Barracuda kick off two game home stand with win over Reign 4-2

Photo courtesy of San Jose Barracuda. Andrew Agozzino celebrates a goal against the Reign on March 3rd 2023.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

SAN JOSE–At Tech Cu arena the Barracuda walked away with a win against a conference rival the Ontario Reign by a final of 4-2.

In between the pipes for San Jose was Aaron Dell while Ontario had Matthew Villalta starting for them.

Just a minute into this game San Jose’s penalty kill unit had to get to work as Jeffrey Viel took a penalty for high-sticking.

The pk unit was effective for the Barracuda though and killed off the penalty.

Later in the period Ontario took a penalty as well but San Jose’s power play unit could not convert.

In the first there was no scoring with the shots finishing in favor of the Barracuda at 8-7.

The second period saw much more offense as just 2:32 into the period Luke Johnson scored a goal short handed to make it 1-0.

A little later in the period Derrick Pouliot fead a pass right across the slot to Danil Gushchin who finished off the play to get his 13th goal of the season.

Ontario found a response a few minutes later as Tyler Madden scored his 14th goal of the season to make it 2-1.

Despite the Reign cutting San Jose’s lead in half Agozzino responded with a one-time goal out front that bounced in scoring his 18th goal of the season.

At the end of the second the shots favored San Jose at 18-13.

In the third period San Jose kicked things off in a similar fashion as Agozzino got his second goal of the game shorthanded.

Four minutes later Ontario responded with a power play goal as Madden also got his second goal of the game.

The Reign continued to push to tie but were unable to as Barracuda held on to win 4-2.

The shots at the end of the game favored Ontario at 27-22.

The three stars of the game were: 1st: Andrew Agozzino 2nd: Derrick Pouliot 3rd: Tyler Madden

San Jose’s next game will be tomorrow against the Coachella Valley Firebirds at home at 6 p.m.

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Barracuda hope to get off from bad loss face Coachella Valley tonight

The San Jose Barracuda were clobbered by the Ontario Reign at the Toyota Center on Fri Feb 24, 2023 in Ontario. The Barracuda hope to put that loss behind them as they face the Coachella Valley Firebirds (tonight) Mon Feb 27, 2023 (photo by the San Jose Barracuda)

On the SJ Barracuda podcast with Marko:

#1 San Jose Barracuda (21-26-0) went to battle against the Ontario Reign (30-18-3) on the road and had a rough game defensively losing by a final of 6-1 on Friday night.

#2 Marko the Reign made things difficult for the Barracuda shutting out the Barracuda in the first period and getting two goals from Jordan Spence and Alan Quine.

#3 The Reign attacked again scoring four goals in the third period from Samuel Fagemo, Jacob Moverare, Tyler Madden, and Kim Nousianinen.

#4 The Barracuda avoided being shutout when forward Jeffery Viel scored at 2:42 in the third period. The Barracuda just couldn’t get any offense going and Reign goaltender Matthew Villalta stopped 34 out of 35 shots to hold San Jose to only one goal.

#5 The Barracuda face off against a tough customer the Coachella Valley Firebirds (33-9-4) this one on the road tonight at 7:00pm. Talk about how you see this match up.

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

Barracuda defense lets down against the Reign 6-1

Photo courtesy of San Jose Barracuda. Tristen Robins shoots on goaltender Cal Petersen.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

San Jose went to battle against Ontario on the road and had a rough game defensively losing by a final of 6-1.

For the Barracuda Strauss Mann got the start while Matthew Villalta started for the Reign.

Goal scoring in this game took a minute to get going but Jordan Spence got the opening goal at the 9:50 mark for the Reign making it 1-0.

Scott Reedy took an interference penalty at the 11:13 mark giving Ontario a chance to expand their lead.

On the power play they did just that as Alan Quine scored netting his sixth goal of the season and extending their lead to two.

At the end of the first the shots favored Ontario at 13-7.

The second period was a lot quieter than the first as there was no scoring between the two teams.

The shots at the end of the second favored San Jose now at 25-20.

Scoring in the third came a lot quicker as just 2:42 in Jeffrey Viel scored shorthanded on a rebound cutting Ontario’s lead in half.

The Reign dug deep though and found a response as Samuel Fagemo scored his 17th goal of the season to make the lead two again.

