Condors upend Barracuda 4-1, losing streak reaches 13

The Bakersfield Condors left winger Jimmy Hamblin (11) pushes the San Jose Barracuda’s defenseman Patrick Holway (97) up against the glass at the Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield on Wed Apr 20, 2022 (photo from the San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — The number 13 wasn’t a lucky number for the men in teal.

The Bakersfield Condors scored two goals in the third period en route to a 4-1 victory over the San Jose Barracuda on Wednesday night at Mechanics Bank Arena.

San Jose continued its franchise worse 13-game losing skid with only two games left in the season. They have lost 10 straight on the road to the Condors. Bakersfield has won three out its past four games and clinched fifth place in the Pacific Division with 78 points.

Bakersfield (34-20-5-5) drew first blood almost eight minutes into the first period on the power play. Adam Cracknell finished off a give and go with Seth Griffith when his wrist shot deflected off the skate of Adam Raska for his 19th goal of the season at the 7:50 mark.

The Condors doubled its lead less than five minutes later. Tim Schaller sprung Colton Sceviour on a breakaway with a pass off the boards. Sceviour skated in and lifted a backhander past ‘Cuda goalie Alex Stalock for his fifth goal of the season at the 12:03 mark.

San Jose (20-40-4-2) cut the Condor’s lead in half with a power play goal of their own 45 seconds later. Jake McGrew redirected Artemi Kniazev’s shot from the right point for his 12th goal of the season at the 12:48 mark.

McGrew snapped a 14-game goal less draught.

Bakersfield regained the momentum 64 seconds into the second period with an even strength goal. Dino Kambeitz centered a pass from behind the net and Tyler Benson beat Stalock with a wrist shot to the short side for his third goal of the season.

The Condors put the game away just past the halfway mark of the middle frame. Devin Brosseau finished off a two-on-one odd man rush when he snapped home a wrist shot off of a pass from Griffith for his 11th goal of the season at the 11:36 mark.

San Jose had two power play opportunities in the third period but weren’t able to capitalize on either chance as both teams finished the final frame scoreless.

Daniil Gushchin and Gannon Laroque made their debuts for the ‘Cuda. Gushchin finished tied for the team high with five shots on goal.

Condor’s goalie Stuart Skinner stopped 29 of the 30 shots he faced to earn his 19th victory of the season. Stalock made 22 saves on 26 in suffering his ninth straight loss (0-7-2).

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

San Jose finished 3-6-1 against Bakersfield in the season series.

Skinner is 17-2 against the Barracuda in his career.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Brosseau 2) Benson 3) Sceviour

UP NEXT: San Jose travels to Henderson to close out the regular season with two games against the Silver Knights on Friday 4/22 at 7:00pm at Dollar Loan Center.

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Barracuda begin final road trip on Wednesday night in Bakersfield

The San Jose Barracuda defenseman Anthony Bitetto (2) has control of the puck on Fri Apr 15, 2022 against the Abbottsford Canucks at 4Solar America in San Jose in the last home game of the season for the Barracuda (photo from the San Jose Barracuda)

On the Barracuda podcast with Marko:

#1 The San Jose Barracuda (20-39-4) in their last game of the season grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first period over the Abbotsford Canucks ((35-25-1) at 4Solar America Arena in San Jose but the Barracuda couldn’t hold the lead succumbing to a 4-3 come back loss by the Canucks last Friday.

#2 Early in the game the Barracuda’s Lane Pederson showed off his handiwork by scoring those two goals with a powerplay goal and a shorthanded goal for his eighth and ninth goals of the season.

#3 It’s been a long time coming but Kyle Topping got his second goal after 22 games the goal tied the game up 3-3 and forced overtime.

#4 The Canucks Justin Dowling scored twice in the contest once in the first period and the game winning goal in the overtime stanza. Dowling is on a roll he has scored a goal in each of his last three games.

#5 The Barracuda now head to Bakersfield to face off with the Bakersfield Condors at Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield (33-20-5) this Wed Apr 20th 6:30 pm PDT with a trip to Henderson on the 22nd and 23rd to close out the regular season. The last time the Cuda and Condors met was back on Wed Apr 6th in San Jose in an overtime loss for the Barracuda 3-2.

