Tag: san jose

San Jose sports podcast with Ana Kieu: Earthquakes finish season in Seattle; San Jose State notch first win of the season vs. UNLV

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Photo credit: @KNBR and @SJSUSpartanFB

On the San Jose sports podcast with Ana:

1. The San Jose Earthquakes wrapped up the 2018 MLS season in Seattle. The Quakes lost to the Seattle Sounders FC 2-1 in full-time. What more could you say about the Quakes’ future?

2. Reno 1868 FC wrapped up the 2018 USL season in Orange County, Calif. with a 1-0 loss to Orange County SC. Do you think Reno will be back stronger in 2019?

3. The San Jose State Spartans defeated the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels 50-37 inside CEFCU Stadium on Saturday. This was the Spartans’ first win since November 25, 2017 versus the Wyoming Cowboys.

4. Spartans sophomore receiver Tre Walker celebrated his birthday on Sunday just a day after the 50-37 win over the Rebels. How great was that?

Ana does the San Jose sports podcasts each week for SportsRadioService.com

San Jose State head coach Brent Brennan breaks down the latest on the Spartans

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Photo credit: @XTRA1360

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose State was no longer winless after defeating UNLV 50-37 inside CEFCU Stadium on Saturday night.

So what’s next for the Spartans? Spartans head coach Brent Brennan went over last Saturday’s win vs. UNLV, previewed this Saturday’s road game against Wyoming, and much more in his weekly press conference at Simpkins Stadium Center on Monday afternoon.

Here’s my Q&A with Brennan:

1. Tyler Nevens led all rushers with a season-best 103 yards rushing and a touchdown. How great was it to see Nevens return to his original form?
I’m really excited for Tyler. I think coming back from the injury at the Davis game. I think it just took him some time to get his legs underneath him and get comfortable and his reads have been clearer and his pass protection was cleaner. I thought he just did a great job–running hard, breaking tackles.

I also think Tyler and Malik are becoming a nice combination because they’re both kind of different backs and bring us something else so I think having both those guys doing the things they did…Malik averaged over 10 yards per carry so there’s a lot of good stuff from our run game and I was really excited. I thought coach Bernardi did a great job with getting the o-line ready and they came together to provide some good running for Tyler and for Malik.

2. The Rebels looked to stage a comeback in the third quarter, but the Spartan defense prevented the Rebel offense from doing damage. Would you say that was a team effort or just the efforts of a few players?
It’s absolutely a team effort. It’s always a team effort in football. That’s what makes it the greatest game ever in my opinion.

There were some spectacular individual plays there, but there were also a lot of loss of yardage plays or we were getting pressure on the quarterback–you gotta get the ball out of his hands quickly.

I thought our defense came up huge. We had really big moments in that third quarter. We kind of stopped that momentum, and obviously, Dakari’s interception for a touchdown was game-changing and in the right terms of when it happened during the sequence.

3. The Spartans head to Laramie, Wyo. to take on the Cowboys. Last year, San Jose State beat Wyoming at home, so what are three things they need to do to get a win against the same team on the road?
I think first and foremost we need to win the turnover battle. That’s been a very, very important part of our process in terms of playing good football.

We need to do a good job with the quarterback that they’re playing. He’s a big, strong kid. We watched him play in high school. He was a good player and it looks like he has been playing good football for them so we need to get ready for a real physical kind of run attack and rush attack that includes a really good tailback, a really good offensive line and also a quarterback who’s a big, strong kid who can throw.

The other part is that we gotta handle their defensive front. They’re really physical. They have a great presence. They got a rushers who are off the edge. It’s really one of the best defenses we’ve played this year so we got our work cut out for us.

Spartan nation, don’t forget you can call/text (408) 924-7589 for tickets to the Spartans’ final home game of the season versus the Wolf Pack on November 17th at 2:00 pm PT.

Three takeaways from San Jose State’s first win of the season

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Photo credit: @SJSUSpartanFB

By: Ana Kieu

The San Jose State Spartans won’t be writing a Cinderella story this season, but they finally came through on Saturday night with a 50-37 rout of the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels. That far-fetched victory sparked a wide range of exhilarating emotions in the Spartans’ locker room at CEFCU Stadium. This was the Spartans’ first win since November 27, 2017 versus the Wyoming Cowboys 20-17.

