Tag: san jose

Gulls sink the Barracuda 5-1

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Diego Gulls stormed out to an early lead and never looked back as they dominated the San Jose Barracuda in a 5-1 victory on Sunday evening at SAP Center.

San Diego (14-11-1-3) drew first blood early in the first period when Chase De Leo scored his seventh goal of the season at the 4:13 mark when he was able to beat Cuda goalie Antoine Bibeau (6-5-3) with a wrist shot on a 2-on-1 odd man rush. Joseph Blandisi and Matt Berry received assists.

Max Jones doubled San Diego’s lead when he scored his 10th goal of the season late in the opening frame. Jones’s shot from point-blank range that beat Bibeau through the five-hole came at the 14:27 mark. Sam Carrick and Luke Gadzic received assists.

Gulls goalie Kevin Boyle (10-5-0) was the main reason for San Diego’s success as he frustrated San Jose from start to finish. The Cuda outshot San Diego 13-5 in the first period, but weren’t able to get one in the back of the net.

San Diego extended its lead to 3-0 when Sam Steel finished off a pretty cross-rink pass from Troy Terry that beat Bibeau for his sixth goal of the season at the 6:23 mark. Trevor Murphy received the secondary assist.

San Jose (18-6-1-3) finally got on the scoreboard just before the end of the middle frame when Dylan Gambrell skated down the right side and found an uncovered John McCarthy all alone in the slot and the captain’s backhander beat Gulls goalie Kevin Boyle for his seventh goal of the season at the 19:54 mark.

Despite outshooting San Diego 18-5 in the second period, Boyle would continue his dominance over the Cuda, only allowing one goal on 31 shots through 40 minutes of action.

San Diego ended any thought of a San Jose comeback with two late third period goals. Carrick cashed in on a 3-on-1 opportunity when he scored his 17th goal of the season at the 14:02 mark. Then, Terry closed out the scoring with an empty-net goal at the 18:06 mark.

Boyle, who was reassigned back to Gulls yesterday, ended up making 34 saves on 35 shots for his 10th victory of the season. Bibeau suffered the loss after allowing four goals on just 16 shots.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 0/6 on the power play. San Diego went 0/3.

Barracuda mascot Frenzy celebrated his birthday during the game.

The announced attendance was 3,666.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda travel up to Stockton to take on the Heat to close out the calendar year on Monday, December 31 at 5:00 pm at Stockton Arena.

Sharks take down Ducks 4-2; Burns scores game-winner

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif. — On the night where Brent Burns played his 1000th NHL game (including 428 in a row), it was only fitting the defenseman would follow script and score the game-winning goal as the San Jose Sharks defeated the Anaheim Ducks 4-2 on Thursday evening at SAP Center.

Burns’ fifth goal of the season came while the Sharks had sustained pressure inside the Ducks’ defensive zone. Burns received the puck at the point from Brendon Dillon and fired a slap shot off the left post into the back of the net with 9:39 remaining in the third period.

Anaheim (19-15-5) drew first blood on their second power play of the game. Josh Mahura slapped in a shot from the point that hit off Nick Ritchie. Jacob Silfverberg collected the rebound and was able to tap home the puck past Sharks goaltender Martin Jones (15-8-4) behind the goal line for his 10th goal of the season at the 10:33 mark.

San Jose (20-12-7) came back to tie it up late in the period on a cycle play by their fourth line. Barclay Goodrow sent the puck around the boards behind the net to Joonas Donskoi who backhanded the puck right in front of the crease, where Melker Karlsson beat Carter Rowney to the puck and slid it past Ducks goaltender John Gibson (15-12-4) for his fourth goal of the season at the 18:05 mark.

If not for Gibson, the Sharks would have had the lead at the end of the first 20 minutes. Joe Thornton had an empty net to shoot at off a rebound and Gibson robbed him with his stick half way through the first period. Justin Braun and Lukas Radil had point-blank chances earlier on, only to come up with what the bird left on the rock.

Gibson was replaced in the net by backup goalie Chad Johnson to start the second period as he was injured in a collision with Sorensen earlier in the first period.

San Jose grabbed the lead early in the second period, thanks to another cycle play this time by their top line. A shot from the point by Joakim Ryan was deflected onto captain Joe Pavelski’s stick and he tried jamming home the puck repeatedly on Johnson. Marcus Sorensen crashed the net and cleaned up the rebound into the net for his seventh goal of the season at the 5:44 mark.

