Peter DeBoer Out as Sharks Head Coach

Photo credit: @CompleteHkyNews

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE — Peter DeBoer is no longer the head coach of the San Jose Sharks. His time with the Sharks ended today, after the team returned from a winless four game road trip. They have just 15 wins this season in 33 games, and have lost their last five games. The Sharks also announced that assistant coaches Steve Spott and Dave Barr and goaltending coach Johan Hedberg were dismissed as well.

Assistant Coach Bob Boughner was named interim head coach, with Roy Sommer as assistant coach and Mike Ricci as associate coach. Evgeni Nabokov will step in as goaltending coach.

In their press release, General Manager Doug Wilson said: “When you have had a level of past success, change is never easy, but we feel this team is capable of much more than we have shown thus far and that a new voice is needed.”

The Sharks started this season with one of the worst Octobers in team history, only to rally in November and claw their way back into the playoff picture. Instead of continuing on that trajectory, they have dropped again to sixth in the Pacific Division and a recent record of 4-5-1. The team is laboring with a minus 25 goal differential. Only one team in the league has allowed more than the Sharks’ 114 goals against this season, and that is the Detroit Red Wings. That is somewhat shocking with two Norris Trophy winning defensemen on the Sharks’ blue line.

DeBoer became the Sharks head coach at the end of the 2014-15 season, replacing Todd McLellan. His tenure with the Sharks had an eerie similarity to his time with the New Jersey Devils, the NHL team he coached before the Sharks. In his first season in New Jersey, he led the Devils to the Stanley Cup Final. Their record declined steeply from there. Under DeBoer’s leadership, the Sharks also reached the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in team history. That was DeBoer’s first season with the organization and, as with the Devils, that was the high point of his record in San Jose.

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.

Barracuda let Roadrunners escape with a 3-1 win

Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Alexandra Evans

SAN JOSE—The San Jose Barracuda put up a solid defensive fight through Friday night’s match against the Tucson Roadrunners, who managed to notch two goals in the final two minutes of the game and earn a 3-1 win.

Both teams played sound defensively in the first period until the final two minutes when Roadrunners’ Michael Bunting approached the net, prompting Cuda goaltender Antoine Bibeau to move out of the net to stop what looked like a play. With Bibeau out of the way, Bunting put the puck right in the net at the 18:08 mark to give Tucson the lead.

In the second period, Rudolfs Balcers scored a power play goal at the 3:08 mark. Despite putting up an additional 16 shots (for 29 total), including some promising attempts from Danny O’Regan on a five-on-three run, the Cuda failed to make it past Hunter Miska, but managed to stop the Roadrunners from scoring again…until the end of third period.

Both teams held one another scoreless for the first 18 minutes of the third, when all of a sudden, Mike Sislo copped a rebound goal with a minute and a half remaining, followed by another from Bunting 23 seconds later to make the final score 3-1.

“It happened so quick,” Bibeau said of Tucson’s final two goals. Despite each “blink of an eye” (so to speak), he saw the puck far better than he had during Wednesday’s 6-0 shutout loss.

Bibeau, who came off of his fifth consecutive win on Sunday evening in Bakersfield, agreed that the team’s defense was very sound throughout the entire match. The team’s inability to score impacted the game, but did not reflect their effort as a whole.

The Roadrunners are ranked #1 in the Pacific Division of the AHL, and some may wonder if it takes even more momentum and strength to stand up to such a team. Not necessarily, according to Bibeau. He explained that there was not much the Cuda needed to change as far as effort, as, coming off of the 6-0 shutout loss, effort was more important to them than whether or not they defeated the Roadrunners (whose sound playing styles he acknowledged, and the fact that they stimulated strong competition that evening).

Edging on their next two matches against Tucson on Tuesday and Wednesday (in the desert), Bibeau said that taking time to relax on the team’s off days will serve them well, and that they will play the next two games with a mindset no different than one which they would have against a lower-ranked team.

Roster update: Danny O’Regan was reassigned to the Barracuda from the Sharks this afternoon, and Bryan Moore was recalled from the Allen Americans. Additionally, the club signed Emerson Clark of the ECHL’s Jacksonville Icemen to a professional tryout agreement.

Barracuda defeats Condors 2-1 for Coach Roy Sommer’s 700th career AHL win

Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By: Alexandra Evans

BAKERSFIELD–First things first, the San Jose Barracuda’s win over the Bakersfield Condors tonight marked their coach Roy Sommer’s 700th career win, the most wins of any coach in AHL history.

Roster update: Marcus Sorensen was called up to the Sharks yesterday. He exceeds all Barracuda players in points with 14, and ranks T-2nd in goals (5) and assists (9). Manuel Wiederer has also returned to the ice following a concussion. Also, defenseman Michael Brodzinski was moved to the forward position, playing right wing for the evening.

