San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Barracuda play last game of season on Tuesday night in Vegas

The San Jose Barracuda Jacob McGrew forward (64) defends against the boards Mon May 3, 2021 against the Bakersfield Condors at Solar4America in San Jose (@sjbarracuda photo)

On the Barracuda podcast with Marko:

#1 The San Jose Barracuda (15-13-4-2) concluded their final home game of the season against the Bakersfield Condors (21-12-0-1) last Monday after winning three straight over the Condors the Barracuda couldn’t hold on for the win losing by two goals 5-3.

#2 Barracuda goaltender Alexi Melnichuk had a rough outing last Monday allowing five goals on 19 Condor shots.

#3 The Condors goalie Stuart Skinner has had some luck he was the AHL CCM goalie of the month of March. He stopped 35 Barracuda shots against and won his 18th game he’s got a bright future whenever he get recalled to the Oilers.

#4 Joel Kellman has been going well for the Barracuda he was the CCM AHL Player of the Week he picked up three points for the Barracuda last Monday and has scored ten points in his last four games.

#5 The Barracuda faced off against the Henderson Silver Knights at 1:00pm today at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas just get a run down from you on how that game went.

Join Marko for the San Jose Barracuda podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Condors take down Barracuda 5-3

The Bakersfield Condors defeated the San Jose Barracuda on Mon May 3, 2021 at Solar4America Ice in San Jose (@sjbarracuda image)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif-The Bakersfield Condors scored three goals in the third period en route to a 5-3 victory over the San Jose Barracuda on Monday evening at Solar4America Ice.

San Jose have lost two games in a row and finished 3-4-2-1 in the ten-game series against their Pacific Division rival. Bakersfield has won two games in a row and currently sit in second place with 43 points. The went 7-3 against the Barracuda.

San Jose (15-13-4-2) drew first blood on the power play early in the first period. Jayden Halbgewachs won a battle behind the goal line. He sent the puck back up to the right point over to Sasha Chmelevski. The Long Beach native faked a wide rink pass and skated down the wing as he fired a wrist shot to the short side past Condors goalie Stuart Skinner for his ninth goal of the season at the 4:50 mark. Joel Kellman received the secondary assist.

The ‘Cuda came into the game with the best power play in the AHL on home ice with a clip of 26.9%.

Bakersfield (21-12-0-1) evened the score with a power play goal of their own. Adam Cracknell set up Seth Griffith on the right slot. Griffith fired a wrist shot top-shelf past ‘Cuda goalie Alexei Melnichuk for his ninth goal of the season at the 13:10 mark of the first period.

Griffith has a three-goal scoring streak and has points in five of his last six games. He has feasted against the Barracuda this season with nine points (5G 4A).

The Condors gained the lead late in the first period with its second power play goal. A shot from the point by Max Gildon caromed off the boards onto the stick of Brad Malone and the Condors captain banked the puck off of Melnichuk into the back of the net for his eighth goal of the season at the 17:47 mark.

Bakersfield scored on 66% of its three shots in the opening 20 minutes as they were out shot 17-3 by San Jose.

San Jose scored the equalizer with its second power play goal of the game late in the second period. Joel Kellman started the rush inside the Condors zone. Chmelevski sent a rink wide pass over to Maxim Letunov at the right slot and Letunov blasted a one-timer past Skinner for his 11th goal of the season at the 17:32 mark.

Letunov tied Chmelevski for the team lead with four power play goals.

Evan Weinger had a spirited fight with Luke Esposito late in the middle frame as they two danced the tango at the 15:09 mark.

Bakersfield regained its third lead of the game early in the third period. A shot from the Gildon from the left point sprung off the backboards right on to the stick of Devin Brosseau and he tapped the puck into an empty net for his third goal of the season at the 2:00 mark.

The Barracuda tied the game for the second time in the game on a short-handed goal. Joel Kellman intercepted a pass from Griffith, raced down the left side and from a tough angle beat Skinner with a wrist shot for his eighth goal (his first short-handed) of the season at the 5:12 mark.