Evander Kane had a short-handed breakaway with just over 10 minutes remaining for the Sharks, but his attempt to slide the puck between Johnson’s five-hole was denied.

Speaking of great saves, Jones made a fantastic save on Silfverberg, who was all alone to the right of the crease, and his shot was stoned by a diving Jones with 2:25 left in the middle frame.

Jones almost shot the puck into his own on the next shift when he was attempting to clear the puck behind the net. It hit the right post and caromed out in front of the net where Rowney had a chance at an empty net only to have Jones recover and make the save.

Anaheim received a power play toward the end of the period and put a flurry of shots on net including Jones fighting a shot from the point off of his shoulder that hit the cross bar, but stayed out of the net as the Sharks survived the final minute to head into the intermission up by a goal.

The Ducks tied it back up early in the third period. A battle along the right board was won by Josh Manson. Rowney then centered a pass over to Kifer Sherwood, who gathered possession of the puck between the face off circles and snapped a wrist shot that trickled past Jones for his fifth goal of the season at the 3:53 mark.

Tomas Hertl sealed the game with an empty-net goal with 22 seconds left in the game as Anaheim had pulled Johnson for an extra attacker with a minute left in the game. Goodrow would get his third assist on the evening.

Jones made 25 saves on 27 shots to earn his 15th victory. Gibson only played the first period and suffered the loss, stopping 14 of the 15 shots he faced. Johnson made 20 saves on 23 shots in relief.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 0/3 on the power play. Anaheim was 1/4.

This was the second game of Erik Karlsson’s two-game suspension that resulted from a hit on Los Angeles Kings’ Austin Wagner.

Joakim Ryan returned to the lineup after being a healthy scratch the last 11 games.

Burns is the 4th ever Shark to score a goal on his 1000th game. The others were Gary Suter, Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau.

UP NEXT: The Sharks head out on the road to take on the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, December 29 at 1:00 pm.

Barracuda ground the Eagles 3-1

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Once the San Jose Barracuda were able to get their legs underneath them in the second period, they took full advantage, scoring three unanswered goals in a 3-1 victory over the Colorado Eagles on Thursday afternoon at SAP Center.

Colorado (15-10-3-1) drew first blood just past the halfway mark of the first period. Micheal Joly pick pocketed the puck off of Calvan Fitzgerald. He raced down the right-wing and centered a pass over to Dominic Toninato who buried the puck off the crossbar past Cuda goaltender Josef Korenar (12-1-1) for his fourth goal of the season at the 10:57 mark. It was the first ever goal by Colorado on San Jose ice.

San Jose (18-5-1-3) put pressure on Eagles goaltender Pavel Francouz (13-6-2) late in the period when Truchon-Viel had a point-blank chance that he shot wide with under three minutes left. Then, while on the power play, captain John McCarthy’s attempt was stoned away by Francouz off a nice give and go with Francis Perron. San Jose outshot Colorado 9-8 in the opening frame.

Nick DeSimone had a breakaway chance early in the second period seconds after he stepped out of the penalty box, but the puck slid off his stick on his shooting attempt on Francouz.

Perron evened the game at 1-1 on the power play for San Jose. His wrist shot had some english on it that was too much for Francouz to handle at the 9:16 mark. Perron leads the Cuda in overall goals with 13 and power play goals with six. He is on a three-game goal streak.

San Jose received their first lead of the game half way through the middle frame.  Maxim Letunov picked up the puck in the neutral zone and moved in to the Eagles zone away from the defense. He found a wide-open Kyle Wood, who snapped home a perfectly timed wrist shot past Francouz on the short side for his second goal of the season at the 11:26 mark.

The Cuda managed only five shots in the second period, but two of them were in the back of the net. The Eagles had even less shots with just three.

Letunov gave the Cuda an insurance goal to take a 3-1 lead on the power play half way through the third period. Letunov’s attempted pass to Alex True was broken up, but he quickly pounced back on the puck and snapped it past Francouz for his sixth goal of the season at the 11:27 mark. Letunov was finally rewarded for all his hard work as that was his first goal in his last 17 games. Wood and Jeremy Roy received assists.

Korenar made 14 saves on 15 shots to earn his 12th victory and sixth in a row. Francouz made 29 saves on 32 shots in suffering the defeat. He is now currently 2-1 against San Jose.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 2/5 on the power play. Colorado was 0/2. San Jose is second in the AHL on the penalty kill with a percentage of 86.8%.