Both teams excelled defensively in the first period, though the Cuda could not manage to make it past the Condors’ defense and were, at one point, outshot 9-0. Forward Iiro Pakarinen, who was recently reassigned to the Condors from the Edmonton Oilers (their NHL affiliate), made a wrist shot over Cuda goaltender Antoine Bibeau’s to give the Condors a 1-0 lead on the power play at the 12:42. Defenseman Cavan Fitzgerald tied the score at 16:51 with a wrist shot from the blue line, assisted by Jeremy Roy and Rudolfs Balcers. The score remained tied 1-1 at the end of the first period.

Each team held one another scoreless in the second period, at the end of which the Condors had 19 shots compared to the Cuda’s nine. Wiederer handed the Cuda a 2-1 victory when he notched a goal, his second of the season, at 8:42, assisted by John McCarthy and Jacob Middleton.

Bibeau made 30 saves on 31 shots for his fifth straight win this season, defeating Condors goaltender Eddie Pasquale who made 18 saves on 20 shots.

The Cuda will face the Condors, who beat them 6-0 in the preseason, another nine times this season. They are back at home on Wednesday, December 6 to face the Stockton Heat.

Roy Scores First Pro Goal To Help Cuda Steal Crown From Reign, Beating Ontario 1-0

Photo: @sjbarracuda

By Alexandra Evans

SAN JOSE—It’s rivalry weekend! The Barracuda had their first match of a weekend-long doubleheader against the Ontario Reign on Saturday afternoon. In hopes of a retaliation against the Reign’s 4-2 win on November 1, the Cuda stole their crown and shut them out 1-0.

Roster updates: Danny O’Regan was called up to the Sharks this morning from the Cuda, and Johnny Brodzinski, brother of Cuda defenseman Michael Brodzinski who scored a hat trick against the Cuda, was called up to the Kings from the Reign yesterday.

Both the Reign and Cuda defense were strong in the first period, and the Cuda appeared to be good on offense as a number of their shots were aimed directly between the posts of the net (in contrast with the Reign, most of whose shots ended up hitting the wall), though Jack Campbell managed to shut them all out. At the end, the Cuda outshot the Reign 11-9 and the score was 0-0, neither team having taken advantage of the power play.

Offense picked up in the second period as defenseman Jeremy Roy scored just after the 2:00 mark with an assist from Tim Clifton. This was Roy’s first goal of the season, as well as his first professional one. The Cuda held the Reign scoreless throughout the second, who outshot them by one. However, the Cuda were not able to succeed on the man advantage yet again. The Cuda kept a 1-0 lead through the third period.

“Jeremy is getting better and better every game,” Coach Roy Sommer said after the match. “This is why [the Sharks] drafted him… his thing is producing points. He did that in juniors, that’s why he was such a high pick (31st overall in 2015). He’s not only defensive. He gets out of trouble, but he’s also got some offense to his game.”

Cuda goaltender Antoine Bibeau recorded his second shutout of the season (side note: I asked Bibeau, in French, how he feels after a shutout. He responded that it provides him with feelings of great satisfaction and contentment); Bibeau blocked all of the Reign’s 31 shots, whereas Reign goaltender Jack Campbell stopped 30 shots out of 31 (which still exemplifies strong netminding).

The Cuda, who are now 6-6, are back on tomorrow against the Reign at 3:00 p.m.

Barracuda Claim Territory, Overthrow Moose 4-1

Photo: @sjbarracuda

By Alexandra Evans

SAN JOSE—The Barracuda retaliated against the Manitoba Moose big time this afternoon, overthrowing them 4-1 after a 5-2 loss the previous day.

The Cuda’s defensive game went up from yesterday in the first period. The Cuda took a few slick shots, but each was a “close but no cigar” type of situation; they just could not make it past Moose goaltender Eric Comrie, who is said to be an NHL starter for Winnipeg in the near future. In other words, the Cuda were strong on defense, not so much on offense despite two power play opportunities. The total of nine shots were comprised of two from Radim Simek, two from Adam Helewka, and one each from Rudolfs Balcers, Brandon Bollig, Danny O’Regan, Jacob Middleton, and Alexander True.

The second period started off strong defensively, and the Cuda took a 1-0 lead after O’Regan scored at the 4:10 mark with helpers from Middleton and John McCarthy. San Jose held on until 16:33, when Manitoba’s Patrice Cormier notched a power play goal to tie the score 1-1 after 40 minutes of play.

“[Comrie] is really good, I think I was just able to get through the defensive zone there have get a point-blank shot, and those are tough [for goalies] to stop,” O’Regan said of his goal.