Feeling the momentum Jacob Moverare scored his fourth goal of his campaign making the score now 4-1.

San Jose pulled their goalie to try and come back but Tyler Madden scored on the empty net to put it away.

Thomas Bordeleau took a penalty for high-sticking after the goal and once again Ontario punished San Jose with a goal. This time Kim Nousiainen scored his second goal of the season putting their lead up to 6-1.

The three stars of the game were 1st: Matthew Villalta 2nd: Jacob Moverare 3rd: Martin Chromiak

The Barracuda’s next game will be against Coachella Valley on Monday at 7 p.m. on the road.

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Barracuda look to snap five game skid Wednesday night at Tech CU

The Calgary Wranglers swept the San Jose Barracuda in a two game set on Fri Feb 10, 2023 and Sat Feb 11, 2023 nights at Tech CU Arena in San Jose (photo by the San Jose Barracuda)

On the Barracuda podcast with Marko:

#1 Matthew Phillips scored the winning goal in the shootout to give the Calgary Wranglers a 5-4 victory over the San Jose Barracuda (18-25-0-4) on Saturday evening at Tech CU Arena.

#2 San Jose has lost five games in a row. Calgary has won three games in a row and swept the two-game series with San Jose.

#3 Calgary (33-11-2-0) drew first blood late in the first period. Emilio Pettersen point blank chance was initially saved by ‘Cuda goalie Eetu Makiniemi but the rebound was tucked home by Kevin Rooney for his third goal of the season at the 18:49 mark.

#4 Calgary had a power play in the overtime session but failed to take advantage of their opportunity as San Jose forced the game into the shootout. The Wranglers Daniil Chechelev finished the evening with 29 saves on 33 shots to earn the victory. Makiniemi made 27 saves on 31 shots in the losing effort.

#5  San Jose host the Ontario Reign (26-17-1-1) on Wednesday at 7:00pm at Tech CU Arena. The Reign are sixth in the AHL Pacific Division with 54 points and have won six of their last ten games. Can the Barracuda hold onto home ice and scratch out a win after losing five straight games?

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

Late comeback propels Barracuda over Reign 4-2

Photo courtesy of San Jose Barracuda Twitter. Aaron Dell readies himself in goal.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

On their first of a four game road stand the Barracuda kicked things off against the Ontario Reign winning in dramatic fashion 4-2.

The first period between the pacific division rivals was a rather uneventful one with no goals either way.

The only two plays of note were penalties taken by Austin Wagner for holding and Montana Onyebuchi for tripping.

Both Aaron Dell and Cal Petersen were not too busy in the first as Dell turned aside eight shots and Petersen turned aside 10 shots.

With the score tied at zeros heading into the second Ontario and San Jose looked to find the first of the game.

Finally 6:44 into the period the Reign were given that opportunity as Max Veronneau took a high-sticking penalty.

Just ten seconds into that power play Tyler Madden scored his sixth goal of the season assisted by Lias Andersson and T.J. Tynan.

There would end up being a couple more special team opportunities either way but no other power play goals to speak of in the second.

At the end of the second the shots in total favored the Reign 22-16.

The third period compared to the first two periods ended up being quite eventful with plenty of goals to make up for the quieter beginning.

To start off the scoring 6:24 in Thomas Bordeleau got his 16th goal of the season assisted by William Eklund and Danil Gushchin to tie the game up at one.

Just a few minutes later Daren Brady scored his first AHL goal of his career to give San Jose the lead 2-1. Both Artemi Kniazev and C.J. Suess assisted on the goal.

However the Reign struck back again on the power play this time Tynan scored his fourth of the season tying the game back up. Andersson and Samuel Fagemo assisted on the goal.

A little over five minutes later Petersen took a tripping penalty giving the Barracuda a late opportunity to take the lead.

On the ensuing power play Bordeleau scored again giving San Jose a 3-2 lead with both Kniazev and Scott Reedy assisting on the goal.

Ontario tried to come back by pulling their goalie but to no avail as Will Riedell scored on the open cage to get his first goal of the campaign.

At the end of the game the shots favored San Jose 33-30.

The three stars of the game were: 1st: Thomas Bordeleau 2nd: Aaron Dell 3rd: T.J. Tynan

The Barracuda will play their second game of this road trip in Coachella Valley tomorrow at 6 p.m.

