Barracuda shutout Heat 4-0 in Game 1, take 1-0 series lead

Photo credit: San Jose Barracuda Twitter (@sjbarracuda)

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Barracuda took Game 1 of the first round in the Calder Cup Playoffs with a 4-0 shutout victory over the Stockton Heat at SAP Center on Friday night.

The Barracuda stuck first for a 1-0 lead at 13:32 of the opening period. Tim Heed stood all alone in front of the Heat’s net fired the puck past Jon Gillies top-shelf for an unassisted goal and first of the playoffs.

“They’re a heavy team,” Heed said. “We have to move our feet and stay on the right side, so I think we did okay, but we still have some improvements to do. So I think it’s going to get better as this year moves along.”

Shots were tied at 10 apiece, but the Barracuda held a 1-0 lead over the Heat after 20 minutes.

The Barracuda took a 2-0 lead less than three minutes into the second period. Ryan Carpenter received a pass from Buddy Robinson and blasted the puck into the net for his first goal of the playoffs.

The Barracuda missed out on a potential scoring opportunity midway through the period. Barclay Goodrow set up Kevin Labanc for a play, but his shot missed the net.

Shots were 25-20 in favor of the Barracuda, who brought a 2-0 lead over the Heat into the locker room after 40 minutes.

The Barracuda extended their lead to 3-0 with 8:23 left in the third period. Carpenter skated to the front of the Heat’s net and stuffed the puck through traffic for his second goal of the game as well as the playoffs.

Labanc fired a long-range wrist shot into the empty net with 38.9 seconds left in regulation to seal a 4-0 shutout victory for the Barracuda. Troy Grosenick stopped all 28 shots he faced.

“I thought we did just fine,” Grosenick said. “We broke pucks up pretty fast for the most part and they had us in there and we played playoff hockey and everyone’s screaming 100% so there were times we could’ve done better but I think most of the game we did a good job Gillies made 32 saves in a losing effort.

“They did a really great job in the lanes,” Barracuda head coach Roy Sommer responded when asked what his team could improve on the power play. “But I think we had too many pucks blocked and our entries weren’t real clean.”

Notes
Barracuda’s 2016-17 regular season highlights
Western Conference Regular Season Champions (Bud Poile Trophy)

Pacific Division Regular Season Champions (John Chick Trophy)

Goaltender of the Year (Troy Grosenick) [Aldege “Baz” Bastien Award]

Coach of the Year (Roy Sommer) [Louis A.R. Pieri Award]

Rookie of the Year (Daniel O’Regan) [Dudley “Red” Garrett]

First Team AHL All-Star (Grosenick)

Second Team AHL All-Star (Tim Heed)

Mid-Season All-Stars (Grosenick, O’Regan)

AHL Season-Long Winning Streak (14 games)

AHL Season-Long Point Streak (15 games)

CCM/AHL Goaltender of the Month (Grosenick) [February]

CCM/AHL Player of the Week (Grosenick) [2x]

Barracuda facts
Grosenick is the fifth goaltender in AHL history to reach double-digit shutouts (10) Grosenick held a scoreless streak for 248 consecutive minutes from Nov. 19 to Dec. 18 Nine players spent time with both the Barracuda and Sharks

Second youngest roster in the AHL

AHL’s top-ranked offense (3.44 goals per game)

AHL’s second-ranked power play (23.8%)

AHL’s eighth-ranked penalty kill (83.3%)

Fourth in team defense (2.56 goals per game)

Up Next
Both teams return to action on Sunday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. PST. You can tune into Game 2 on AHL Live and AM 1220 KDOW.

Barracuda suffer 3-2 overtime loss, lose out on MacGregor Kilpatrick Trophy

Photo credit: San Jose Barracuda Twitter (@sjbarracuda)

Bakersfield — The San Jose Barracuda concluded the regular season on a negative note with a 3-2 overtime loss to the Bakersfield Condors at Rabobank Arena on Saturday night.

Both teams skated to a scoreless tie after 20 minutes. Shots were 9-3 in favor of the Barracuda.

The Barracuda took a 1-0 lead 1:42 into the second period. Buddy Robinson finished a tic-tac-toe play from Danny O’Regan and Julius Bergman. Robinson scored his 17th goal of the season and tied the entire Condors team with three shots on goal apiece during the first 24 minutes of the game.

The Condors tied the game 1-1 at 12:33 when Josh Currie dangled on Tim Heed and forced it past Troy Grosenick for the short-handed goal and 20th of the season.