The third period was the game-maker. The Cuda amped up their offensive game big time and scored three goals in these 20 minutes, despite a no-goal call for O’Regan, who made a shot attempt close to the two minute mark. Marcus Sorensen made a wrist shot at 1:53 after receiving a pass from Balcers (who would put up three assists before the 60 minute mark hit). Rourke Chartier, who was out six months due to injury, notched his first goal of the season “Logan Couture-style,” Coach Roy Sommer described, referring to the Sharks forward who currently leads the team in points with 14. Chartier’s goal was assisted by Balcers and Brandon Mashinter. Balcers also assisted Radim Simek’s empty-net goal at 17:22, as did Sorensen.

“He’s good,” Sorensen said of Balcers. “When he skates hard, he’s creating a lot of space for other people [to score]. It is fun to see him play.”

Balcers, who has one goal and 10 assists this season, added, “I didn’t expect that I was going to struggle with scoring goals this season, but I’m happy that assists come and that the other guys score.” Sommer noted that Balcers, in the past, has been more adept at putting up goals rather than assists.

Tonight’s starting goaltender, Antoine Bibeau, earned his second win with the Cuda. He only gave up one shot in the entire 60 minutes (he had 17 saves on 18 shots, and has above a .925 save percentage overall).

“[Tonight] was probably the best game I’ve played defensively, especially going into the third period,” Bibeau shared following the match. “It felt to me like a playoff game, how we were playing. We played hard, played everything right… We didn’t show up just to be here [today], we showed up to win a game.”

Forwards Kevin Labanc and Brandon Bollig were spot on about the fact that the key to success is playing with a two-way mindset, having confidence both offensively and defensively, though not so much confidence that effort subsides. Bollig added that attitude impacts the game significantly, which few could argue against. The momentum from yesterday’s third period translated well into today’s match, overall.

“We were a lot tighter,” Sommer said after the match. “We took time and space away [from the Moose], which made us play a lot better than last night.”

How can the Cuda carry on this kind of energy, cultivating wins, without becoming overly confident? I asked Adam Helewka, and he answered, “We just have to keep our game simple, not too pretty, and keep making the plays we made tonight, but at the same time, we just want to get pucks and bodies to the net.”

By “pretty,” Helewka suggested that making too many passes, and playing or shooting from the outside of the opposing team’s defense, would convey a “showy” type of game rather than competitive.

 

Moose Cross Barracuda Territory, Leave Their Mark 5-2

Photo: @sjbarracuda

By Alexandra Evans

SAN JOSE—The Barracuda commenced their weekend with the first game of a double header against the Manitoba Moose (affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets), who certainly left their mark after scoring five goals over the first and second periods, during which the Cuda were scoreless. The Moose took a 5-2 victory.

The first 20 minutes started off rather smooth; defense was strong on both ends, both goalies effectively protected their nets. But then, just before the 13-minute mark, the Moose began scoring over a course of five minutes; the scoring frenzy ended just before the 18 minute mark. The Cuda were down 3-0 at the end of the first despite outshooting the Moose 13-9. Jack Roslovic, Mike Sgarbossa, and JP Lipon scored the three goals, respectively.

The Cuda remained quiet throughout the second period, even with two power play opportunities (up from one opportunity in the first). The Moose proceeded to score two more goals, courtesy of Roslovic (one of the Jets’ top prospects) and Jansen Harkins.

San Jose did not score until the third period. Determined as ever since being reassigned to the Cuda from the Sharks last week, Kevin Labanc notched San Jose’s first goal of the game (and his first of the season with the Cuda) just before the six-minute mark. Brandon Bollig chimed in with just about a minute left in the game, scoring his second goal of the season. The momentum picked up substantially in the third period, and both Labanc and Bollig, in a post-game scrum, noted that heavy momentum is what the team needs to play a sound game, amp up their competition, and ultimately play better.

“I don’t think we deserved to give up five goals,” Bollig said. “We played a good game, it just came down to capitalizing on Manitoba’s chances. This was not a lack of effort.”

“I think we were overly confident,” Labanc added. “They’re a good team, you’ve got to tip your hat, but we’ve got to come prepared tomorrow and fix our mistakes… we need to not turn the puck over, and just be a little harder and heavier in the defensive zone. It’s a two-way game, we need to come with a two-way mentality.”

Troy Grosenick, San Jose’s starting goalie, only made 11 saves on 16 shots, while Eric Comrie stopped 36 shots out of 38.

Not to fear, the Cuda have a second chance to claim their territory over the Moose tomorrow. The line pairings are likely to change, especially since Rudolfs Balcers, Alexander True, and Filip Sandberg, as a group, did not meet Coach Roy Sommer’s expectations, he said following the match.