Now, SJSU has something to build upon, as they’ll head to Laramie, Wyo. to take on the Cowboys on Saturday, November 3 at 11:00 am PT. The Spartans claim that they’re just getting started, so let’s see what’ll happen next.

Here are my three takeaways from SJSU’s first win of the season.

The real Tyler Nevens stood up
Okay, the Spartans’ run game has been far from one of the best in the Mountain West conference, but sophomore running back Tyler Nevens had a bounce back game. Nevens went for 103 yards and a touchdown.

If you watched the game, you saw the Rebels were able to pick up a few first downs through the air before Max Gilliam ran one in from 6 yards out. Josh Love completed a deep ball pass to Thai Cottrell for a gain of 60 yards on the next possession. Nevens pounded it in from the 4-yard line on the next play. The Spartan defense then forced a turnover on downs after the Rebels were unable to convert a 3rd and 2 and then a 4th and 1.

Tre Walker got a good feeling
Sophomore wide receiver Tre Walker went for 104 yards and a touchdown on 5 receptions. Josh Love threw a 37-yard touchdown to Walker to put the Spartans up 24-21 at halftime. That, my friends, was 37 yards of perfection.

Walker has been making spectacular catches week after week, and Saturday’s game was yet another example to prove his greatness. Walker led the Spartans with 104 yards receiving and helped the Spartans maintain a halftime lead for the first time since the win last November versus the Cowboys.

Josh Love proved the naysayers wrong
Senior quarterback Josh Love redeemed himself with 25 completions on 36 attempts, 335 yards, 4 touchdowns and 1 interception. Love has proved that he has been able to make big plays happen and read the Rebel defense. Yes, I know the Rebel defense was weak and ranked 120th in S&P+, but Love was able to get the ball out of his hands and into his fellow teammates’ hands for the much-needed touchdowns.

Of course, the Rebel committed 3 turnovers, so that also helped the Spartans out to a 50-37 win at home. Moreover, Love was named the Spartans’ player of the game, which was well-deserved.

The Spartans’ record hasn’t shown excellence, but the team’s character has spoke volumes to the general public. Whether or not you follow the team, their Saturday victory was well-deserved and there’ll be more good news coming in your direction.

No longer winless: San Jose State overcame adversity with 50-37 win over UNLV

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Photo credit: @SJSUSpartanFB

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Next stop for San Jose State? Home sweet home. In the Spartans’ case, however, they weren’t just tweeting out “#BeatUNLV” but were also filled with feelings of terror. To be fair, UNLV was one of SJSU’s assumed victories, but SJSU previously lost to Colorado State 42-30, despite putting up 30 unanswered points in the second half. That being said, SJSU not only had to put their foot on the pedal, but also keep it down…and that was exactly what they did on Saturday.

The Spartans wore customized helmet decals with the initials “AJ” in honor of the late SJSU cheerleader Anjela Jose, who died in a single car accident on October 14, and held a moment of silence for Jose prior to the kickoff inside CEFCU Stadium. After that, fireworks lit up the clear blue sky and the Spartans took the field.

Josh Love was the starting quarterback for the Spartans. The kickoff shocked a lot of fans in attendance as a UNLV returner called for a fair catch, caught it and ran through the defense for a long return. As a result, the officials whistled it dead and spotted the ball back at the 15.

“I’m a fighter and I always try to put in my input” Love said. “I’ll continue to fight for this team…We’re going to continue to fight for this team.”

Unfortunately, UNLV got on the board first to open the scoring 7-0 with 7:39 left in the first quarter. Max Gilliam scored a 6-yard rushing touchdown for his first rushing touchdown of the season and Evan Pantels kicked in the extra point for the Rebels.

But SJSU quickly evened the score 7-7 just 1:23 later as Tyler Nevens scored a 4-yard rushing touchdown and Bryce Crawford kicked in the extra point for the Spartans. Nevens’ game-tying score came just moments after Love threw to Thai Cottrell, who recorded a 60-yard reception for a career-long reception.

The Spartans and Rebels were tied 7-7 at the end of the first. SJSU had a season-high 179 total yards in that span.

The Spartans took a 14-7 lead at the 12:28 mark of the second quarter. The Josh effect was in full effect as Love threw to Josh Oliver, who scored a 2-yard passing touchdown for his third touchdown of the season. Crawford kicked in the extra point for the Spartans.