Kellman has been hot for the ‘Cuda with another multi-point game (G, 2A). He has eight points in his past three games.

The Condors scored the game winning goal when Tyler Benson led a counter attack up the ice. He fed a back pass up to Cooper Marody who skated in and beat Melnichuk with a wrist shot for his team leading 20th goal of the season at the 12:43 mark.

Bakersfield received some insurance when Malone scored a short-handed goal, his second of the game, when he skated down the left wing after a pass from Vincent Desharnais and he beat Melnichuk to the short side with a wrist shot a the 14:33 mark.

Malone has five goals over his last two games.

Skinner finished the game stopping 35 of the 38 shots he faced to earn his league leading 18th victory of the season. Melnichuk made 14 saves on 19 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose went 2-for-8 on the power play. Bakersfield was 2-for-5.

Ozzie Wiesblatt was back in the lineup for San Jose in his fourth AHL game. Wiesblatt had just completed a short season in the WHL where he played in 23 games and had 28 points.

Cracknell finished the season series with 12 points against San Jose (4G, 8A).

San Jose has scored four short-handed goals this season.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Malone 2) Kellman 3) Skinner

UP NEXT: San Jose finishes the regular season on the road as the visit the Henderson Silver Knights on Saturday 5/8 at 1:00pm at T-Mobile Arena.

Barracuda beat Condors 4-2 with third period comeback

A happy group of San Jose Barracuda skate off the ice at Solar4America in San Jose after defeating the Bakersfield Condors on Tue Apr 27, 2021 (@sjbarracuda photo)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif–Joel Kellman scored the game winning with just over two minutes left in the game as the San Jose Barracuda came back from a one-goal deficit to beat the the Bakersfield Condors 4-2 on Tuesday evening at Solar4America Ice.

Sasha Chmelevski skated out from behind the net and threaded a back door pass to Kellman who buried a one-timer for his fourth goal of the season at the 17:48 mark of the third period.

Chmelevski ended the game with a three point night (1G, 2A).

San Jose have won two games in a row and climbed back into fourth place and the final playoff spot in the Pacific Division with .548 winning percentage as the Colorado Eagles were idle on the evening. Bakersfield have lost two in a row.

Bakersfield (19-12-0-1) drew first blood in early in the first period on the power play. Tyler Benson made a rink wide pass over to Adam Cracknell from the left wing. The 35-year old veteran one-timed the puck past ‘Cuda goalie Alexei Melnichuk for his 10th goal of the season at the 5:49 mark.

Evan Weinger was given a five-minute major penalty for elbowing at the 3:08 mark when he hit Kevin Gravel up high that led to a big scrum where Sasha Cmelevski and Phillip Kemp threw fisticuffs. The Condors were only able to score the one goal during Weinger’s penalty. Brad Malone was given a 10-minute game misconduct penalty.

San Jose (14-11-4-2) scored the equalizer on the power play late in the first period. Chmelevski sent a shot from the right slot that pinballed out to the left wing and Jayden Halbgewachs snapped a wrist shot past Condors goalie Olivier Rodrigue for his sixth goal of the season at the 16:49 mark.

Since coming back from an injury where he missed nine games, Halbgewachs has scored a goal in back-to-back to games and is on a three-game point streak.

The Condors regained the lead with their second power play goal of the period. . A battle along the left wing had the puck bounced over to Seth Griffith and he fired a wrist shot top-shelf past Melnichuk for his seventh goal of the season at the 18:16 mark.

Both teams combined for 39 penalties in the opening 20 minutes that saw Bakersfield out shoot San Jose 13-11.

The bad blood spilled over into the second period. Nicholas Meloche and Benson both received 10 minute misconduct penalties at the 3:38 mark after both had been assessed minor penalties for cross-checking and roughing after played had stopped.