Marko did the Barracuda podcasts throughout the 2021-22 season at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Condors bury Barracuda 6-3 in final game at the Shark Tank

The San Jose Barracuda Thomas Bordeleau (23) battles against the Bakersfield Condors at SAP Center in San Jose on Wed Apr 13, 2022 in a three goal loss (image from the San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — The Bakersfield Condors didn’t follow the script.

They scored three goals in the third period to defeat the San Jose Barracuda 6-3 on Wednesday evening at SAP Center.

This was the last game the ‘Cuda played at the Shark Tank, a place they have called home since 2015. Their final home game is slated to be played at Solar4America Ice on Friday. They will open the ’22-’23 season at the brand-new Tech CU Arena.

San Jose extended their franchise worst losing streak to 11 games with four games remaining. Bakersfield has won three of its past four games.

The Barracuda (20-39-3-2) drew first blood exactly a minute into the game. Lane Pederson cleaned up the rebound off of a Thomas Bordeleau shot for his seventh goal of the season. The primary assist for Bordeleau was the first point since being signed to an amateur tryout agreement by the ‘Cuda on Monday.

Bordeleau, who was drafted by the San Jose Sharks as the 38th pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, finished his season with the University of Michigan with an appearance in the Frozen Four in just his sophomore season.

Bakersfield (33-19-5-5) answered back with two goals of their own in the first period.

Graham McPhee redirected a shot from the point by Darien Kielb that hit off ‘Cuda goalie Alex Stalock and trickled behind him into the back of the net for McPhee’s fifth goal of the season at the 6:13 mark.

Tyler Benson set up Dino Kambeitz in front of the crease and the rookie forward beat Stalock with a point-blank shot for his seventh goal of the season at the 18:27 mark.

San Jose tied it up early in the second period with a power play goal. Artemi Kniazev’s shot from redirected off the crossbar by Jasper Weatherby, who was able to clean up his own rebound for his fifth goal of the season at the 3:10 mark.

Bakersfield regained the lead 47 seconds later. A turnover by Stalock led to Kielb blasting a slapshot from the left slot for his first goal in his debut with the Condors at the 3:57 mark. Kielb finished with three points (1G, 2A).

The Barracuda scored the equalizer late in the middle frame. Bordeleau picked up his second assist of the game when he sent a rink wide pass off the boards where Patrick Holway rifled home a slapshot past Condor’s goalie Stuart Skinner for his fourth goal of the season.

Bordeleau finished with three assists in his professional debut.

Bakersfield scored two goals in the first seven minutes of the third period to take control of the game.

Veteran forward Adam Cracknell tipped home a shot from Seth Griffith for his 18th goal of the season at the 3:37 mark.

Then Cracknell returned the favor when he set up Griffith with a drop pass on an odd man rush. Griffith beat Stalock with a wrist shot on the right side of the crease for his 25th goal of the season.

Griffith sealed the deal with second goal of the game, an empty netter with 54 seconds left in the game to complete his four-point night (2G, 2A). Griffith with 72 points on the season has already set a Condors record for most points in a season.

Skinner (18-5-5) finished the game stopping 21 of the 24 shots he faced to earn the victory. Stalock (4-8-1) made 39 saves on 44 shots in the losing effort.

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

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Bordeleau 2) Griffith 3) McPhee

UP NEXT: San Jose close out their home schedule on Friday 4/16 as they host the Abbotsford Canucks at 5:00pm at Solar4America Ice at San Jose.

Griffith’s OT win propel Condors over Barracuda in 3-2 win

The San Jose Barracuda forward Joachim Blichfeld (86) takes a shot in front of the Bakersfield Condors right winger Seth Griffith (39) at the Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield on Wed Mar 6, 2022 (photo by the San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — It was a nice comeback, but the result was still the same.

Seth Griffin scored the game winning goal in overtime to give The Bakersfield Condors a 3-2 overtime victory over the San Jose Barracuda on Wednesday morning.

Griffth’s 23rd goal of the season came at the 1:48 mark in the extra session. Griffith skated in from the blueline and around Joachim Blichfeld and finished off a brilliant play with a backhand shot top shelf past ‘Cuda goalie Alex Stalock.

Despite earning a point, San Jose has lost a season worst eight games in a row with eight games left to play. Bakersfield have won three out of its last four games and sit in fourth place in the Pacific Division with 72 points.