“Everything on the offensive end showed up,” Oliver said. “I think part of our success was the o-line. They played really hard. They played really good.”

The Spartans got ahead 17-7, thanks to a 50-yard field goal from Crawford with 6:25 left in the second. However, 11 seconds instilled a fear inside SJSU when UNLV pulled within 3 points after Gilliam connected with Tyleek Collins for a 75-yard passing touchdown and Pantels kicked in the extra point for the Rebels.

The Spartans’ excitement decreased as soon as the Rebels snatched a 21-17 lead with 1:36 left in the second. Collins scored the second of back-to-back touchdowns–a 4-yard rushing touchdown–and Pantels kicked in the extra point.

But the Spartans weren’t ready to back down just yet. Love threw a touchdown pass to Tre Walker, who scored a 37-yard passing touchdown. Crawford kicked in the extra point for the Spartans, who went back on top 24-21 with just 34 seconds left in the second.

The Spartans carried a 24-21 lead to the locker room at halftime.

The Spartans extended its lead 31-21 at the 10:48 mark of the third quarter. Love connected with Brett Foley, who scored a 1-yard passing touchdown. Crawford kicked in the extra point for the Spartans.

The Spartans continued to wreck havoc when Love threw a touchdown pass to Tre Hartley, who scored a 9-yard passing touchdown. Crawford kicked in the extra point for the Spartans, who expanded its lead 38-21 with 4:17 left in the third.

The Rebels pulled within 10 points when Collins scored a 46-yard passing touchdown, and Pantels kicked in the extra point. Simultaneously, the Spartans’ penalty for offside was declined.

Crawford attempted a 36-yard field goal–his second field goal of the game–to put the Spartans up 41-28 with just 15 seconds left in the third.

The Spartans held a commanding 41-28 lead at the end of the third.

The Spartans proceeded to rise up for the most part. Dakari Monroe picked up a 50-yard interception touchdown, but Crawford missed the extra point. Still, SJSU got a 47-28 lead at the 13:44 mark of the fourth quarter.

“We could’ve played better,” Monroe said. “We had a lot of yards, but I think the biggest thing for us…we made the big plays when they were needed and that’s always needed.”

The Rebels intimidated the Spartans when Pantels kicked a 23-yard field goal to reduce its deficit 47-31 at the 10:46 mark of the fourth. SJSU responded with a 23-yard field goal by Crawford just 3:35 later. SJSU led UNLV 50-31 with 7:11 left in the fourth.

The Rebels put a scare into the Spartans late in the fourth. Gilliam threw a touchdown pass to Collins, who scored a 4-yard passing touchdown to slice its deficit 50-37 with 2:26 left. UNLV attempted a 2-point conversion, but it failed.

The Spartans defeated the Rebels 50-37.

“It was an awesome night for our team,” head coach Brent Brennan said. “It has obviously been a tough couple of months and I’m just so proud of them because they never stopped working.”

Notes
Spartans’ possible starters
Offense: Tre Walker, Jackson Snyder, Troy Kowalski, Kyle Hoppe, Jake Colman, Deano Motes, Josh Oliver, Josh Love, Tyler Nevens, Thai Cottrell and Tre Hartley.

Defense: Bryson Bridges, Boogie Roberts, Sailosi Latu, Jesse Osuna, Jamal Scott, Ethan Aguayo, Alii Matau, Dakari Monroe, Zamore Zigler, Tre Webb and Jonathan Lenard, Jr.

If you’re into beer, you can get your tickets for the Spartans’ upcoming Beer Fest in their game versus the Nevada Wolf Pack on November 17 at 2:00 pm PT. You can click this link bit.ly/SJSUBEERFEST and use the promo code “BEERFEST” or call/text (408) 924-7589.

If you’re getting fired up about San Jose State basketball, there’s less than two weeks before the boys in Blue and Gold ball it out on the court. The Spartans host the Life Pacific College Warriors on November 7th at 7:00 pm PT.

Up Next
The Spartans travel to Laramie, Wyo. to take on the Wyoming Cowboys next Saturday at 11:00 am PT.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro: Sharks get lots of help, but Hurricanes just a bit better during shootout

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Photo credit: @NHLCanes

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Len:

#1 The Carolina Hurricanes and San Jose Sharks forced a shootout. Both teams had very respective records going in.