San Jose had a full two-minute five-on-three power play opportunity but the Condors penalty kill held the fort, led by Rodrigue, and kept the ‘Cuda from tying the game.

San Jose out shot Bakersfield 11-6 in the middle frame.

The Barracuda evened the score in the third period that was the start of three unanswered goals in the final frame. Maxim Letunov fed a pass over to Ivan Chekhovich in between the faceoff circles. Chekhovich made a backdoor pass just to the right of the crease where Jake McGrew tapped the puck into an open net for his fourth goal of the season at the 11:57 mark.

Chmelevski iced the game for the ‘Cuda with his empty net goal, his sixth of the season with 61 second left.

Melnichuk (6-6-3) finished the game stopping 22 of the 24 shots he faced to earn the victory. Rodrigue (3-5-0) made 32 saves on 35 shots in the losing effort.

Both teams finished the game with a combined 89 penalty minutes in the ninth contest between the division rivals.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 1-for-7 on the power play. Bakersfield went 2-for-5.

San Jose has won three straight games against Bakersfield on home ice.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Kellman 2) Chmelevski 3) Halbgewachs

UP NEXT: The Barracuda host the Henderson Silver Knights on Friday 4/30 at 6:00pm at SAP Center.

Condors rush pass Barracuda in 4-1 victory

Bakersfield Condors right winger Tyler Benson (left) is pinned on the boards by the San Jose defenceman Barracuda Brinson Pasichnuk (right) on Sat Apr 10, 2021 at Mechanics Bank in Bakersfield (@sjbarracuda photo)

by Marko Ukalovic

BAKERSFIELD, Calif—The Bakersfield Condors scored four unanswered goals en route to a 4-1 win over the San Jose Barracuda on Saturday night at Mechanics Bank Arena.

The Condors have won two games in a row and have 29 points, good for third place in the Pacific Division. San Jose has lost two of its past three games and are in fourth place with 22 points.

San Jose (8-8-4-2) drew first blood halfway through the first period. Robbie Russo found Evan Weinger along the left boards. Weinger threaded a cross ice pass between two Condors defenders over to a wide open Maxim Letunov and he buried the puck into an empty net past Condors goalie Stuart Skinner for his sixth goal of the season at the 10:07 mark.

Letunov now has three goals in his two games fore the ‘Cuda.

San Jose controlled the pace of play in the opening 20 minutes as they outshot Bakersfield 9-6.

It was all Bakersfield (14-9-0-1) from the second period on as they scored two goals in the first six minutes of the middle frame.

Adam Cracknell beat Ryan Merkley to a rebound off the boards and quickly centered a backhand pass over to Seth Griffith who snapped home a wrist shot past ‘Cuda goalie Sam Harvey for his fourth goal of the season at the 2:30 mark.

Less than four minutes later the Condors gained its first lead of the game and never looked back. Luke Esposito gained the puck at the ‘Cuda blueline. He found Joe Gambardella with a backdoor feed and the veteran forward tipped home the puck between his legs past Harvey for his sixth goal of the season at the 6:13 mark.

The Condors had the ice tilted in its favor in the middle frame as they outshot the Barracuda 17-6.

Bakersfield scored an insurance goal insurance goal halfway through the third period. James Hamblin was able to skate around Branson Pasichnuk down the left wing and created a two-on-zero opportunity. Hamblin centered the puck back to Jakob Stukel who beat Harvey with a wrist shot for his fourth goal of the season at the 10:08 mark.

Cooper Marody put the game on ice for the Condors with an empty net goal with 1:52 left in the game. Tyler Benson received the only assist on Marody’s 16th goal of the season.

Skinner finished the evening stopping 21 of the 22 shots he faced to earn the victory. Harvey made 27 saves on 30 shots in the losing effort.