Bakersfield (31-18-5-5) drew first blood in the final minute of the first period with a power play goal. Dylan Holloway set up Yanni Kaldis at the point and the Condors defenseman sent a quick shot past Stalock for his fifth goal of the season at the 19:02 mark.

It was the seventh straight game San Jose (20-36-3-2) has given up a power play goal to the opposing team.

The Condors doubled their lead with a short-handed goal early in the second period. James Hamblin pick pocketed Artemi Kniazev inside the ‘Cuda zone. Hamblin got Stalock to go down before putting a backhander past him for his 18th goal of the season at the 5:08 mark.

San Jose has given up five short-handed goals in their last eight games.

The Barracuda had only three shots in the middle frame as they were outshot 23-10 after 40 minutes.

San Jose cut the lead in half with a power play goal past the halfway mark in the third period. Blichfeld cleaned up a rebound with a hook and drag move in the right slot and snapped home a wrist shot past Condor’s goalie Stuart Skinner for his team leading 23rd goal at the 11:04 mark.

Blichfeld set the single season franchise record for power play goals with 12 as he eclipsed the mark set by Danny O’Regan back in 2011 season.

The Barracuda scored the equalizer late in the third period thanks to a good individual effort by Jayden Halbgewachs. Blichfeld sent a pass up into the Condor’s zone. Halbgewachs made a nice move around Marcus Neimelainen before roofing a shot top shelf past Stuart for his 17th goal of the season at the 15:33 mark.

Stuart (17-4-5) finished the morning stopping 18 of the 20 shots he faced to earn the victory. Stalock (4-6-1) made 34 saves on 37 shots in the losing effort.

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

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Griffith 2) Hamblin 3) Halbgewachs

Stuart is 9-0 against San Jose on home ice.

UP NEXT: San Jose return home to begin a two-game series with the Henderson Silver Knights on Saturday 4/9 at 6:00pm at SAP Center.

Merkley’s late goal propels Barracuda 5-3 over Condors

The San Jose Barracuda Nick Merkely scores big in the third period to help the Barracuda defeat the Bakersfield Condors at Solar4America Ice at San Jose on Wed Mar 2, 2022 (nhl.com file photo)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE —Nick Merkely is getting hot right when his team needs him to.

The former first round draft pick scored with the game winning goal with 1:35 left in the third period to give the San Jose Barracuda a 5-3 victory over the Bakersfield Condors on Wednesday evening at Solar4America Ice at San Jose.

San Jose has won two out of its last three games. Bakersfield has lost two games in a row.

Merkley, who is on a three-game goal streak after being goal less in his previous 13, skated out in front from behind the net, spun around and fired a wrist shot from close range past Condor’s goalie Stuart Skinner for his ninth goal of the season at the 18:25 mark. Santeri Hatakka and Patrick Holway recorded assists on the game winning goal.

San Jose (16-28-1-0) drew first blood on the power play in the first minute of the opening period. A nice give and go between John Leonard and Jake McGrew led to Leonard sneaking a shot through the five-hole of Skinner for his 12th goal of the season at the 1:15 mark.

Bakersfield (22-13-4-5) answered back when Yanni Kaldis’ shot from the point went off the skate of James Hamblin through a sea of traffic in front of ‘Cuda goalie Zachary Emond for Hamblin’s 13th goal of the season at the 7:28 mark.

The Condors gained their first lead a minute into the second period. Raphael Lavoie sent the puck up the point where Phillip Broberg’s wrist shot hit off the post and into the back of the net for his third goal of the season.

The Barracuda responded back with their second power play goal near the halfway mark of the middle frame. Artemi Kniazev found Joachim Blichfeld at the Condors blue line. Blichfeld skated in and beat Skinner with a wrist shot top shelf to the far side for his 16th goal of the season at the 10:14 mark. Emond was credited the secondary assist for his first AHL point.

Blichfeld is second on the ‘Cuda with seven power play goals.

San Jose regained the lead over three minutes later. A misplay by Skinner led to Mark Alt’s shot from the point being redirected by defenseman Nick Cicek for his third goal of the season at the 12:54 mark.

Cicek played in his first game back after missing the past 14 straight games with a lower body injury. He broke a 10-game goal less draught.

