovic:

#1 Which period was most decisive in swinging momentum toward San Jose, and how did it manifest in the play? San Jose scored two power‑play goals in the second period to extend their lead to 6‑3.

#2 How did the special teams (power play, penalty kill, shorthanded goals) affect the outcome and pacing of the game? There were multiple power‑play goals, and Bakersfield scored a shorthanded goal by Rhett Pitlick in the third period?

#3 Which players from Bakersfield put up the biggest individual performances (goals, assists, high shot counts) and in what ways did they influence the game? For instance, the Condors Viljami Marjala had three assists, Roby Jarventie had one goal + two assists, Rem Pitlick had one goal + two assists.

#4 When and how did Bakersfield press back from behind, and what prevented them from completing the comeback? They closed the gap late in the second period to 6–5, exchanged special teams goals in the third period, but ultimately fell short.

#5 Barracuda head to Bakersfield on Saturday night they coming in with some momentum after getting that 7-6 win in San Jose how do you see them on the road in Bakersfield next weekend?

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

Musty scores first pro goal in wild Barracuda 7-6 Opening Night win over Condors

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San Jose Barracuda forward Quentin Musty (#13) celebrates his professional goal with his teammates during his team’s 7-6 win over the Bakersfield Condors at Tech CU Arena on Saturday OCT 11, 2025. (Brian Collett-Inside The Rink)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Barracuda used a balanced scoring attack with seven different goal scorers to defeat the Bakersfield Condors 7-6 in the team’s season opener on Saturday afternoon at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose opened the season with a win with 2024 NHL first round pick Quentin Musty scoring a goal in his AHL debut.

Bakersfield (0-1-0) drew first blood 39 seconds into the contest. Roby Järventie centered the puck over Viljami Marjala in between the faceoff circles. Marjala found Rem Pitlick with a backdoor pass as Pitlick tapped it home from the near corner past ‘Cuda goalie Jakub Skarek for his first goal of the season.

San Jose (1-0-0) evened the game at the 7:15 mark. A turnover in the neutral zone had Cam Lund find Filip Bystedt at the Condors blueline. Bystedt skated in and wired a wrist shot from the slot top shelf past Matt Tomkins for his first goal of the season.

The Barracuda gained its first lead of the season when Jake Furlong sent a shot from the point that was went off the skate of Jack Ostapchuk for his first goal of the season at the 11:43 mark.

The Condors tied it up with a power play goal just over three minutes later. Max Jones set up notorious ‘Cuda killer Seth Griffith along the slot. The veteran forward beat Skarek with a wrist shot for his first goal of the season at the 14:47 mark.

Bakersfield regained the lead on the next shift 19 seconds later. A giveaway by Pavol Regenda behind his own net let to Pitlick centering a pass over to Riley Stillman who beat Skarek with a one-timer to the right corner for his first goal of the season.

San Jose evened the game with 13 seconds left in the opening frame. Jimmy Huntington centered the puck out in front of the crease to Patrick Giles. Tomkins initially stopped Giles first shot attempt, but Giles cleaned up his own rebound with a shot through the five-hole for his first goal of the season. It was Huntington’s first point in a Barracuda sweater.

San Jose earned its second lead of the game with a 5-on-3 goal early in the second period. Igor Chernyshov centered the puck right into the crease from the left wing over to Quentin Musty who was parked out right in front. Musty tapped home the puck underneath Tomkins for his first professional career goal at the 3:10 mark. Cam Lund picked up the secondary assist.

Luca Cagnoni scored the ‘Cuda’s second power play goal of the period when he blasted a one-timer from the point past Tomkins for his first goal of the season at the 7:16 mark. Lund picked up his third helper of the game and Musty his first.

Huntington doubled the ‘Cuda’s lead with its fourth unanswered goal and third of the middle frame. Giles won a clean faceoff inside the Condor’s zone. Huntington picked up the puck and skated into the middle before riffling a wrist shot past Tomkins for his goal of the season at the 12:16 mark.

Bakersfield gained one back late in the period when Max Jones finished off of a two-on-one odd man rush for the Condors. Josh Samanski sent a cross-ice pass over to Jones who beat Skarek with a one timer to the near post for his first goal of the season at the 16:06 mark.