The Barracuda outshot the Condors 23-7 and the score was tied 1-1 after 40 minutes.

Currie scored his second goal of the game and 21st of the season to put the Condors ahead 2-1 at 18:40 of the third period.

The Barracuda tied the game 2-2 just 23 seconds later. Nick DeSimone scored his first AHL goal and point. DeSimone collected a pass from Noah Rod and managed to beat Grosenick.

Neither team was able to get ahead and both teams were tied 2-2 after 60 minutes. The Barracuda outshot the Condors 37-14.

Currie completed his hat trick with the game-winning goal, his 22nd of the season, at 1:25 of the overtime period. The Condors beat the Barracuda 3-2 in overtime. Nick Ellis finished with 35 saves for Bakersfield.

The Barracuda (43-16-4-5) dropped a 3-2 decision to the Condors (33-29-5-1). Grosenick made 12 saves in a losing effort for San Jose. They were just one point shy of winning the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy. The Wikes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (50-20-3-2) won the award.

Notes
After being named to the first AHL All-Star Team last week, Grosenick collected some more hardware on Monday, earning the Aldege “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award as the AHL’s outstanding goaltender for the 2016-17 season.

The AHL announced Wednesday that Barracuda head coach Roy Sommer was voted the winner of the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award as the AHL’s outstanding coach for 2016-17.

The AHL announced Thursday that O’Regan has been named the winner of the Dudley (Red) Garrett Memorial Award as the AHL’s outstanding rookie for 2016-17.

Heed wasn’t selected to the AHL All-Star Game in Lehigh Valley in late January, but was voted to the second AHL All-Star Team last week.

Up Next
The Barracuda will host the Stockton Heat in Game 1 in their first-round series of the Calder Cup Playoffs. The action starts next Friday in SAP Center at 7:00 p.m. PST on AHL Live and AM 1220 KDOW.

San Jose Barracuda Sunday post game wrap: Cuda wrap up conference title in overtime 2-1 over Stockton

sjbarracuda.com photo: San Jose Barracuda celebrate on their bench as they defeat the Stockton Heat 2-1 in overtime on Sunday afternoon at SAP Center

By Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Barracuda clinched the Western Conference, wrapping up their 12-game season series against the Stockton Heat with a 2-1 overtime victory at SAP Center Sunday.

After a quick stop in Stockton Saturday night, the Barracuda returned to San Jose to open a three-game homestand, starting with the Heat.

Following a brief fight, Zack Stortini received a slashing penalty while Jamie Devane sat in the box for cross-checking.

“It’s two teams that compete hard against each other,” Stortini commented. “We’re both playing for something and we’re very competitive so those kinds of games are very fun to play in.”

Andrew Mangiapane was called for high-sticking with 9:22 left in the period. The Barracuda got into another fight with the rival Heat. This time, it was over a questionable call made by the officials. Julius Bergman’s shot bounced off the end boards and Ryan Carpenter tried to slam the puck into the net, but the call stood. No goal for San Jose.

The Barracuda opened the scoring with just 51.5 seconds left on the clock. Garnet Hathaway went to the box for holding the stick. Tim Heed sent a pass to Danny O’Regan, who blasted it into the net, beating David Rittich for a power-play goal — his 22nd of the season.

The Barracuda led the Heat 1-0 after 20 minutes. Shots were 20-7 in favor of San Jose.

Things remained chippy in the second period as Mirco Mueller dropped the gloves with Ryan Lomberg for a fight at 13:08. As a result, both players served two-minute minors for roughing.

The Barracuda held a 1-0 lead over the Heat after 40 minutes. San Jose outshot Stockton 36-14.

The action ensued in the third period. Buddy Robinson dropped the gloves with Austin Carroll for an intense fight just 2:03 into the period. Consequently, both players served 10-minute misconducts and two-minute roughing minors.

Jacob Middleton was called for tripping at 14:07. Mike Angelidis then finished a tic-tac-toe play from Mangiapane and Mark Jankowski for a power-play goal — his seventh goal of the season — tying the game 1-1 at 13:39.

The game headed into overtime after the Barracuda and Heat remained in a 1-1 deadlock after 60 minutes. Troy Grosenick made a notable save, stopping the puck with his glove to prevent a potential game-tying goal from a Heat forward.