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

‘Cuda goalie Josef Korenar was called up to the San Jose Sharks earlier in the afternoon as the Sharks traded Devan Dubnyk to the Colorado Avalanche for defenseman Greg Pateryn and a 2021 fifth round draft pick. The NHL trading deadline is on Monday.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Gambardella 2) Griffith 3) Stukel

UP NEXT: The Barracuda take on the Ontario Reign on Sunday 4/11 at 3:00pm at the Toyota Sports Performance Center.

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: SJ are back in Bakersfield to face tough Condors tonight; Korenar recalled by Sharks to replace Dubnyk

San Jose Barracuda defenseman Nick DeSimone (57) congratulates goaltender Josef Korenar (32) on Wed Apr 7, 2021 after defeating the Henderson Silver Knights in San Jose (@sjbarracuda photo)

#1 It was another come back game for the San Jose Barracuda (8-7-4-2) last Wednesday night when the Barracuda hosted the Henderson Silver Knights (18-5-0-0) at Solar4America Ice down two goals to win it 4-2.

#2 The win against the Knights was a valuable one as it was San Jose’s first win in eight games against the Knights who are another battling team.

#3 Josef Korenar the Barracuda goaltender stopped 20 of 22 shots in the Wednesday win and now won five games against one. Korenar was recalled by the San Jose Sharks on Saturday afternoon after the Sharks traded goalie Devan Dubnyk to the Colorado Avalanche.

#4 Maxim Letunov scored his fourth and fifth goals of 2021 against the Knights on Wednesday which were key goals in the first win of 2021 against the Knights.

#5 The Barracuda return to action tonight against the Bakersfield Condors (12-9-0-1) the last time the two teams met on Tue Mar 30th the Condors lost their first game to the Barracuda 4-3. Face off tonight at 6pm in Bakersfield.

Join Marko for Barracuda hockey podcasts each Saturday night at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Barracuda take on Gulls tonight in San Diego

The San Jose Barracuda forward Zach Gallant (60) takes a shot against the Bakersfield Condors on Tue Mar 30, 2021 in Bakersfield (@sjbarracuda photo)

#1 Marko, how did the Barracuda (7-6-4-1) come from two goals down to defeat the Bakersfield Condors (11-9-0-1) with four unanswered goals for a 4-3 win?

#2 Barracuda goaltender Josef Korenar saved 30 shots and picked up his fourth win of the season

#3 It’s not often you see the Condors goaltender Stuart Skinner give up four goals for a loss after stopping 31 shots

#4 The Barracuda’s Joachim Blichfeld got two assists it was his first assists in ten games

#5 The Barracuda are in San Diego tonight at 7:00pm to face the Gulls. San Diego has always been a tough place for the Barracuda talk about how you see the match up tonight.

Marko does the Barracuda podcasts each Saturday night at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Barracuda come back from two goal deficit, defeat Condors 4-3

Congratulations all around as the San Jose Barracuda get a win against one their toughest opponents this season the Bakersfield Condors on Tue Mar 30, 2021 at Bakersfield (@sjbarracuda image)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE, Calif—The San Jose Barracuda scored three unanswered goals in the second period as they overcame a two-goal deficit en-route to a 4-3 victory over the Bakersfield Condors on Tuesday evening at Solar4America Ice.

San Jose snapped its three-game losing streak while sending Bakersfield to their third straight loss.

Bakersfield (11-9-0-1) drew first blood midway through the first period. Seth Griffith intercepted a clearing attempt along the left boards. Griffith centered a pass out to Ostap Safin who fired a shot top-shelf past ‘Cuda goalie Josef Korenar for his fourth goal of the season at the 9:22 mark.

Three of Safin’s four goals have come against the Barracuda in the past six days.

San Jose outshot Bakersfield 13-6 in the opening 20 minutes but weren’t able to get on the scoreboard against Condors goalie Stuart Skinner.

The Condors doubled its lead early in the second period. Ryan McLeod found Markus Niemelainen wide open in the high slot and the Condors defenseman rifled home a wrist shot just under the pad of Korenar for his second goal of the season at the 3:49 mark.