#2 The Sharks got goals from Timo Meier, Antti Suomela, and Tomas Hertl. Hertl is listed out with an injury and is not expected to be in the line up for Sunday’s game in Anaheim.

#3 In goal, Aaron Dell made 38 saves on 41 shots for San Jose.

#4 The Hurricanes outshot the Sharks by 61% and the Canes beat the Sharks on the draw by 39%.

#5 The Sharks (5-3-2) head to Anaheim (5-5-1) for a Sunday Night draw.

Len does the Sharks podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose State gearing up for Saturday’s home game with UNLV

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Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

San Jose State is gearing up for their Saturday game versus UNLV. This Mountain West match-up will count as the Spartans’ eighth game of the season. The Spartans are hoping for a win, and in case you missed it, you can watch head coach Brent Brennan’s press conference below.

Now, let’s get to the fun stuff. Here’s what you need to know about Saturday’s home game.

Saturday Funday
SJSU vs. UNLV
Saturday, October 27, 2018
CEFCU Stadium, San Jose, Calif.
3:30 pm PT
AT&T SportsNet

SJSU’s record
0-7, 0-3 Mountain West. Most recently, SJSU lost at San Diego State, 16-13, on October 20. The Spartans’ last win was a 20-17 victory over MW member Wyoming on November 25, 2017.

UNLV’s record
2-5, 0-3 Mountain West. The Rebels lost their fourth in a row to Air Force, 41-35, on October 19.

Series history
SJSU leads the series, 15-6-1. The Rebels won for the first time in eight meetings last year in a 41-13 triumph in Las Vegas. The Spartans posted a 30-24 MW victory in 2016 when the teams last met in CEFCU Stadium.

Television
AT&T SportsNet will provide play-by-play coverage of the SJSU-UNLV game. The live telecast is scheduled for 3:30 pm PT.

AT&T SportsNet is available on: DirecTV Channel 684, DISH Network Channel 414 and UVerse Channel 757.

Radio
KLIV (1590 AM, San Jose) originates SJSU football broadcasts. Justin Allegri calls the play-by-play. Kevin Richardson provides commentary. The UNLV broadcast begins at 3:00 pm PT with a pregame show.

SJSU’s network affiliate is KION (1460 AM/101.1 FM, Salinas).

KSJS (90.5 FM, San Jose) also will broadcast the UNLV game. The pre-game show begins at 3:15 pm PT.

Family affair
UNLV fullback Daniel Godfrey is the son of former SJSU linebacker Dan Godfrey, a two-time All-Big West Conference linebacker during the 1993 and 1994 seasons, respectively.

UNLV defensive backs coach Al Simmons was a graduate assistant on the 2005 SJSU staff led by Dick Tomey.

UNLV director of athletics Desiree Reed-Francois was SJSU’s director of compliance from 1999 through 2002.

SJSU’s defense turns in strong performance at SDSU
SDSU scored only one touchdown in its 16-13 victory over SJSU. The last time the Spartans limited an opponent to a single six-pointer in a game was a 13-0 loss to Hawaii on November 15, 2014 at CEFCU Stadium.

SJSU kept the SDSU offense in check yielding a season-low 293 yards–the first time since the November 26, 2016 win at Fresno State that the defense kept an opponent under 300 yards of total offense.

Improvements in pass defense
In SJSU’s last three games, opponents are completing just over 50% of their passing attempts (23-of-45) for five touchdowns. In the team’s first four games of the season, the Spartans gave up 13 passing touchdowns and no less than 309 passing yards per game.

Spartans end touchdown drought
SJSU’s third-quarter TD with 0:50 remaining on a Malike Roberson 1-yard run was the Spartans’ first TD since Thai Cottrell caught a 1-yard pass from quarterback Josh Love in the Colorado State game. SJSU was 13 seconds short of two complete games (1:59:47) of not scoring a TD.

Crawford’s field goals
Placekicker Bryce Crawford has made his last three field goal tries in the Army West Point and SDSU games. He’s 9-of-14 for the season with a season-long 49-yard FG against Army.