Barclay Goodrow scored the game-winning goal — his 25th of the season — to lift the Barracuda to a 2-1 win at 2:48 of the overtime period.

The Barracuda (43-15-2-5) edged the Heat (33-25-5-2) in a 2-1 overtime victory. Grosenick finished with 20 saves for San Jose.

“I was a little bit bored there,” Grosenick said when asked about how he shot the puck back and forth with Rittich. “So I wanted to play pass with somebody and I passed it to him. Then he took a shot on that and I wasn’t happy with that.”

Rittich made 47 saves in a losing effort for Stockton.

When asked about the melee between both teams, Barracuda head coach Roy Sommer didn’t have much to say.

“I don’t know man,” Sommer responded. “It was kind of just a heat of the moment thing…I don’t remember what he said. It was just one of those things and it’s kind of a team thing. They get under your skin and into your mind and shame on me, I guess.”

Notes Sommer received a misconduct — his second of the season — after attempting to discuss a call with the Heat bench. He now has 20 penalty minutes, zero goals and zero assists.

O’Regan was named to the AHL All-Rookie Team Wednesday.

Grosenick and Heed were selected to the AHL First and Second All-Star Team Thursday.

Up Next The Barracuda continue their homestand Tuesday when they host the Tuscon Roadrunners (26-31-8-0) at 7:00 p.m. PST on AHL Live and AM 1220 KDOW

San Jose Barracuda Wednesday game wrap: Meier scores twice as Barracuda crush Ontario 5-1

sjbarracuda.com photo: San Jose Barracuda forward Timo Meier (28) finds the back end of the net as he scores on the Ontario Reign’s defenceman Matt Roy (3) at SAP Center on Wednesday night in AHL action

By Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Barracuda dethroned the Ontario Reign with a 5-1 victory at SAP Center Wednesday.

The defense was strong in the opening period. It was a goaltending duel as Barracuda goalie Troy Grosenick and Reign backup goalie Jeff Zatkoff made the necessary saves to keep the game scoreless.

Things got chippy late in the period when Zack Stortini dropped the gloves with Paul Bissonnette for an action-packed fight. Both players received five-minute majors for fighting and two-minute minors for unsportsmanlike conduct.

The Barracuda and Reign skated to a scoreless tie after 20 minutes. Shots were 16-9 in favor of San Jose.

Timo Meier broke a scoreless deadlock halfway through the second period. Meier collected a pass from Barclay Goodrow and fired the puck into the net, beating Zatkoff short-side for his 13th goal of the season.

The Barracuda took a 2-0 lead when Danny O’Regan sent a pass to Meier, who tipped it into the net to beat Zatkoff for his second goal of the game and 14th of the season.

The Barracuda outshot the Reign 28-16 and led 2-0 after 40 minutes.

The Reign cut the Barracuda’s lead in half when T.J. Hensick scored a power-play goal — his 14th overall — after Colin Blackwell went to the box for hooking at 13:48 of the third period.

However, the Barracuda extended its lead to 3-1 with 7:29 left in the period. Tim Heed fired a shot from the right point past Zatkoff for his 14th goal of the season.

Joakim Ryan’s shot missed the net, but Buddy Robinson tipped it in for his 15th goal of the season, extending the Barracuda’s lead to 4-1 with 4:03 left in the period.

48 seconds later, Adam Helewka collected a pass from Joakim Ryan and put it into the net for his 13th goal of the season, expanding the Barracuda’s lead to 5-1.

The Barracuda (42-14-2-5) beat the Reign (33-20-10-0) by a score of 5-1. Grosenick finished with 23 saves in a San Jose victory.

Zatkoff made 33 saves in a losing effort for Ontario.

“They (Barracuda) don’t always go in for you,” head coach Roy Sommer said when asked about his thoughts on tonight’s power play opportunities. “But they get a lot of good looks. I think we’re leading the whole American Hockey League in power-play percentage…As long as you’re getting the looks and you’re getting some quality chances on it…The PP (Power Play) and PK (penalty kill) ebbs and flows are normal…I don’t think there’s a lot of stuff to worry about. We only had three of them tonight.”

Notes
O’Regan was named to the 2016-17 AHL All-Star Team.

Sommer celebrated his 60th birthday. He was born on April 5, 1967 in Oakland, Calif.

Sharks reassigned Meier to the Barracuda.

Up Next
The Barracuda head to Stockton Arena to face the Stockton Heat (32-25-4-2) Saturday at 7:30 p.m. PST on AHL Live and AM 1220 KDOW.

