By: Eric He
After an impressive 3-0 shutout over the Stars on Friday night, the San Jose Barracuda could not repeat the result on Saturday, as they were defeated 8-5 by Texas to remain out of the playoff picture.
The Charlotte Checkers, who lost earlier on Saturday, currently occupy the eighth and final playoff spot, but the Barracuda are just percentage points behind them with two games left to play.
It was a disappointing loss for the Barracuda, considering they held a 5-2 lead in the second period, only to have the Stars put six unanswered on the board to win the game.
The Stars trimmed the three goals Barracuda advantage down to one before the end of the second, scoring twice in the period’s final two minutes. They tallied four more times in the third. Justin Dowling evened the score at 5-5 less than two minutes into the final period, and Madej Stransky gave the Stars the lead at the midway point.
Dowling scored again and Jason Dickinson provided extra insurance for Texas, which ended up running away with an 8-5 victory.
It was all fun and games for the Barracuda early on. John McCarthy and Ryan Carpenter helped San Jose jump out to a 2-1 lead after the first period of play, and Carpenter scored again early in the second period. Jeremy Langlois and Barclay Goodrow also tallied to give the Barracuda five goals.
But it wasn’t enough, as Aaron Dell faced 51 shots from Dallas and stopped just 43 of them.
The Barracuda have a week off before taking on the Stockton Heat next Saturday on the road.
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