Papazian’s short punts
Punter Brian Papazian specializes in short punts. Of his seven punts in the three games he played, six landed inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. Fresno State punter Blake Cusick is the only MW punter in games played through October 20th to have at least 50% of his punts land inside the 20-yard line (18-of-30).

If you’re also a San Jose State basketball fan, you should make plans for the upcoming season by checking out the tweet below.

San Jose State still searching for first win of the season

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Photo credit: @SJSUSpartanFB

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose State head coach Brent Brennan held his weekly press conference inside Simpkins Stadium Center on Monday afternoon. Obviously, Brennan–and the Spartans–weren’t happy with their seventh straight loss of the season. The Spartans haven’t won a game since November 25, 2017 when they squeaked past the Wyoming Cowboys 20-17 at CEFCU Stadium to close out the 2017 season.

Here’s my Q&A with Brennan:

1. The Spartans got off to a good start, thanks to Bryce Crawford. The Spartans, however, lost a close game in the end. How disappointing was it for the players and coaches on Saturday night?
I think everyone was devastated. To go in there and go toe-to-toe with their great defense and just what they do as an offense running the football. The success they’ve had over the years. The respect that we have for their program to go in there and play as well as we did and not finish it and not come out with a win was really disappointing. The challenge for us now is how can we get rid of that game and move on to get ready for our next one. To me, this is the most important game of the year.

2. The Spartans’ run game was clearly broken. What changes can be made to make sure the Spartans capitalize on their opportunities and gain yards?
I think it was broken, but I think it made a big step last week against San Diego State even though the numbers weren’t big. I think we ran for more yards than everyone they played so far–maybe outside of Stanford. So I think that’s something we can feel really good about. We were playing the 12th-ranked defense in the country last week and I thought our offensive line and coach (Joe) Bernardi did a good job at the game plan there. I thought Tyler Nevens and Malik Roberson did a nice job running the ball and I felt like that run game was one of the things that kind of helped us sustain drives and change that game a little bit in the second half so obviously we’re going to put a lot of work into it and hopefully we can get an even better performance this weekend.

3. The Spartans committed costly penalties at the worst times. What are your thoughts on the horse-collar flag and roughing-the-passer call that allowed San Diego State to get ahead and avoid a huge upset?
The roughing-the-passer call…I thought that was a tough one! We got pressured in there and it was his first college football game. He hasn’t played yet at all. And I’m so proud of Junior Fehoko; he went in there and played his tail off. He did a lot of good stuff in that game. It was his first college game against an outfield like that. That’s a big time accomplishment. He’s not trying to rough the passer; he’s trying to play as hard as he possibly can. So that’s a real teachable moment, a real learning moment for him. The frustrating things are our penalties that stop the drive on offense or extend the drive on defense and those are the things that we need to eliminate. But in terms of penalties overall, that game, they were very low.

Spartan nation, don’t forget that you can call or text (408) 924-7589 for San Jose State football tickets.

Earthquakes end final home game with 0-0 draw with Rapids

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Photo credit: @SJEarthquakes

By Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif. — With all eyes on the Wondo Watch, The San Jose Earthquakes (4-20-9) weren’t able to get their captain Chris Wondolowski the two goals needed to break London Donovan’s record in a 0-0 draw with the Colorado Rapids (7-19-7) in the final home game of the season at Avaya Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

It’s not like the Quakes didn’t give it their best effort as the whole team was trying to set up Wondo throughout the entire match. Wondo’s best chances came at the 38th minute one-timing a centering pass from Nick Lima that was blocked by a defender and in the 54th minute he had a clear shot attempt from 18 yards out that sailed high over the net.

“I think they did a good job of marking up,” said Wondo. “I felt our final ball was lacking, our final movement. My shots went into defenders, they blocked them or I missed the target. That’s all on me.”

The first half of play was mostly quiet until about 10 minutes left till intermission. Rapids defender Kortne Ford had an apparent hand ball not called by referee Tim Ford in the 35th minute.

In the 37th minute, Rapids forward Shkelzen Gashi had his attempt from eight yards out just sail wide right of the far post that had beat Quakes goalie JT Marcinkowski.

Tommy Thompson had a quality chance to score in the 40th minute, but his attempt was  saved by Rapids goalie Tim Howard.

