Barracuda capture Roadrunners and overthrow them with a 5-2 win

Photo: sanjosebarracuda.com

By Alexandra Evans

One win over the Tucson Roadrunners this week was clearly not enough for the San Jose Barracuda as they chased them down Wile E. Coyote style, earning a 5-2 victory at the Tuscon Convention Center.

San Jose put up two goals in the first period less than one minute apart. Julius Bergman sniped the first one on the power play at 12:45, and John McCarthy, who assisted Bergman’s goal, collected Paul Martin’s rebound off of Tucson goalie Hunter Miska and shot the puck, backhanded, past him. The Cuda ended the first period with a 2-0 lead; each team had eight shots on goal.

The scoring action translated into the second period as Brandon Mashinter received a pass from Jacob Middleton, putting the puck in the net just before the four minute mark. Emerson Clark notched his first goal with the Cuda at the five minute mark when he circled around Miska and located the low slot. Down 4-0, the Roadrunners tried to retaliate later in the period as Michael Bunting got a helper from Mario Kempe and sniped the puck past Cuda goalie Parker Gahagen at 9:10. Three minutes later, Trevor cheek scored one unassisted (and shorthanded) on a breakaway. The Cuda’s lead was cut in half, 4-2, at the end of the second.

Gahagen, who earned his first professional win tonight in the desert, and San Jose’s defense did not allow any additional goals in the third period. Brandon Bollig earned the team a 5-2 victory with an empty netter two minutes before the match ended.

The Cuda, now 11-10, return to action at home this weekend for a double header against the Bakersfield Condors: Saturday at 7:00 p.m. and Sunday at 1:15 p.m.

California AHL rivals, Reign and Barracuda, face each other for the 4th time this month, Reign takes home the crown with a 3-0 win

Photo: @sjbarracuda

By Alexandra Evans

SAN JOSE—The San Jose Barracuda followed Thanksgiving with another match against their cross-state rival, the Ontario Reign, whom they have now faced four times this month. Tonight, the Reign refused to give up their crown and defeated the Cuda 3-0 over the course of seven minutes (all in the final period).

Roster update: This afternoon, the Cuda welcomed forward Marc-Olivier Roy who closed a professional tryout agreement with the club. Roy, originally selected 56th overall by the Edmonton Oilers in 2013, was acquired from the Fort Wayne Komets of the ECHL and currently has 16 points (five goals and 11 assists).

The first period remained utterly silent, with the exception of strong defensive plays from both teams. Neither team took a penalty, and the board remained numberless. The Cuda picked up a man-advantage (the only one of the match) just over two minutes into the second period when Reign forward Paul LaDue was benched for tripping. Cuda defenseman Jeremy Roy took a shot off the far post which would have been his third goal of the season. The Cuda fired two more shots which were deflected off the post, keeping the game scoreless. At 18:13, both Jon Martin (San Jose) and Stepan Falkovsky (Ontario) were sent to the penalty box for roughing. This resulted in a two-minute four-on-four play, on which neither team gained an advantage offensively.

The Reign turned things around in the third period (which began with the remaining 13 seconds of the four-on-four play) when Stepan Falkovsky appeared from left point and scored at 1:57, giving the Reign the lead. Less than three minutes later, at 4:25, Brett Sutter fired the puck from the slot to make the score 2-0. Wanting in on the action, Justin Auger took a pass from Mike Amadio and found the back of the net (and his way past Cuda goaltender Parker Gahagen) at the seven-minute mark. The Cuda remained scoreless through the remaining 13 minutes of play, taking their third loss to Ontario this month.

Gahagen made his professional debut tonight and, even though he allowed three goals on 27 shots, he fought hard and his determination never wore thin. Ontario’s Cal Petersen, the No. 2 AHL goaltender, stopped all of the San Jose’s 23 shots, got his second career shutout and a second consecutive win over the Cuda.

San Jose, now 7-8, will host Pucks and Paws Night on Sunday afternoon (3pm) as they take on the San Diego Gulls.

In case you were wondering how the Cuda celebrated Turkey Day, check out the photo below from their team dinner in Ontario on Thursday night:

Credit: @sjbarracuda