The Barracuda (7-6-4-1) struck back exactly three minutes later to cut Bakersfield’s lead in half. Christian Jaros found Jacob Middleton at the redline and the veteran defenseman skated in down the left wing side and snapped home a wrist shot to the far side beating Skinner for his second goal of the season at the 6:49 mark.

San Jose scored the equalizer past the midway point of the middle frame. Joachim Blichfeld skated around the Condors net and centered a pass out to Noah Gregor in the left slot. Gregor fired a wrist shot past Stuart for his third goal of the season at the 10:38 mark.

The ‘Cuda gained its first lead while on the power play. Blichfeld started the tic-tac-toe play with a pass to Stefan Noesen down low on the left wing. Noesen quickly found Alexander True camped out in front of the net and True one-timed the puck past Skinner for his sixth goal of the season.

The ‘Cuda had come into the game 1-for-13 with the man advantage against Bakersfield.

San Jose scored an insurance goal early in the third period. Joel Kellman threaded a pass between two Condors defenders over to Fredrik Handemark and he beat Stuart top-shelf with a wrist shot for his fourth goal of the season at the 6:20 mark.

Bakersfield answered back when Joe Gambardella intercepted a pass behind the net and centered a pass out in front where Jakob Stukel raced in from the blueline and snapped a wrist shot past Korenar for his third goal of the season at the 14:46 mark.

The Condors had a power play opportunity for the final 1:48 and made it a six-on-four as they pulled Skinner for an extra attacker. However Korenar stood his ground making three big saves in the final minute.

Korenar finished with 30 saves on 33 shots to earn the victory. Stuart made 27 saves on 31 shots in the losing effort.

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

San Jose is 5-0-1 in their last six home games, including 4-0 at Solar4America Ice.

The ‘Cuda are 2-2-2-1 versus the Condors this season.

Both Blichfeld and Noesen finished with two assists a piece.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Handemark 2) Blichfeld 3) Noesen

UP NEXT: The Barracuda travel down to Irvine to take on the San Diego Gulls on Saturday 4/2 at 7:00pm at FivePoint Arena.

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Barracuda struggling with Condors face them again on Tuesday night

The San Jose Barracuda forward Jeffrey Viel has been recalled to the San Jose Sharks, Viel played 17 games with the Barracuda. (@ sjbarracuda photo)

#1 The San Jose Barracuda (6-6-4-1) had the opening volley against the Bakersfield Condors (11-6-0-1) in the first period to take a 1-0 lead but the Condors were able to overtake the Barracuda for a 4-3 win in a shootout last Wed Mar 24th at Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield.

#2 Condors goalie Stuart Skinner owns the Barracuda with a career 10-2 record and 5-0 for the season the Barracuda are having a hard time figuring Skinner and the Condors out.

#3 The Barracuda goalie Sam Harvey while allowing four goals did save 37 shots on Wednesday do you see Harvey getting some starts from head coach Roy Sommer?

#4 Stefan Noesen long time in waiting scored his first AHL goal since Nov 2019 when he did it with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins it was Noesen’s first goal in seven games for the Barracuda.

#5 The Barracuda had a six day rest and get back to work against the Condors again at Mechanic Bank Arena in Bakersfield on Tue Mar 30th. Seeing how the Cuda have struggled against the Condors all season how do you see this match up on Tuesday night at 6:00pm.

Join Marko for the Barracuda podcasts each Saturday night at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Condors edge Barracuda in 4-3 shootout victory

Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

Seth Griffith scored the game-winning goal in the shootout to give the Bakersfield Condors a 4-3 win over the San Jose Barracuda on Wednesday evening at Mechanics Bank Arena.

The Condors extended their point streak at home to 10 games and have dominated the series with the Barracuda winning five of the six games. San Jose is now 0-5 in games in overtime games as this was its first shootout of the season.