On a happier note, Rourke Chartier returned to the ice this afternoon after a six-month absence due to injury. On a separate note, Grosenick and his wife, Maggie, welcomed their first child, a son named Beckett, on November 7.

Barracuda Outshines Stars 6-1, Sorensen Gets A Hat Trick, Labanc Returns

Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Alexandra Evans

SAN JOSE — The Barracuda have returned to San Jose from their road trip to the Midwest, Texas, and Southern California (a trip that came with three consecutive losses) to face the Texas Stars yet again. The Stars overthrew them 3-2 in a shootout last Saturday, October 28. Tonight, the Cuda refused to be outshined again and crushed them 6-1.

Roster update: Kevin Labanc was reassigned to the Barracuda from the Sharks today. In 13 games with the Sharks this season, he has posted three goals and four assists for seven points, along with a minus-3 rating and 10 penalty minutes.

The force was strong in the first period, and I am not just saying that because the previous night (November 4th’s match against the Anaheim Ducks) was Star Wars night for the Sharks! Marcus Sorensen scored two goals less than three minutes apart, the first one on the power play (Ludwig Bystrom scored the Stars’ first goal of the game 59 seconds before Sorensen’s second goal, on the power play). Nearing the end of the period, at 17:19, Filip Sandberg scored after being handed the puck by Rudolfs Balcers, who received the pass from Brandon Mashinter. In some of the earlier games this season, the Cuda had put up numerous penalties in a single period alone. There were only two in the first tonight.

The second period remained rather quiet, and ended scoreless. Following the first intermission, the boys stepped on the ice looking confident, as they should after a killer first period. Three goals in one period alone is something the Cuda had yet to accomplish prior to tonight’s match.

Five minutes into the third period, the Cuda has 25 shots on goal. Adam Helewka and Julius Bergman each fired the puck at the net within a few minutes of one another, hitting the rim and bouncing back after each player’s attempt. Then, almost eight minutes in, Sorensen notched a hat trick, assisted by Danny O’Regan and Labanc. Approximately three minutes later, Cavan Fitzgerald scored his first goal of the season, making the score 5-1. Oliver Archambault (who was recently recalled from the Allen Americans of the ECHL) wanted in on the action, and scored (his first goal as well) at the 18:44 mark. The final score was 6-1.

Sorensen, who played on the offensive line with O’Regan and Labanc (as he had last year), spoke with the media about his hat trick following the match. This was his first time scoring since opening night.

“It’s huge to be part of the offensive [line], especially on a power play. You need to help the team,” he said.

“[Sorensen] has always had potential, he just found the back of the net, which made an easy night. It was awesome to watch,” Coach Roy Sommer said.

Labanc also spoke about his reassignment to the Cuda. It came as a shocker for some, but his A-game is as strong as always.

“It was definitely fun [playing with the Sharks]. You want to come with the right attitude, you don’t want to think you’re sent down, you just have to be motivated to get back up, and be a good leader for all of the young guys, show them what it takes to play up there [in the NHL]. Work hard, work everyday.

“I learn from Jumbo [Joe Thornton], he’s always working. No matter what or where I play, you’ve got to have that work ethic, that’s what will make you a good hockey player. I’m down here [with the Cuda], so I’m going to work and just do the best that I can.

“Just because you get sent down, don’t be sorry for yourself. Instead, make a statement. Let them know you’re going to play hard no matter what…don’t waste a day,” Labanc shared.

Labanc, who enjoyed reconnecting with last year’s teammates, also discussed the smooth flow between him, Sorensen, and O’Regan.

“I knew I was playing with Marcus and Danny beforehand, so I knew we had chemistry. You just do what you can, play hard, and goals will come,” he said.

I also spoke with Helewka, Archambault, and Fitzgerald on their overall thoughts and feelings about tonight’s big win.

“The talk in the room before the game was ‘it’s a must-win for our confidence.’ We played like that, it showed, and we had success because of it,” Helewka said.

Helewka’s hand-eye coordination has really stood out to me so far this season; he truly knows where the net is, he knows where to send the puck in order to get it into the net, and how to find the “holes” around the net minder. He has been the king of assists thus far.

“I’ve always kind of worked on [my hand-eye coordination], so I guess it might be progressing this year,” Helewka told me after I brought the subject up with him.

Archambault and Fitzgerald scored their first goals of the season in tonight’s match, Archambault’s being his first in the AHL.

“It’s fun to get the first one out of the way, a good pass by my teammates [Tim Clifton and Radim Simek], so I was happy,” Archambault said.

“We had a lot of confidence in everyone tonight, in all three zones we felt good,” Fitzgerald said. “It was a big bounce-back game for us. We knew we needed to come back… it’s good to get that first win [since returning to San Jose] out of the way.”

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.