The Condors made it a one-goal game at the 18:11 mark when Pitlick centered the puck from behind the goal line out to Järventie who beat Skarek with a backhander to the near corner for his first goal of the season.

San Jose made it 7-5 seconds after its fifth power play opportunity ended to start the third period. Mattias Havelid earned his first point in a Barracuda uniform when his shot from the point was initially saved by Tomkins. Ethan Cardwell crashed the crease and cleaned up the rebound for his first goal of the season at the 1:42 mark.

Bakersfield once again made it a one goal game scoring for the second time on a 2-on-1 odd man rush. The difference this time was they were short-handed. Pitlick finished off a cross ice pass from Marjala for his first goal of the season at the 8:25 mark. It was Marjala’s third helper of the game.

Skarek finished with 27 saves on 33 shots to earn his first win of the season. Tomkins made 29 saves on 36 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose went 3-for-8 on the power play. Bakersfield was 1-for-2.

UP NEXT: San Jose travels down to Bakersfield to take on the Condors in their first road game of the season on Saturday October 18 at 7:00pm at Dignity Health Arena.

San Jose Barracuda podcast Madison Montez: Barracuda face Condors for opener on Saturday at Tech CU

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San Jose Barracuda celebrate a goal against the Bakersfield Condors in exhibition play at Tech CU in San Jose on Sun Oct 5, 2025 (San Jose Barracuda photo)

San Jose Barracuda podcast Madison Montez:

#1 Madison, in Sunday’s first period between the Bakersfield Condors and San Jose Barracuda both goaltenders proved their worth with a 0-0 score. For the Condors they took 11 shots but the Barracuda goaltender Jakub Sharek stopped all shots and the Barracuda had six first period shots that all were stopped by Condors goaltender Nathanial Day.

#2 It was the second period that the Barracuda got on the board getting two goals one from Oliver Wahlstron at 16:06 for a 1-0 San Jose lead. The Condors tied things up at 16:39 with a goal by Matvey Petrov for a 1-1 tie.

#3 Later in the second period at 19:35 the Barracuda Kasper Halttunen scored to take a 2-1 lead with assists from Igor Chernyshov and John Gormley. The Barracuda never looked back.

#4 The Barracuda in the third period got an empty netter from Samuel Laberge for his first goal of the pre season and the 3-1 win. Sharek shut the Condors out in the third period stopping nine shots.

#5 Sat Oct 11th the Condors are back to face off with the Barracuda for opening day a 3:00pm puck drop. These two teams should be very familiar with each other how do you see this one getting underway to start the 2025-26 season?

Join Madison Montez for the San Jose Barracuda podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Barracuda win both preseason games against Condors; SJ defeats Bakersfield 3-1 Sunday

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San Jose Barracuda vs Bakersfield Condors on Sunday October 5th at Tech CU Arena (via sjbarracuda/flickr)

By Madison Montez

SAN JOSE–With three minutes to go in the second period, San Jose got on the board, courtesy of Oliver Wahlstrom. Filip Bystedt and Braden Hache with the primary and secondary assists. Bakersfield quickly got it back and tied the game 33 seconds later.

Matvey Petrov with the goal, unassisted. With less than a minute left, San Jose regained their lead after Kasper Halttunen scored his first of the preseason, Igor Chernysov with the primary and John Gormley with the secondary. Samuel Laberge sealed the 3-1 win with an empty net goal with five seconds left.

San Jose dominated the shooting percentage shooting _ more shots than Bakersfield. After the first period, San Jose outshot Bakersfield 11 to 6. After the second period, San Jose outshot Bakersfield 23 to 4. After the third, San Jose outshot Bakersfield 11 to 4.

San Jose got the first chance to show off their powerplay with Bakersfield going to the penalty box first. Bakersfield’s 88 Austin Magera caused them to go down a man due to a two minute minor for Hooking. Unfortunately, San Jose was unable to capitalize. There was four-on-four action when Anthony Vincent of the Barracuda and Luke Prokop of the Condors both went to the box for two minutes.