Barracuda come out flat against Reign lose 5-1

Photo credit to San Jose Barracuda Twitter. Defenseman Billy Constantinou makes his debut for the Barracuda against the Ontario Reign.

By Titus Wilkinson (@TitusWisme)

After a win on Sunday the Barracuda followed it up with a loss on the road to the Ontario Reign by a final of 5-1.

The starting goalie for the Reign would be Pheonix Copley and for the Barracuda Eetu Makiniemi.

The game started off with a power play opportunity for the Barracuda as Jordan Spence headed to the box for delay of game. San Jose whiffed on the opportunity with Danil Guschin getting the lone shot.

Not too long after the Barracuda had their power play the Reign got one as well on a high sticking penalty by William Eklund.

On their chance the Reign capitalized with Samuel Fagemo getting his fifth goal of the season. Quinton Byfield and Jordan Spence both got assists on the play.

The momentum continued in favor of Ontario as Tobias Bjornfot buried one to get his second goal of the season. The assists on the play went to both Martin Chromiak and Samuel Helenius.

Barely two minutes later the Reign saw fit to tack onto the lead as Tobie Bisson got his first goal of the season. Cameron Gaunce and Nate Thompson both were credited with assists on the play.

The score at the end of the period finished at 3-0 with the shots also favoring the Reign at 16-5.

Unlike the first period the first big play of the period would be a goal for the Reign this time coming from Tyler Madden with his fifth goal of the season. The assists both going to Byfield and Alex Turcotte.

It would take a while for another goal to happen but it came again from the Reign this time Spence scored getting his first goal of the season. Byfield and Turcotte once again both got the assists on the goal.

With the score at 5-0 the Barracuda looked pretty much out of it with time dwindling in the second period.

However on the power play San Jose finally got one back as Tristen Robins would rip one in from the top of the right circle. Andrew Agozzino and Scott Harrington got the assists on the goal.

At the end of the period the shots finished still in favor of the Reign 26-14.

Only 1:25 into the first period San Jose would take a penalty as Artemi Kniazev got a penalty for tripping.

That penalty would be killed off as well as a collective five other penalties would be called. Four against the Barracuda and two penalties against the Reign.

At the end of the day there would be no scoring in the period with the final score coming in at 5-1.

The three stars would end up being Byfield, Spence, and Turcotte.

The Barracuda’s next game will be on the road against the Henderson Silver Knights on Friday at 1:00 p.m.

Barracuda snap losing skid with 4-3 shootout win over Reign

San Jose Barracuda forward Ozzy Wiseblatt celebrates his first goal in a ‘Cuda uniform against the Ontario Reign at Tech CU Arena on Thursday NOV 10, 2022. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Ozzy Wiseblatt picked as good a time as ever to score his first professional goal.

Wiseblatt’s goal in the third period gave the San Jose Barracuda their first lead of the game as the eventually defeated the Ontario Reign 4-3 in a shootout victory on Thursday evening at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose snapped its five-game winless draught after starting the season 4-0. Ontario has lost two games in a row after winning their previous six.

Wisebatt, the San Jose Sharks 2020 first round pick (31st overall), made his debut with the ‘Cuda after being called up from the Wichita Thunder of the ECHL, where he began the season. Brandon Coe set up Wiseblatt with a quick backhand pass from behind the net and Wiseblatt buried a wrist shot top shelf past Reign goalie Phoenix Copley for his first goal professional goal at the 6:10 mark of the third period.

“I just want to showcase what I can do. I think most importantly I wanted to win the game. I’m thrilled that it happened. I’m pretty happy,” Wiseblatt said.

The goal gave San Jose (5-4-0-1) its first lead of the contest after falling behind two goals to their Socal rival early in the second period.

After a scoreless first period, Ontario (7-2-0-1) jumped out to a 1-0 lead 38 seconds to start the middle frame. Lias Andersson scored his fifth goal of the season from the right wing that beat ‘Cuda goalie Strauss Mann. Jacob Moverare and T.J. Tynan registered assists.

Tyler Madden doubled the lead for the leaders of the Pacific Division at the 3:02 mark. Taylor Ward and Akil Thomas recorded assists on Madden’s second goal of the season.

Jeffery Viel, known as an agitator on the ice, singlehandedly led the comeback for San Jose as he scored the next two goals. His first one came more than halfway through the second period. Viel, who camped himself in front of Copley, redirected a shot from the point by Santeri Hatakka for his first goal of the season at the 12:55 mark.