Colorado is now 9-2-2 over their last 12 games. San Jose is now 2-0 against the Eagles at SAP Center and have earned at least a point in all four games this season.

The victory clinched the best record for the first half for San Jose and means head coach Roy Sommer will be the head coach of the Pacific Division at the AHL All-Star Game, held on January 28th, 2019 in Springfield, Mass. This will be the third time for Sommer coaching in an All-Star Game.

The announced attendance was 2,525.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda host the San Diego Gulls on Sunday, Dec. 30 at 5:00 pm at SAP Center.

Sharks fall to the Coyotes in a shootout 4-3

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Sharks had lost two straight game before Sunday’s tilt versus the Arizona Coyotes at the SAP Center. In case you missed, San Jose lost to Los Angeles 3-2 in overtime at the SAP Center Saturday.

Prior to the faceoff, Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer made a swap of the Swedes. Tim Heed was in for Erik Karlsson. Karlsson was suspended for two games for an illegal hit to Austin Wagner’s head Saturday. When it comes to starting goaltenders, the Sharks’ Aaron Dell got the nod, while the Coyotes’ Darcy Kuemper was in net.

The opening period was an action-packed, back-and-forth affair between the two teams.

The Sharks went on the power play after Oliver Ekman-Larsson elbowed Kevin Labanc with 6:27 left in the opening period. Tim Heed scored on the power play for his first goal of the season and a 1-0 lead with 4:49 left. Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Joe Thornton received the assists. With the assist, Thornton moved into the 10th spot on the NHL’s all-time assists leaders list with 1,041.

But the Sharks’ lead was short-lived as the Coyotes quickly tied up the score 1-1. Just 20 seconds later, Alex Galyenchuk scored the equalizer for his fourth goal of the season. Clayton Keller received the lone assist.

The score was tied 1-1 at the end of the first. Shots were 11-10 in favor of the Coyotes. The Sharks, however, played fairly consistent defense that helped them stand their ground.

Of course, a Pacific Division matchup wouldn’t be possible without a bitter fight, and that was exactly what happened in the second period. Both teams dropped the gloves, and as a result, the officials handed out penalties to Brenden Dillon and Niklas Hjalmarsson for roughing and Conor Garland for hooking.

Joe Pavelski was called for slashing Ekman-Larsson with 9:55 left in the second. The Coyotes went on the power play and Galchenyuk scored for his second goal of the game (and fifth goal of the season) on a 5-on-3 to give his team a 2-1 lead with 7:39 left in the second. Keller and Nick Schmaltz received the assists.

The Sharks trailed the Coyotes 2-1 at the end of the second. Shots were 21-16 in favor of Arizona. San Jose’s lackluster effort affected them and that’s why they fell behind in the stanza.

The Sharks tied the game 2-2 just 4:17 into the final period. Tomas Hertl unleashed his Hertl power for his 11th goal of the season. Vlasic and Justin Braun received the assists.

But the Sharks’ lead disappeared in the blink of an eye. Just 1:49 later, Conor Garland scored his second goal of the season to help the Coyotes to a 3-2 lead. Richard Panik and Jakob Chychrun received the assists.

Hertl, however, tied the game 3-3 with his second goal of the game (and 12th goal of the season) with 6:07 left in the third. Braun and Evander Kane received the assists.

The score remained in a 3-3 deadlock at the end of regulation, so the tilt went into overtime to determine a winner.

The Sharks were on the power play after Garland served a Coyotes penalty for too many men on the ice, but they were unable to capitalize with the man advantage, so the game went to down to the wire in the form of a shootout. In the first round, Galchenyuk fired, while Pavelski missed. In the second round, neither team succeeded. And, frankly, the third time wasn’t a charm as Logan Couture missed and the Sharks fell to the Coyotes 4-3 in a shootout. San Jose lost its third game in a row. Dell made 23 saves on 26 shots in a losing effort for the Sharks.

Kuemper made 35 saves on 38 shots en route to a Coyotes victory.

The Sharks return to action on Thursday, Dec. 27 at the Honda Center against the Ducks. Faceoff set for 7:30 pm PT on NSCA and PRIT.

Roadrunners’ late goal edges Barracuda 4-3 for series split

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Jordan Gross might want to pencil in a vacation to Silicon Valley during the off-season as he had a weekend to remember. He scored the game-winning goal with under two minutes remaining in the game to help the Tucson Roadrunners defeat the San Jose Barracuda 4-3 on Saturday evening at SAP Center.