For Bakersfield, Nathanial Day got the start. Day made 11 saves on 11 shots. For San Jose, Jakub Skarek got the start. Skarek made 13 saves on 14 shots. Jonsson made 14 saves on 16 shots. Halfway through the second period, Bakersfield switched things up and Samuel Jonsson was put in after Day sustained a leg injury.

THREE STARS OF THE GAME:

  1. Kasper Halttunen
  2. Oliver Wahlstrom
  3. Nathanial Day

The Barracuda will be back in action on Saturday October 11th for their season and home opener. They will open the season facing this same Bakersfield Condors team. In the two previous games between these teams, San Jose won both.

Phillips OT heroics gives Eagles series lead in 3-2 win over Barracuda

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The Colorado Eagles forward Matthew Phillips celebrates a first period goal against the San Jose Barracuda with his teammates along the bench at Blue Arena on Tuesday MAY 6, 2025. (Ashley Potts-Colorado Eagles)

by Marko Ukalovic

Matthew Phillips scored the game winning goal five minutes into overtime to give the Colorado Eagles a 3-2 victory over the San Jose Barracuda in Game 3 of the Pacific Division Semifinals on Tuesday evening at Blue Arena.

Former Barracuda defenseman Jayson Megna found Phillips along the right wing on a three-on-two odd man rush. Phillips skated in and beat Cuda backup goalie Gabriel Carriere with a wrist shot for his first goal of the playoffs at the 5:02 mark of the overtime period.

Colorado can close out the series tomorrow evening as they went up 2-1 in the best of the five series. San Jose is on the brink of elimination for the first time in the playoffs.

The Eagles (2-1) drew first blood less than two minutes of the first period. Phillips centered the puck from behind the net out to Tye Felhaber who beat starting Cuda goalie Yaroslav Askarov to the stick side for his second goal of the playoffs at the 1:59 mark.

Colorado doubled its lead late in the opening frame with an even strength goal. John Ludvig’s shot from the point trickled behind Askarov and a crashing Megna chipped the puck into an open net for his third goal of the playoffs at the 17:02 mark.

San Jose (1-2) cut the deficit in half with a power play goal late in the second period. Filip Bystedt had a give and go with Colin Graf. Bystedt skated out to the right faceoff circle and beat Eagles goalie Trent Miner with a wrist shot to glove side for his second goal of the playoff at the 13:05 mark.

Cuda head coach John McCarthy pulled Askarov with over two minutes remaining in the third period for an extra attacker. San Jose cashed in on the 6-on-5 when Patrick Giles sent a on net that was initially saved by Miner. During a mad scramble in front of the net Pavol Regenda poked home the puck past Miner for his third goal of the playoffs with 1:35 remaining.

Just over a minute into the overtime session, Askarov had to come out of the game with alleged cramping. Askarov was replaced by Carriere who finished the rest of the game stopping two of the three shots he faced in suffering the loss. Askarov made 25 saves on 27 shots.

Miner finished the game stopping 29 of the 31 shots to earn his second victory of the playoffs.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 1-for-2 on the power play. Colorado went 0-for-3.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Phillips (1G, 1A) 2) Felhaber (1G,2A) 3) Megna (1G,1A).

UP NEXT: San Jose and Colorado continue their best of five series in Game 4 on Wednesday at 6:05pm at Blue Arena.

San Jose Barracuda/AHL Playoffs podcast Marko Ukalovic: Series is tied as Barracuda-Eagles head back to Colorado Tuesday night

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Colorado Eagles center Chris Wagner (14) and goaltender Trent Minor (50) can’t stop a shot on goal as the San Jose Barracuda’s center Collin Graf (51) watches the puck cross the crease at Tech CU in San Jose on Sun May 4, 2025 (photo by San Jose Barracuda)

San Jose Barracuda podcast Marko Ukalovic:

#1 The San Jose Barracuda Danil Gushchin scored the game winner with 27 second left in the overtime stanza to defeat the Colorado Eagles in Game 2 of the Pacific Divsion Semifinals at Tech CU last Sunday.