Bakersfield responded to even the game just 20 seconds later. A two-on-one rush inside the ‘Cuda zone led to Kaldis finding Hamblin for a second time. Hamblin’s quick one-timer beat Emond for his second goal of the game and 14th goal of the season.

Kniazev scored an empty net goal as time expired to seal the deal for San Jose.

Emond finished the evening stopping 23 of 26 shots to earn the victory. Skinner made 24 saves on 28 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 2-for-5 on the power play. Bakersfield was 0-for-3.

This was San Jose’s first win in regulation since January 23 when they beat Bakersfield 5-2.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Merkley 2) Hamblin 3) Cicek

UP NEXT: San Jose faces their NorCal rival the Stockton Heat on Saturday 3/5 at 6:00pm at Stockton Arena.

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: SJ looking to make amends vs. Bakersfield tonight at Sharks Ice

Read em and weep the San Jose Barracuda’s final numbers against the Bakersfield Condors last Wed Feb 23, 2022 at SAP Center in San Jose. The Barracuda host the Condors for the second straight Wednesday on Mar 2, 2022 at Sharks Ice in San Jose (image from San Jose Barracuda)

On the San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko:

#1 Tough going for the San Jose Barracuda (15-28-1-0) who allowed three goals in the first ten minutes against the high flying Bakersfield Condors (21-12-4-4) resulting later in a 6-3 loss at the SAP Center in San Jose last Wednesday.

#2 Jayden Halbgewachs scored his 13 and 14th goals this season and reached 30 points there are those games where Halbgewachs has a good offensive night.

#3 Last Wednesday Lane Pederson picked up two assists since being assigned to the Barracuda last Tuesday last week.

#4 Nick Merkley did it again scoring his second goal of the season last Wednesday against the Condors. Merkley scored for the second game after previously going without a goal in 13 straight games.

#5 The Barracuda take on the Condors once again this Wednesday night at Sharks Ice in San Jose for a 7:00 pm face off can the Barracuda overcome the Condors this time?

Join Marko for the Barracuda podcasts each Tuesday morning at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Condors power past Barracuda 6-3

The San Jose Barracuda dropped their ninth out ten games against the Bakersfield Condors on Wed Feb 23, 2022 at SAP Center in San Jose (image from the San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE— When you play with fire you usually get burned.

The San Jose Barracuda got into penalty trouble and the Bakersfield Condors made them pay in a convincing 6-3 win on Wednesday evening at SAP Center.

San Jose have lost nine of its last 10 games. Bakersfield snapped its three-game losing streak.

The Condors were in control from the start of the game and forced the Barracuda to chase the game early on, which they could not recover from.

Bakersfield (21-12-4-4) drew first blood early in the first period with an even strength goal. Luke Esposito centered a pass from the behind the net over to Raphael Lavoie who roofed a wrist shot to the short side past ‘Cuda goalie Alexei Melnichuk for his 12th goal of the season at the 4:46 mark.

The Condors doubled its lead on the power play under two minutes later. Yanni Kaldis set up Seth Griffith who sniped home a wrist shot for his team leading 18th goal of the season at the 6:22 mark.

Griffith, the AHL’s fifth leading scorer, has been on a hot streak with 16 points over his past 12 games. He has 14 points in 14 games against San Jose.

Bakersfield scored its third unanswered goal of the period near the halfway mark of the opening frame. Michael Kesselring’s shot from the right point was redirected past Melnichuk by James Hamblin for his 12th goal of the season at the 9:18 mark.

“We came out flat against a team and they took advantage of it,” ‘Cuda head coach Sommer said. “They basically put the game away in two periods and sat back in the third (period).”

San Jose (15-28-1-0) answered back with a power play goal late in the period. Nick Merkley centered a pass from behind the net and Jayden Halbgewachs beat Condor’s goalie Stuart Skinner with a one-timer to the short side for his 13th goal of the season at the 15:16 mark.

Bakersfield regained its three-goal lead 27 seconds into the second period. Dmitri Samorukov centered a pass to a trailing Dino Kambeitz who fired home a wrist shot past Melnichuk for his sixth goal of the season. Kambeitz has scored in back-to-back games.

The Condors continued their dominance with its second power play goal of the game. Dylan Holloway set up Griffith along the right slot and Griffith blasted a shot past Melnichuk for his second goal of the game and 19th of the season at the 3:24 mark.