In the 45th minute, San Jose had two chances to score, but Shea Salinas’ attempt was tipped over the net by Howard. Then on the ensuing corner kick, Anibal Godoy’s header attempt was also stopped by Howard.

In the second half, the Quakes controlled the play and tempo–winning the possession battle 65% to 35%–and looked like they were going to send the Blue and Black faithful home happy. In the 56th minute, Jackson Yueill’s header attempt on a centering pass was kept out of the net, thanks to the cat-like reflexes by Howard.

San Jose’s best attempt to break the deadlock came in the 71st minute. Yeuill one-tocuhed a back pass to Shae Salinas, who dribbled past one defender and shot the ball just wide right of the goal.

In the match’s final moments, Colorado’s Jack Price almost spoiled the afternoon for the Quakes. Price’s close range shot was tipped over the net by Marcinkowski in the 90th minute.

“Disappointing we didn’t win,” said interim head coach Steve Ralston, who was coaching his final home game for the Quakes. “I thought the performance was really well by the entire group. Unfortunately we couldn’t break them down in the final third (of the match).”

“He came in a very tought spot,” said forward Danny Hoesen regarding Ralston’s upcoming final game as interim coach. “He’s very professional and a good guy. Obviously it would be nice for him to get a win (in his final game as head coach). There will be a little bit extra motivation (next week in Seattle).”

GAME NOTES: Colorado’s Bismark Boateng received a yellow card in the 51st minute for a hard tackle on San Jose’s Jackson Yueill. Ford received a yellow card in the 78th minute for closelining Thompson.

The Quakes finished the match with 13 corner kicks compared to Colorado’s 3.

Vako entered the match in the 81st minute as a substitution for Hoesen.

San Jose is 29-21-16 overall against Colorado with a 16-8-8 record at home.

The announced attendance was 17,474.

UP NEXT: The Quakes travel up to Seattle to take on the Sounders in the regular season finale on Sunday, October 28 at 1:30 pm PT.

Barracuda fall 3-2 to Heat at SAP Center

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Photo credit: @AHLHeat

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Barracuda and Stockton Heat wrapped up their home and home series at SAP Center on Sunday. In case you missed it, San Jose downed Stockton by a score of 5-2 last night. San Jose used a four-goal third period to leave Stockton in shock.

Barracuda head coach Roy Sommer went with Antoine Bibeau, Dylan Gambrell, Vincent Praplan, Francis Perron, Cavan Fitzgerald and Keaton Middleton for his starting lineup.

However, Stockton got on the board first. Andrew Mangiapane scored his second goal of the season with 6:25 left in the first quarter. Oliver Kylington and Tyler Graovac collected the assists on Mangiapane’s goal.

Stockton doubled their lead a little less than two minutes later. Graovac scored his third goal of the season with 4:31 left in the first. Mangiapane and former Barracuda right winger Buddy Robinson collected the assists on Graovac’s goal.

The Heat were fired up and held a 2-0 lead over the Barracuda at the end of the first. Stockton edged San Jose in shots, 9-8.

The second period was chock full of penalties for both teams, but Stockton was the only team who capitalized on a man advantage. Spencer Foo notched his third goal of the season on the 5-on-3 to give the Heat a 3-0 lead with 8:12 left in the second. Graovac collected the assist on Foo’s power play goal.

Also, San Jose struggled to find the back of the net in the second for the first 10 minutes of the second. But the Barracuda avoided a shutout, thanks to Maxim Letunov’s fifth goal of the season with 5:02 left in the second. Praplan collected the lone assist on Letunov’s goal.

The Barracuda made it a one-goal game when Jayden Halbgewachs scored his third goal of the season with 1:11 left in the second.

The Heat still held a 3-2 lead over the Barracuda at the end of the second. Shots were even at 20 apiece.

The Heat were unable to capitalize with the man advantage on both Barracuda penalties, but they managed to hold on for a 3-2 win in the second game of the home-and-home series. Heat goalie Tyler Parsons stopped 26 of 28 shots for the road win, while Barracuda goalie Antoine Bibeau made 26 saves on 29 shots in a home loss.

Notes 
The San Jose Sharks announced that the club reassigned center Dylan Gambrell to the San Jose Barracuda. Gambrell played today.

Barracuda goalie Antoine Bibeau played in his 150th AHL game today.