San Jose (6-6-4-1) drew first blood in the first half of the first period. Joel Kellman found Nick DeSimone all alone just to the left of the net. Condors goalie Stuart Skinner made a diving paddle save on DeSimone’s shot, but the puck leaked out to the slot, where Stefan Noesen cleaned up the rebound for his first goal of the season at the 7:26 mark.

It was the first time the ‘Cuda scored a first period goal against its Pacific Division rival this season.

Bakersfield (11-6-0-1) scored the equalizer early in the second period as they capitalized on San Jose’s failue to clear the puck out of its own zone. Adam Cracknell sent a cross-ice, no-look pass over to Ostap Safin, who buried a one-timer past ‘Cuda goalie Sam Harvey for his first of two goals on the evening at the 2:41 mark.

For Safin, it was his first AHL goal in the past three years.

Noah Gregor regained the lead for the ‘Cuda when he slipped past Cooper Marody along the right boards after Nicholas Meloche cleared the puck out of the defensive zone. Gregor raced in on a breakaway and snapped home a wrist shot past Stuart for his second goal of the season at the 12:22 mark.

The Condors deadlocked the game at 2-2 just over two minutes later. Once again Bakersfield made San Jose pay for not being able to clear the puck out of their own zone. Marody skated around the net and centered a pass to a wide-open Tyler Benson, who finished off the play with a tap-in for his sixth goal of the season at the 14:44 mark.

Bakersfield outshot San Jose 17-14 in the middle frame.

The Condors gained its first lead of the game early in the third period. Cracknell won a faceoff inside the ‘Cuda zone and acted a screen for Safin, who went behind Cracknell and fired a wrist shot to the short side of Harvey for his second goal of the game and the season at the 2:54 mark.

Cracknell had an assist on every Condors goal and finished with a three-point night.

San Jose finally gave Bakersfield a taste of their own medicine scoring the equalizer late in the third period. Joachim Blichfeld led an odd-man rush after a turnover by Bakersfield in the neutral zone. Blichfeld executed a give-and-go with Gregor before Blichfeld’s attempted pass was blocked back to him and he fired a wrist shot past a screened Skinner for his team-leading 10th goal of the season at the 17:27 mark.

The ‘Cuda had a chance to end it in overtime with a power play at the 1:08 mark with a tripping penalty on Marody, but weren’t able to take advantage of the 4-on-3 opportunity.

Skinner finished with 38 saves on 41 shots to earn the victory. Harvey, who made his first start since early February, made 31 saves on 34 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 0-for-2 on the power play. Bakersfield went 0-for-1.

Marody currently has a 14-game point streak.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Safin 2) Cracknell 3) Griffith

UP NEXT: The Barracuda return home on Tuesday 3/30 as they host the Bakersfield Condors at 6:00 pm PST at Solar4America Ice at San Jose.

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Barracuda took early lead; Knights just too good catch up and win

The San Jose Barracuda forward Alex True (70) and the Henerson Silver Knights forward Jonas Rondbjerg (46) face off on Sat Mar 20, 2021at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas (@sjbarracuda photo)

On the Barracuda podcast with Marko:

#1 The Barracuda (6-4-4-0) win on Wednesday to the Bakersfield Condors (9-6-0-0) 4-3 was a close contest it might have been a different outcome if not for the fine goaltending of Josef Korenar who stopped 37 shots.

#2 The Barracuda led in the first period but it got away in Saturday afternoon’s game against the Henderson Silver Knights (12-2-0-0).

#3 The Barracuda’s Alex True extended his point streak to five games after scoring with just one second left in the first period.

#4 Marko, talk about Maxim Letunov who hadn’t score in five games but found the back end of the net in the first period

#5 The Barracuda lost today by three points 5-2 have another shot at the Knights on Sunday at noon another matinee what will the Barracuda need to work on most their offense or defense against a very talented Knights team.

Join Marko Saturday nights for the Barracuda podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com