San Jose Barracuda Saturday post game wrap: Barracuda offense chips away at Moose to take two game set 6-3

sjbarracuda.com photo: San Jose Barracuda forward John McCarthy (17) puts some follow through into his swing against the Manitoba Moose on Saturday night at SAP in AHL action

by Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Barracuda swept the back-to-back series with a 6-3 victory over the Manitoba Moose at SAP Center Saturday.

The Barracuda and Moose wrapped up their four-game season series this weekend. San Jose entered the second game of a back-to-back with the AHL’s best home winning percentage (.776) while Manitoba ranks 21st in road winning percentage (.429).

The Barracuda controlled the tempo for a little over half of the opening period as they had the first eight shots until the 9:06 mark. The Moose committed two penalties when Brian Strait went to the box for tripping at 13:38 and Kevin Czuczman was called for delay of game less than two minutes later. San Jose then broke a scoreless deadlock as Buddy Robinson cleaned up the rebound of Adam Helewka’s shot and put it into the net, beating Jamie Phillips for his 14th goal of the season.

“Absolutely,” Robinson said when asked about his thoughts on home-ice advantage. “Home-ice advantage is important in the playoffs and I think anyone who you talk to is going to say the same thing…The (Barracuda) fans out here have been great and this team has been hot so the fans have been coming out to show their support and we love it…It’s easier to play at home (SAP Center) because you have the same routine everyday…The more home ice we get, the more better we’ll be.”

Ryan Carpenter made it a 2-0 game with just six seconds left in the period. Carpenter collected a pass from John McCarthy and stuffed the puck through traffic, which went over Phillips’ pads for his 13th goal of the season.

The time on the clock winded down and the Barracuda held a 2-0 lead over the Moose after 20 minutes. Shots were 21-6 in favor of San Jose.

The Moose cut the Barracuda’s lead in half early in the second period. Patrice Cormier’s shot from the point deflected off of Jacob Middleton. Czuczman tipped in the deflection to beat Clarke Saunders top-shelf for his eighth goal of the season.

Peter Stoykewych was called for tripping at 13:52. The Barracuda went on the power play and capitalized with the man advantage. Joakim Ryan collected a pass from Tim Heed and fired it into the net for his 10th goal of the season, giving his team a 3-1 lead 21 seconds later.

The Moose scored another power-play goal to pull within one at the 14-minute mark. Mirco Mueller was called for cross-checking. Dan DeSalvo then collected a pass from Scott Kosmachuk and beat Saunders for his 16th of the season.

The Barracuda outshot the Moose 31-23 and brought a 3-2 lead to the locker room after 40 minutes.

Zach Stortini scored his third goal of the season early in the third period, expanding the Barracuda’s lead to 4-2. Stortini’s scoring attempt worked despite crashing the net for a goal and then crashing into the net himself. However, San Jose’s comfortable cushion was short-lived as the Moose went on the power play after Barclay Goodrow was assessed a slashing penalty at 15:59. Kyle Connor put home the rebound to make it a one-goal game 16 seconds later.

The Barracuda scored an insurance goal for a 5-3 lead over the Moose with a little over three minutes left in regulation. Helewka sent a pass to Rourke Chartier, who fired a long-range shot past Phillips short-side for his 17th of the season. McCarthy capped off the scoring with an empty-net goal — his 18th of the season — with 51.7 seconds left in regulation.

“We’re all kind of on the same page,” McCarthy said. “It’s a nice feeling.”

The Barracuda (41-14-2-5) beat the Moose (25-36-4-5) by a score of 6-3. Saunders stopped 32 of 35 shots in his first appearance in San Jose. Phillips made 36 saves in a losing effort for Manitoba.

“It was an unbelievable way to start,” Saunders gushed. “And it kind of let me ease my way into it. I just want to thank them (Barracuda) for working their butts off tonight.”

The Barracuda are 4-0 against the Moose and won seven straight games against Central Division teams.

“It’s kind of unusual,” Barracuda head coach Roy Sommer recalled. “But they (Moose) had 3-for-5 or something like that. We were pretty much right on, but we had some rebounds and stuff like that. Overall, the game we had was alright.”

Notes
Carpenter played in his 200th AHL game.

Up Next
The Barracuda host the Ontario Reign (33-19-10-0) Wednesday to conclude a three-game homestand. You can tune into the game on AHL Live and AM 1220 KDOW.