Gross rifled a shot from the right point for the game-winner at the 18:06 mark of the third period that beat Cuda goalie Antoine Bibeau (6-4-3) over his left shoulder for his fourth goal of the season. It was his second goal of the night and third in the two-game series. Before this weekend, Gross hadn’t scored a goal in 17 straight games.

San Jose (17-5-1-3) drew first blood early in the first period. Jeffery Truchon-Viel sent in  shot from the left-wing and Evan Weinger cleaned up the rebound, putting the puck past Roadrunners goalie Merrick Madsen (5-3-0) for his sixth goal of the season at the 2:48 mark.

Tucson (16-8-3-1) tied it up just under two minutes later when Jordon Gross scored the first of his two goals. He was able to beat Bibeau from the right corner of the point after Lane Pedersen won a face-off draw. Gross’ third goal of the season came at the 4:43 mark. Brayden Burke also received an assist on the goal.

Dylan Gambrell regained the lead for San Jose halfway through the opening frame when he was set up by captain John McCarthy and Rourke Chartier. He moved into the slot and wristed one past Madsen for his eighth goal of the season came at the 10:37 mark.

Tucson continued the see-saw battle once again getting the tying goal two minutes later when Kyle Capobianco scored his fourth goal of the season when his shot beat a screened Bibeau at the 12:38 mark. Laurence Dauphin received the assist.

In the second period, Tucson gained their first lead of the game when Trevor Cheek scored his fourth goal of the season at the 3:20 mark. Keaton Middleton coughed up the puck in his own zone which resulted in a breakaway for Cheek whose shot was poked checked away by Bibeau, but it deflected off his back and into the net. Robbie Russo and Capobianco received assists.

A key moment in the game came half way through the middle frame when the Cuda were able to kill off a double-minor penalty for high-sticking to Maxim Letunov.

Pederson then went off to the sin bin for holding and San Jose were able to take advantage. Truchon-Viel scored the equalizer seconds after the power play expired on the rebound. The rookie forward’s sixth goal of the season came at the 11:23 mark. Alex True and Thomas Gregoire received assists.

Madsen made 29 saves on 32 shots to earn his fifth win. Bibeau make 33 saves, including three breakaway attempts (two of those were short-handed), on 37 shots in the tough luck loss.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 0/2 on the power play. Tucson was 0/4.

San Jose suffered its first regulation home loss since mid-October. They’re record is now 10-2-0-1 at the Shark Tank.

The announced attendance was 4,609.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda return to action on Thursday, Dec. 27 as they host the Colorado Eagles in a matinée match up at 1:15 pm at SAP Center.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Len Shapiro: After winning five straight, were Sharks tired or just slipped up against Jets?

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

On the Sharks podcast with Len:

#1 The San Jose Sharks (19-12-5) came into SAP Center with a five-game win streak, but took a 5-3 two-goal loss to the Winnipeg Jets (23-10-2) on Thursday night.

#2 The Jets’ Nikojai Ehlers got a hat trick and scored the tie-breaking goal to help the Jets get a road win in one of the toughest places to play in the NHL, San Jose.

#3 The Sharks’ Evander Kane said after the game Thursday that the Sharks made a couple of mistakes that they would like to take back.

#4 San Jose outshot Winnipeg 34-13 and the Sharks outshot the Jets in the  period 14-4, but still the Sharks couldn’t figure out the Jets goaltender Conner Hellebuyck, who stopped 41 of 44 shots in the 5-3 Jets win.

#5 The Sharks have a matinee at SAP Center with the Los Angeles Kings (12-20-3), a 1 PM start. The Sharks will be coming off a tough loss and will battle to get back in the win column.

Len Shapiro does the SJ Sharks podcast each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Perron scores game-winner, Barracuda beat Roadrunners 4-3 in OT

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Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Francis Perron continues to be the San Jose Barracuda’s best clutch player as he scored the game winning goal in overtime to defeat the Tucson Roadrunners 4-3 in a Pacific Division battle on Friday evening at SAP Center. The Cuda came back from a two-goal deficit and scored the game’s final three goals.

Alex True started a 2-on-1 odd man rush in the neutral zone. He fed a pass over to Perron at the blue line and skated in fired a wrist shot that went off the blocker of Roadrunners goalie Hunter Miska and into the bottom left corner of the net for his team-leading 12th goal on the season a the 1:48 mark of overtime.