#2 San Jose had 1:12 left in their power play to start the overtime period. Gushchin carried the puck inside the Eagles zone and created a give and go with Colin Graf. Gushchin’s backhanded attempt was saved by Colorado netminder Trent Miner. The rebound was kicked in through the five-hole of Miner by Chris Wagner as Gushchin earned his first goal of the playoffs.

#3 The opening 20 minutes of the game was scoreless as both teams displayed tight checking throughout the period. The Barracuda dominated the shot clock 14-6 over the Eagles yet neither goaltender Yaroslav Askarov nor Miner allowed a puck past the crease.

#4 San Jose (1-1) started the second period on a four-minute power play due to Tye Felhaber taking a high sticking penalty that drew blood at the end of the first period. However, the Cuda power play did not generate enough quality scoring chances.

#5 San Jose and Colorado battle it out in Game 3 on Tuesday May 6th at 6:05pm at Blue Arena series is tied as this one goes back to Loveland.

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

Gushchin’s OT heroics propel Barracuda to 2-1 win over Eagles, series even

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San Jose Barracuda forward Pavol Regenda (center) celebrates his second period goal against the Colorado Eagles with teammates Scott Sabourin (#49) and Lucas Vanroboys #(67) at Tech CU Arena on Sunday MAY 4, 2025. (Joey Cascarano-Sport Shots)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Danil Gushchin scored the game winning goal 27 seconds into overtime as the San Jose Barracuda defeated the Colorado Eagles in Game 2 of the Pacific Division Semifinals on Sunday evening at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose had 1:12 left in their power play to start the overtime period. Gushchin carried the puck inside the Eagles zone and created a give and go with Colin Graf. Gushchin’s backhanded attempt was saved by Colorado netminder Trent Miner. The rebound was kicked in through the five-hole of Miner by Chris Wagner as Gushchin earned his first goal of the playoffs and sent the sold-out crowd into a celebratory frenzy.

San Jose earned a split in the series as the next three games shift back to Loveland, CO. Colorado goes back home with home ice advantage for the rest of the series.

“Yeah I thought we executed pretty well, I liked our start,” said Cuda head coach John McCarthy. “Our first period was strong. And I thought penalties both ways, it got a little choppy in the second (period). I thought we pushed there at the end.”

The opening 20 minutes was scoreless as both teams displayed tight checking throughout the period. The Barracuda dominated the shot clock 14-6 over the Eagles yet neither goaltender Yaroslav Askarov nor Miner allowed a puck past the crease.

San Jose (1-1) started the second period on a four-minute power play due to Tye Felhaber taking a high sticking penalty that drew blood at the end of the first period. However, the Cuda power play did not generate enough quality scoring chances.

Colorado (1-1) drew first blood with a power play goal late in the middle frame. Matthew Phillips sent a cross-ice pass through the crease over to Calle Rosen who roofed a one-timer past Askarov for his second goal on the playoffs and second in as many games at the 13:13 mark.

The Barracuda scored a special team’s goal of their own with 1:48 remaining in the period except it was a short-handed tally. Pavol Regenda blocked a pass in the neutral and created a two-on-zero odd man rush with Collin White. Regenda finished off a nice give and go with White as he beat Miner with a wrist shot for his second goal of the playoffs.

“Whitey (White) made a good move, faked out the goalie and kind just opened it (the space for me). I’m happy for the short-handed goal. It helped in a game like this,” Regenda said.

In the third period, emotions ran high as the chippiness began to flow after the whistle. Colorado had two power play opportunities early in the period weren’t able to cash in on either one as the Cuda penalty kill led by Askarov kept the Eagles from scoring the go-ahead goal.

Devante Stephens set up Gushchin’s heroics when he went to the sinbin for tripping Danil Gushchin with 48.1 seconds left in the period.

Askarov finished the game stopping 27 of the 28 shots he faced to earn his third win of the playoffs. Miner suffered his first loss of the playoffs as he made 34 saves on 36 shots.

“He (Askarov) played great, he won us the game tonight,” McCarthy said.

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

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Gushchin (1G,0A) 2) Regenda (1G,0A) 3) Rosen (1G,0A).

UP NEXT: San Jose and Colorado battle it out in Game 3 on Tuesday May 6th at 6:05pm at Blue Arena.