Halbgewachs scored his second goal of the game when he cleaned up a rebound off of a Jake McGrew shot for his 14th goal of the season at the 8:19 mark.

Bakersfield responded back right away as a turnover in the neutral zone led to a break for the Condors. Cooper Marody set up Tim Schaller who beat Melnichuk with a wrist shot for his seventh goal of the season at the 9:57 mark.

“Without scoring, without defending down in our own end, we’re not going to win games. Right now (we need) everybody trying to buy in and we gotta give it our all to win games. We keep coming up short,” Halbgewachs said.

Sommer pulled Melnichuk after giving six goals on 15 shots and replaced him with Zachary Emond.

San Jose scored its second power play goal of the game near the halfway mark of the third period. Merkley skated in from the left wing a wired a wrist shot to the far side past Skinner for his eighth goal of the season at the 8:19 mark.

Merkley has scored in back-to-back games for the ‘Cuda.

Skinner, the ‘Cuda killer, finished the game stopping 21 of the 24 shots he faced to earn the victory. Emond made was perfect in mop up duty stopping all seven shots he faced.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 2-for-5 on the power play. Bakersfield was 2-for-4.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Griffith 2) Halbgewachs 3) Schaller

Center Lane Pederson recorded two assists in his first game with San Jose since being placed on waivers by the San Jose Sharks and being assigned to the Barracuda on Tuesday as the Sharks recalled Jasper Weatherby.

UP NEXT: San Jose and Bakersfield battle it out again next Wednesday 3/2 at 7:00pm at Solar4America Ice.

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Barracuda return home to face Bakersfield; SJ has won two of their last three games

The San Jose Barracuda right winger Nick Merkley scored his first goal in 13 games against the Texas Stars on Sun Feb 20, 2022 in Cedar Park Tx (file photo from nhl.com)

On the Barracuda podcast with Marko:

#1 The Texas Stars (15-18-5-4) who were down 1-0 to the San Jose Barracuda (15-27-1-0) came back and scored four unanswered goals at the H-E-B Center. How does Barracuda head coach Roy Sommer address the defense at this juncture?

#2 Barracuda goaltender Zach Emond in his fifth AHL game stopped a career high 38 shots out of 40 in Sunday’s game.

#3 The Barracuda’s Nick Merkley who went without scoring a goal in 13 games found the back end of the net with a goal in the second period his seventh of the season to start Sunday’s game.

#4 Marko, one thing you could say for the Barracuda they’re improving on the penalty kill. On Sunday they killed off four Stars power plays making that 19 straight penalty kills.

#5 The Barracuda are back at it again when they host the Bakersfield Condors at SAP Center for a 7 PM face off. The Barracuda have won two of their last three games.

Marko Ukalovic does the Barracuda podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Barracuda coming away with big win over Condors face tough team Reign Wednesday

The scoreboard shows the San Jose Barracuda with a three goal win over the Bakersfield Condors from Sun Jan 23, 2022 game at SAP Center in San Jose (image from San Jose Barracuda)

On the SJ Barracuda podcast with Marko:

#1 The San Jose Barracuda (14-19-1-0) ended their three game losing streak defeating one of the AHL’s winningest teams the Bakersfield Condors (14-9-3-3) on Sunday at SAP Center during the Fight Cancer and Pucks for Paws promotions. The Barracuda got a three goal win 5-2.

#2 The Barracuda’s Jake McGrew started things off with his sixth goal of the season in the first period and his third goal and assists in his last seven games.

#3 Zachary Gallant picked up his eighth assist of the season an improvement from last year where he had just four assists. Gallant now has a goal and four assists in his last seven games.

#4 Barracuda rookie Scott Reedy picked his tenth power play goal on Sunday and his 17th goal of the season which also help contribute to defeating the Condors.

#5 The Condors ended their six game win streak with the loss and had an 11 game point streak going. The win for the Barracuda is their second in home games at SAP Center.

#6 It’s back to school for the Ontario Reign (20-6-3-2) and Barracuda this Wed Jan 26th for Cuda Classroom Day. All schools will be admitted for a 10:00 AM puck drop at SAP Center. The Reign are going well winning six of their last eight games.