“The D-guy (Tucson defender) made a great play actually, a great dive,” said Perron. “I wanted to pass it at first. Then I kinda hesitated after that. Saw the hole on the short side and it went in.”

Lane Pedersen drew first blood for the Roadrunners (15-8-2-1) on the power play. Tyler Steenbergen sent in a shot on goal that hit off Nick Merkley and onto the stick of Pedersen who buried the puck past Cuda goalie Joesef Korenar (11-1-1) for his seventh goal of the season at the 11:01 mark of the first period.

Dylan Gambrell took advantage of a turnover in the Tuscon defensive zone and skated in all alone on Roadrunners goalie Hunter Miska (7-4-4) and put a deke on Miska and scored into an open net to tie the game up at 1-1. The unassisted goal, Gambrell’s seventh of the season came at the 12:29 mark. He has now scored a point in four out of his last five games.

Hudson Fasching gave Tucson the lead just 12 seconds into the second period. Steenbergen fed a pass over to Fasching along the left boards and he skated behind the net and his wraparound backhander beat Korenar top-shelf for his ninth goal of the season.

Jordan Gross put Tuscon up by two goals, thanks to a fortunate bounce. Darik Angeli’s pass from the blue line hit a Cuda defender’s stick and bounced right over to a wide open Gross, who pinched in from the point, and snapped in a wrist shot past Kornear to the short side of the net for his second goal of the season at the 5:33 mark.

Jon Martin brought San Jose (16-4-1-3) right back into the game when he raced in from the left side of the blue to retrieve a loose puck sent in from the neutral zone by Francis Perron. Martin skated in with a backhand, forehand move that deflected off of Miska into the back of the bet for his third goal of the season at the 14:06 mark.

San Jose scored the equalizer when Keaton Middleton pounced on a loose puck and slammed it home for his third goal at the 6:40 mark of the third period. Maxim Letunov and Manny Wiederer were trying to jam in the puck in a mad scramble out in front of the net. The puck leaked out in between the face off circles where Middleton pinched in and cleaned up the rebound. Anti Suomela and Wiederer were credited with assists.

“It tells you something about this group in there when they’re done 3-2,” said head coach Roy Sommer. “Not a lot of teams come back going into the third (period) especially against a team like Tucson. To come back like that, it was fun.”

Merkley had a breakaway opportunity with under two minutes left in the third period after stealing the puck from Middleton at the Cuda blueline, but his chance was stoned away by Kornear.

Korenar made 20 saves on 23 shots to earn his 11th victory of the season. Miska, who had an outstanding game in his own right, made 29 saves on 33 shots in the tough luck loss.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 0/3 on the power play. Tucson was 1/5.

Gambrell’s goal also sparked a flurry of teddy bears being tossed onto the ice as it was the annual Teddy Bear Toss Night at SAP Center. The hundreds of stuffed animals caused about an eight minute delay as the team and it’s staff helped put them in bags and get them off the ice so the game could resume.

“We’ve had that game in juniors and college”, said Gambrell. “That was the first time I got that one so it was pretty exciting.”

San Jose currently has the best home winning percentage in the AHL with a record of 9-1-0-1.

Perron now has scored a point in 10 of his last 12 games including three multi-point games over that stretch.

The announced attendance was 4,455.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda and Roadrunners go back at it again on Saturday, Dec. 22 at 6:00 pm at SAP Center.

San Jose State holds off Northern Arizona for second straight win, 79-74

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Photo credit: @SJSUMBB

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose State had a good feeling about last Thursday’s 67-65 win over Bethune Cookman and looked to make it two wins in a row versus Northern Arizona inside the Event Center to wrap up its four-game homestand. Saturday marked the first meeting between the Spartans and Lumberjacks since 2007.

Spartans head coach Jean Prioleau went with a starting lineup of Brae Ivey, Oumar Barry, Craig LeCesne, Brian Rodriguez-Flores and Ashtin Chastain. Moreover, the Spartans Athletic Fund launched the Hardwood Lounge Saturday for those who want to enjoy in-game hospitality at the All-American gift level at select upcoming games. You can check out bit.ly/SAF-benefits for more information.