Early in the third period, Viel intercepted a clearing attempt by Moverare inside the Reign zone. Viel skated in on Copley and deposited a backhander into the back of the net for his second goal of the game.

“I’m glad I scored some goals. I’m trying to get my offense back a little bit. (I’m getting) a little more playing time down here so I guess it feels good,” Viel said.

San Jose had its first big test of adversity of the young season when Adam Raska was given a five-minute major penalty when he hit Quinton Byfield up high with a hit from behind that injured Byfield who was slow to get up off of the ice before skating back to the bench under his own power.

“Aversity is a great teacher,” said ‘Cuda assistant coach Louis Mass on his team’s big penalty kill. “It’s something that glues teams together when you can go through those moments. It’s something where if you get into those situations in the future, you feel like you’re a little more resilient and you can handle that.”

While killing off the major penalty Luke Johnson was sent off for a delay of game penalty as he shot the puck into the stands, giving Ontario a 5-on-3 advantage with 3:39 remaining on Raska’s penalty.

Mann, who was just recalled from Wichita the day before, and the number one penalty killing unit in the AHL, held down the fort killing both penalties as Mann made two big saves during the kill.

The Reign didn’t go down quietly as Ward scored the equalizer from between the faceoff circles with 56 seconds left in the third period with a rebound shot that he roofed over Mann for his third goal of the season.

Mann stopped 32 of the 35 shots he faced in regulation and overtime and then stopped two out of the three shots in the shootout to earn his first win of his professional career. Copley made 18 saves on 21 shots (and was one for three in the shootout) in the losing effort.

“It’s good to get back home and get settled. I know it’s been tough here the past couple of weeks. There’s a great group of guys and it was really nice to have them support me, and they played great in front of me too. I couldn’t have done it without them either,” Mann said.

GAME NOTES: Both teams finished 0-for-4 on the power play.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Viel 2) Ward 3) Wiseblatt

UP NEXT: San Jose continues its homestand when they host the Colorado Eagles for a two-game weekend series on Saturday 11/12 at 6:00pm at Tech CU Arena.

Reign dominate overmatched Barracuda 6-3

The San Jose Barracuda were beaten by three goals by the Ontario Reign in a Wed Mar 30, 2022 matinee at the SAP Center in San Jose (image by the San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — It was an early morning mismatch.

The Ontario Reign scored every which way but loose in a 6-3 victory over the San Jose Barracuda on Wednesday morning at SAP Center.

San Jose has lost five games in a row and anchor the basement of the Pacific Division with 44 points and 10 games remaining in the season. Ontario has won three out of its last four games and have clinched a playoff spot in the division as they sit in second place with 79 points.

Ontario (36-14-4-3) drew first blood just under five minutes into the first period. An odd man rush led to Akil Thomas poking home his own rebound for his second goal of the season at the 4:36 mark.

The Reign doubled its lead at the 12:45 mark of the opening frame. A shot from Thomas Hickey was cleaned up by Samuel Fagemo who banked the puck off of ‘Cuda goalie Alex Stalock into the back of the net for his 22nd goal of the season.

San Jose (20-34-2-2) responded with a late goal in the first period. Evan Weinger skated in on Reign goalie Matthew Villalta, who made the initial save on Weinger’s shot. Jasper Weatherby trailed the play and cashed in the rebound for his fourth goal of the season at the 15:50 mark.

Ontario scored a tic-tac-toe goal on the power play with just under a minute left in the first period. Thomas hammered a home a one-timer from between the faceoff circles for his second goal of the game and third of the season at the 19:02 mark.

Thomas. who hadn’t scored in his first 25 games, now has three goals in his last three games.

Ontario dominated the shot clock 18-6 in the first period.

“We’re just taking it one game a time,” said ‘Cuda head coach Roy Sommer. “We’re trying to get some wins. No one is throwing in the towel. The trade deadline hurt us a lot. Now we’re just trying to find ways to win and stay in games early if we can.”

The Reign extended its lead early in the second period. Fagemo finished off a two-on-one odd man rush when he beat Stalock with a wrist shot for his second goal of the game and 23rd of the season at the 1:30 mark.