There’s a Second Harvest food drive going on at SAP Center. This is one of the most difficult times of the year, so if you have any canned goods, please donate them at a Barracuda home game to help families in need.

Up Next 
The Barracuda head out on the road to take on the San Antonio Rampage on Friday, October 26 at 5:30 pm PT.

Sharks Rout Islanders 4-1

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks defeated the visiting New York Islanders 4-1 Saturday night. Sharks’ goals came from Timo Meier, Joonas Donskoi, Brent Burns and Logan Couture, while Tomas Hertl earned three assists. Sharks goalie Martin Jones made 22 saves for the win, while Islanders goalie Robin Lehner made 37 saves on 41 shots in a losing effort.

The lone Islanders goal came from Brock Nelson. The Islanders did not take the loss quietly. As if in tribute to the Elton John tune, the game devolved into numerous fights and skirmishes before it was over.

The Sharks scored first as Timo Meier notched his fourth of the season at 7:59. Despite two Islanders crowding him, and eventually helping him fall to the ice, Tomas Hertl got the puck to Logan Couture at the top of the faceoff circle. Couture sent a quick pass to Meier, who was right at the edge of the blue paint. Lehner stopped Meier’s first shot but Meier was able to pick the puck back up and put it over Lehner’s outstretched pad. Couture and Hertl got the assists.

After a busy but unsuccessful power play at 16:59, San Jose gave up a goal with just 33 seconds left in the period. Josh Bailey skated into the Sharks’ zone and neatly avoided Justin Braun to make a pass to Brock Nelson. Nelson had avoided Burns and wound up with a clear shot at the net, which he took and hit his mark. Assists went to Bailey and Anders Lee.

At the end of the period, the Sharks had a slight lead in shots, 11-6, but a significant advantage in the faceoff circle at 67%-33%.

Evander Kane and Timo Meier both had good chances early in the second, but it was Joonas Donskoi who got the first second period goal at 4:59. Antti Suomela rushed the net and took a shot that was blocked by a sliding Scott Mayfield and Lehner’s stick. Suomela was too far beyond the goal line to get a good shot, so he sent it in front of the net. Donskoi was there in a flash to tap it over the line. Suomela got the only assist.

Just past the halfway mark, a scuffle followed a collision with Lehner in the Islanders’ net. After it was sorted out, Kane went to the box for roughing and Mayfield went to the box for cross-checking Kevin Labanc. The teams played four-on-four for two minutes. With three seconds left in that, Brent Burns took the puck and skated away from Jordan Eberle on the boards, and then took a shot around Tomas Hickey and Lehner to give the Sharks a 3-1 lead. Assists went to Hertl and Donskoi.

With 3:50 left in the period, Barclay Goodrow and Scott Mayfield engaged in some fisticuffs, then left for intermission early.

The Islanders got a late power play when Kane was called for slashing at 17:29. The Sharks’ penalty killers did an exceptional job in the first 1:15 of the penalty, spending a lot of time in the Islanders’ zone. That was thanks in large part to Hertl getting the puck across the line and carrying it all the way down and around the offensive zone.

At the end of the second period, San Jose had the 3-1 lead, a shot advantage of 26-14 and were still ahead in the faceoff circle, winning 61% of the draws.

Hertl helped Couture score the Sharks’ fourth goal. Hertl bounced the puck off of the back of the net while he made a quick reversal to lose an Islanders defender. Free of that burden, he was able to get back in front of the net and took a shot that went under Lehner and out the other side. Couture was there waiting for it and put it over the line. Assists went to Hertl and Joakim Ryan.

At 9:52 of the third, Kane was given a four minute roughing penalty after being taken down at the blue line and objecting strongly. His objection drew like responses from Lee and Mayfield, who each got two minutes for roughing against Kane.

At 12:08, a Cal Clutterbuck hit inspired just about everyone on the ice joined in to the fighting/roughing club: Clutterbuck, Burns, Matt Martin and Casey Cizikas all received misconducts. Burns also got a tripping penalty. Martin and Clutterbuck also got roughing penalties.

The sum total of the penalties put the Sharks on a power play, but it did not produce any more goals.

Shortly after Kane’s penalties expired, Kane was back on the ice and challenged Lee to fight right off the next faceoff.

The Sharks next play on Tuesday in Nashville against the Predators at 5:00 PM PT.