The Spartans won the tip and the game went underway. The Lumberjacks opened up the scoring on two 3-pointers–one by Carlos Hines just 42 seconds into the first period and the other by Cameron Shelton at the 18:20 mark. SJSU, however, responded with Rodriguez-Flores’ pair of free throws and LeCesne’s lone layup to pull within two in a span of 32 seconds. Yet, NAU countered with a 7-0 run to make it a 13-4 game at 15:49.

The Lumberjacks clawed their way back into the game, but the Spartans went on a 8-0 run of their own. Barry made two pairs of free throws, while Baumann hit a jumper and a fastbreak 3. NAU’s Luke Avdalovic hit a 3 to halt SJSU’s scoring streak at 11:01.

Both teams exchanged leads in the last 10 minutes or so, but SJSU trailed NAU 40-30 at halftime. The Lumberjacks had the upper hand in the first. Bernie Andre led the Lumberjacks with 12 points, 5 rebounds and 1 assist. Luke Avdalovic had 12 points and 2 rebounds.

SJSU got off to a strong start to open the second period. Steadman channeled his inner steadiness by making two jumpers in 50 seconds. Barry made a layup to cut the Spartans’ deficit to four at 17:44.

Yet, NAU wasn’t ready to back down. Davon Bolton made a pair of fastbreak free throws and Isaiah Thomas made a pair of free throws. Both players helped the Lumberjacks maintain a 47-40 lead at 13:39. The Spartans cut the Lumberjacks’ lead to four just 12 seconds later on Baumann’s 3. The Spartans then made it a one-point game as Ivey made three free throws in a row.

Baumann’s game reappeared, and this time, a paint jumper and 3 helped put the Spartans back on top 51-50 with 9:55 left in the second. Of course, SJSU jumped and high-fived each other, while Spartan Nation cheered so loud that you could hear them from outside the building.

Barry and Ivey poured in the points to give the Spartans a 64-60 lead with 4:30 left. Avdalovic, however, hit a 3 to make it a one-point game, which was something SJSU had hoped to avoid.

SJSU had a 67-65 lead, but it was short-lived. Shelton made a pair of free throws to tie the game at 67 apiece. LeCesne made a pair of free throws of his own, but NAU tied the game at 69 apiece for the second lead in less than 20 seconds. The chants for defense grew louder and they apparently worked on the Spartans, who benefited from Barry’s paint layup and Steadman’s lone free throw. It was 72-69 in favor of the Spartans with 55 seconds left.

Baumann made a pair of free throws to give SJSU a five-point advantage 74-69 with 37 seconds left. Turns out, NAU had plans of their own as Avdalovic quickly responded with a pair of free throws of his own to cut the Lumberjacks’ deficit to three.

The Spartans had another five-point lead, thanks to Ivey’s pair of fastbreak free throws. But, like some of the previous leads, this too was short-lived. Andre made a lone fastbreak free throw and a layup to cut the Lumberjacks’ deficit to two with four seconds left.

Baumann attempted to fend off a couple of NAU defenders, but an official stopped the clock. The Spartans received an opportunity and made the most of it. Baumann made a pair of fastbreak free throws for a 78-74 lead, Ivey followed up a lone free throw and SJSU held off NAU for a 79-74 win.

Baumann led the Spartans with 23 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist. Barry recorded a double-double with 17 points, 13 rebounds and 1 assist. Ivey had 16 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists.

SJSU heads to Maples Pavilion on Tuesday, Dec. 18 to take on Stanford at 7:00 pm PST on the Pac-12 Network.

It’s Two Times the Timo in Sharks’ 3-2 Win Over Stars

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Photo credit: @SanJoseSharks

By Jerry Feitelberg

The San Jose Sharks scored three unanswered goals to comeback from a 1-0 deficit before hanging on for 3-2 win over the visiting Dallas Stars Thursday night at the SAP Center. San Jose has now won three games in a row after losing their previous four. Timo Meier scored a pair of goals to continue his torrid stretch and Joe Thornton scored his fifth of the season. Logan Couture had a multi-assist night, his 14th and 15th points in 13 games, and Martin Jones 20 made saves.

Both teams engaged in a defensive standstill after 20 minutes, allowing a combined eight shots on goal with zero goals. Dallas broke through early in the second, with Radek Faksa scoring his fifth goal 3:35 into the middle frame.

After that, it was Timo time. The Swiss sophomore blasted a point shot past Stars goalie Anton Khudobin with 3:40 left in the second. He potted San Jose’s next goal 12:50 into the 3rd, driving hard to the net and redirecting a Logan Couture pass into goal for a 2-1 lead. Meier now has eight points in his last six games.