The Reign went up a 5-1 with a shorthanded goal. 10 second into the Barracuda power play Nikita Pavlychev skated in from the left wing and beat Stalock with a wrist shot for his second goal of the season at the 8:33 mark.

San Jose scored a power play goal just past the halfway mark of the middle frame. Joachim Blichfeld wired a wrist shot to the far side off the post that beat Villata for his team leading 22nd goal of the season at the 10:41 mark.

Blichfeld’s 11th power play goal tied a franchise record.

“It’s been (an) up and down (year),” said Blichfeld about how his season individually. “Obviously you want to be playing in the NHL and that has not happened so far. You just want to go out there and show the guys at the top that you can play in the NHL.”

Aiden Dudas scored his 10th goal of the season 39 seconds into the third period. Stalock had lost his goal stick during the play and Dudas took advantage with a wrist shot to the far side that Stalock had no chance at.

San Jose cut Ontario’s lead in half when Adam Raska set up Evan Weinger in the low slot and Weinger’s one-timer beat Villata for his 12th goal of the season at the 5:27 mark.

Villata finished the game stopping 28 of the 31 shots he faced in earning the victory. Stalock made 27 saves on 33 shots in suffering his third straight loss.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 1-for-5 on the power play. Ontario was 1-for-2.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Thomas 2) Fagemo 3) T.J. Tynan

It was the second ‘Cuda Classroom Day promotion of the season for the Barracuda.

UP NEXT: San Jose begins a weekend series with the Stockton Heat on Saturday 4/2 at 6:00pm at the Stockton Arena.

Chemelvski’s OT heroics propel Barracuda 4-3 over Reign

Left winger Timur Ibragimov (67) and the San Jose Barracuda defeated the Ontario Reign at the Toyota Center in Ontario on Wed Mar 9, 2022 (file photo from nhl.com)

by Marko Ukalovic

ONTARIO, California— Sasha Chmelevski scored 62 seconds into overtime to give the San Jose Barracuda a 4-3 overtime victory on Wednesday evening at Toyota Arena.

Chmelevski’s 11th goal of the season was set up Santeri Hatakka, who played in his first game since being sent down to Cuda.

San Jose has won two games in a row as they try to climb out of the cellar of the Pacific Division. Ontario had its five game winning streak snapped.

Ontario drew first blood in the second period on Brayden Burke’s sixth goal of the season at the 2:30 mark.

San Jose answered back with the first of Jasper Weatherby’s two power play goals at the 6:00 mark.

Martin Frk gave the Reign the lead with 51 seconds left in the second period on the power play with his team leading 31st goal of the season.

The Barracuda scored two unanswered goals in the first six minutes of the third period to gain it’s first lead.

Weatherby scored his second power play goal of the game 30 seconds into the third frame.

Then at the 6:00 minute mark Lane Pedersen scored on the power play, his second goal in back to back to games.

Ontario scored the equalizer at the 16:42 mark when Samuel Fagemo scored his 19th goal of the season.

‘Cuda goalie Alexei Melnichuk finished the evening stopping 27 of the 30 saves to earn the victory. Reign goalie Matthew Villalta made 26 saves on 30 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 3-for-4 on the power play. Ontario was 1-for-2.

The Three Stars of the Game were:

1) Chmelevski 2) Fagemo 3) Weatherby

UP NEXT: San Jose host the Stockton Heat on Friday 3/11 at 7:00pm at SAP Center.

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Barracuda look to end three game skid against Knights in Vegas Wednesday

San Jose Barracuda head coach Roy Sommer hopes to guide the Barracuda out of their current three game losing streak against the Vegas Silver Knights in AHL action at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on Wed Feb 2, 2022 (photo file from oursportscentral.com)

On the SJ Barracuda podcast with Marko:

#1 Jaret Anderson Dolan scored a hat trick as the Ontario Reign (23-7-3-2) scored a season high eight goals to defeat the San Jose Barracuda (14-22-1-0) 8-5 on Monday evening at Toyota Arena.

#2 San Jose has lost three games in a row and six of their last seven.

#3 Ontario has won five of their past six games, including three in a row over the Barracuda. 

#4 The game was rescheduled from the original date of November 27th, 2021 that postponed due to an ice machine malfunction at the Toyota Arena.

#5 San Jose continues its four-game road trip as the start a two-game series with the Henderson Silver Knights on Wednesday 2/2 at 7:00pm at Orleans Arena.

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