Join Marko for the SJ Barracuda podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Barracuda shoot down Condors 5-2 snap losing streak

Joachim Blichfield who scored a big goal for the San Jose Barracuda helped in the three goal win over the Bakersfield Condors on Sun Jan 23, 2022 at SAP Center in San Jose (file photo from nhl.com)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — SAP Center let the dogs in. The San Jose Barracuda showed their bite was as big as its bark.

The ‘Cuda rebounded from a tough loss one night earlier and played a full 60-minute game in a 5-2 victory over the Bakersfield Condors on Sunday evening at The Shark Tank.

The Barracuda had a combined promotion night with Hockey Fights Cancer and its Paws & Pucks celebration where fans were able to bring their best friends into the arena.

Both human and canine saw San Jose snap its three-game losing streak. In the process Bakersfield had its six-game winning streak end.

It was a complete 180 from last night’s game where the Barracuda squandered a two-goal lead and lost the game in the third period. Tonight, San Jose scored two goals in the final frame to ensure they would not have a fourth loss in a row.

“Don’t sit back and get after it,” said ‘Cuda head coach Roy Sommer on his message to his team during the second intermission. “Blichy’s (Blichfeld) goal was big, and Johnny (Leonard) scores off the PP (power play) that kind of cements it for us.”

San Jose (14-19-1-0) drew first blood early in the first period. Jake McGrew had a give and go with Zach Gallant inside the Condors zone. Gallant’s shot on net was initially saved by Condor’s goalie, and former San Jose Shark, Alex Stalock. McGrew picked up the rebound and beat Stalock with a wrist shot for his sixth goal of the season at the 5:39 mark.

Kyle Topping was issued a five-minute major and a game misconduct for elbowing Philip Broberg at center ice with 6:49 remaining in the opening frame. Broberg left the ice on his own power and returned to the game.

However, penalties by Devin Brosseau and Luke Esposito trimmed Bakersfield power play opportunity to just 54 seconds which San Jose was able to kill off.

San Jose extended its lead with two goals scored in a 15 second span early in the second period. The ‘Cuda doubled its lead on the power play when Artemi Kniazev fired a shot on net stopped by Stalock. Scotty Reedy crashed the crease and cleaned up the rebound for his team leading 17th goal of the season at the 1:21 mark.

Reedy leads the AHL in power play goals with 10.

On the ensuing shift ‘Cuda defenseman Mark Alt sent in a shot-pass from the right point and Timur Ibragimov tipped the puck past Stalock for his first career AHL goal at the 1:36 mark.

“Timur (Ibragimov) was in a good spot and I just tried to get a nice hard pass to him so he could deflect it wherever he wanted,” Alt said.

Bakersfield (14-8-3-3) answered back with an even strength goal near the halfway mark of the middle frame. A turnover by the ‘Cuda inside their own zone led to Dylan Holloway centering a pass to Tim Schaller who beat Barracuda goalie Zachary Sawchenko with a one-timer for his sixth goal of the season at the 7:42 mark.

The Condors cut their deficit to one late in the middle frame. Esposito won a faceoff back to Raphael Lavoie in the right slot and he blasted a one-timer past Sawchenko for his seventh goal of the season at the 18:53 mark.

San Jose scored an insurance goal early in the third period. Jayden Halbgewachs intercepted a pass in the neutral zone and led a two-on-one odd man rush with Joachim Blichfeld. Halbgewachs sent a rink wide pass to Blichfeld who snapped home a one-timer past Stalock for his 14th goal of the season at the 4:04 mark.

Blichfeld has scored in three consecutive games, his longest of the season.

The Barracuda padded its lead just under two minutes later with its second power play goal. John Leonard went coast-to-coast from his own zone up the middle into the Condors zone. After the puck was poke checked away from him, Leonard quickly regained possession and fired a wrist shot to the far side past a surprised Stalock for his eighth goal of the season at the 6:31 mark. Cole Moberg picked up his second helper of the game with the only assist on Leonard’s goal.

Leonard has three goals in his past two games.

Sawchenko, who made his first start since December 17, 2021, finished the game stopping 35 of the 37 shots he faced to pick up the victory. Stalock made 25 saves on 30 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 2-for-4 on the power play. Bakersfield was 0-for-4.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Kniazev 2) Sawchenko 3) Moberg

UP NEXT: San Jose continues its homestand when they host the Ontario Reign on Wednesday at 10:00am at SAP Center.