Joe Thornton scored an easy redirect just over five minutes later for his fifth goal of the season after Radim Simek’s point shot hit a blocker and ricocheted to the future Hall of Famer. Marcus Sorensen also added an assist on the Sharks 3-1 goal. Thornton was a game-time decision after missing practice Wednesday.

Miro Heiskanen scored his seventh of the year, victimizing the Sharks with 7:36 left in regulation on a bad line change, but San Jose would hold with the net empty for Dallas to pick up the win. They next travel to Chicago to face the reeling Blackhawks Sunday at 4:00 pm PST.

San Jose State looks for second straight win on Saturday against Northern Arizona

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Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Last week, San Jose State snapped its six-game losing skid with a down-to-the-wire 67-65 win over Bethune Cookman at home. This week, San Jose State is looking for its second straight win as they wrap up their four-game homestand with a game vs. Northern Arizona on Saturday night.

Here’s what you need to know about the upcoming game:

Game #9
Northern Arizona (2-5) vs. San Jose State (2-6)
Friday, Dec. 12, 7:00 pm PT
Event Center (5,000)
San Jose, Calif.

Live Stats
Fans can view live stats of all San Jose State men’s basketball games, home and away, by accessing the Live Stats feature at www.sjsuspartans.com. Click on the link on the women’s basketball schedule page to follow the action.

All-Access Passport
The Mountain West Network is your all-access passport to Spartan Athletics. For live and recorded video/audio of San Jose State men’s basketball home and Mountain West road contests, the Mountain West Network is your home. Go to Mountain West Network logo at top of the Spartans Athletics home page or go to www.sjsuspartans.com/video.

Back In The Win Column
San Jose State ran away with a 67-65 win over Bethune-Cookman in their last meeting on Dec. 6 to improve to 2-6 on the season. It was the Spartans’ first win over a Division I opponent since Feb. 28, 2018 at Utah State (64-62).

Last Time Out
After struggling to find much offense in the first half vs. Bethune-Cookman, the Spartan offense came to life in the second half as they shot 48% from the field and nailed five triples to come from behind and take down the Wildcats 67-65. Noah Baumann hit 3 of 5 treys in the second half, while Oumar Barry tallied a career-high 13 points and Michael Steadman finished with his third double-double of the season of 15 points and 13 rebounds in the win.

Steady Steadman
JUCO transfer Michael Steadman has had quite the debut for the Spartans this season. The 6’10 forward is averaging a team-high 13.5 points per game and ranks fourth in the Mountain West with 9.4 rebounds per game, which also ranks him in the top-40 nationally. Steadman has three double-doubles on the season, ranking fourth in the conference and has scored in double figures in 7-of-8 games, including six straight.

Staff Shake Up
Jean Prioleau made some changes to his staff in the offseason as he brought in former NC State All-American Julius Hodge as an assistant coach. He also promoted director of basketball operations, Ryan Cooper, to assistant coach.

What About The Lumberjacks?
Northern Arizona enters Saturday’s contest at 2-5 and hopes to end a four-game losing skid. After picking up early season wins over Jacksonville University (97-82) and University of Nebraska at Omaha (76-66), the Lumberjacks have since lost to Hawaii, UC Davis, Santa Clara and Utah Valley. Four Northern Arizona players are averaging double figures in scoring led by Carlos Hines’ 15 ppg. Northern Arizona is led by Jack Murphy in his seventh season.

This will be the seventh overall meeting between the programs. Northern Arizona currently leads the series 4-2 and were the victors in the last installment, which was played on Dec. 15, 2007 at the DeAnza College Gymnasium.

The Baumann Factor
Sophomore Noah Baumann is once again displaying his impressive 3-point shooting abilities this season after finishing in the top 40 in the Mountain West in that department as a freshman. Baumann is currently 15-28 (.536) from the 3-point range, which ranks second in the Mountain West.

Baumann came up huge for the Spartans in their win over Bethune-Cookman. After the team finished 0-for-10 from 3-point range in the first half, Baumann sparked the Spartan offense by draining 3-of-5 second half attempts and finished with a season-high 12 points to help lead San Jose State to a victory.

Barry’s Big Day
Senior Oumar Barry had his best game of the season vs. Bethune-Cookman as he finished with a career-high 13 points and tied his season-high of 7 rebounds.