Sharks’ Season Ends With 3-0 Loss to Golden Knights

Photo credit: @TheVegasRealm

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE–The San Jose Sharks’ season ended with a 3-0 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights at the SAP Center Sunday. The Game 6 win makes the Golden Knights the third NHL team to win two rounds in the playoffs in their inaugural season. Goals came from Jonathan Marchessault, Nate Schmidt and Cody Eakin. Marc-Andre Fleury made 28 saves for Vegas’ shutout win. Martin Jones made 30 saves in a losing effort for San Jose.

After the game, Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said: “We just didn’t find a way to put any pucks in the net. You know we had some opportunities early, a couple of power plays and some really good looks. And whether a puck spun off or got a skate on it or whatever kind of happened, it was. I think our opportunities early were there to take that lead.”

Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer gave his assessment of the series after the game:

We knew their game was for real and I thought there was some swing moments in the series when you win and when you lose. But the bottom line for me is we were just chasing the game. Every game in the series other than the 4-0 win here at home. I thought we had some good starts, had some quality chances early in a lot of those games, and Fleury I thought was great early in a lot of those games, allowed them to get their feet under them and then we’re chasing five of the six games.

Asked about what he thought of the Pavelski, Kane, Donskoi line, DeBoer said:

I’m not dissecting it. I can tell you this, you got a guy who’s playing center that hasn’t played center in years that steps up and plays as the number one center. So you know if you’re going to negatively dissect their play, you’re talking to the wrong guy. You can do that. These guys…. Our number one center went down, these guys jumped in, filled roles didn’t complain, battled their ass off right to the buzzer in every single game even when we were down.

The Sharks were on the power play in the first minute of the game, thanks to a tripping call drawn by Tomas Hertl. The Sharks got two shots during the power play, but the Golden Knights got one on a breakaway for Willam Karlsson.

Just 5:39 into the period, a flurry of activity in front of the Sharks net ended with Martin Jones being pushed into the net as the whistle blew. Evidently the puck crossed the line with the goalie, but an NHL initiated review determined that the whistle had been blown before the puck went in.

Near the nine-minute mark, Tomas Hertl had a breakaway, but hit the crossbar. He retrieved the puck and got it to Logan Couture for a good chance, but that shot did not go in either. A scramble in front of Fleury followed, but the puck still stayed out.

After the next faceoff in the Vegas zone, Brayden McNabb sent the puck over the glass. After an extensive review to see if it touched a Sharks stick, the penalty was called. The Sharks took a couple of good shots before Vegas cleared the puck. Seconds after that penalty expired, Evander Kane was called for tripping Reilly Smith. The Sharks killed that off without letting the power play spend a lot of time in the zone.

At even strength after the power play, it was a different story. The Golden Knights spent a lot of time in the Sharks zone. Their fourth line in particular was very effective.

Despite not spending much time on offense, the Sharks had another good chance off a blue line shot from Joakim Ryan in the last three minutes. Timo Meier reached to push it in, but did not get there. That sequence seemed to energize the Sharks and they held the zone for quite a spell. Brent Burns had a shot deflected by Evander Kane, but it went off the crossbar. It fell at Joonas Donskoi’s feet by the post, but he couldn’t get it over the line either.

The teams finished the period almost even in shots, 12-11 Vegas.

The teams started the second period a little bit slowly, with more than four minutes of play going by before the first shot was counted. It went to Vegas, and another minute of play went by before the Sharks got a shot on goal.

It was the third shot of the period that went in, at 6:33, a goal from the Golden Knights’ Jonathan Marchessault. A failed clear by Marc-Edouard Vlasic ended up on Reilly Smith’s stick. He found Marchessault with an open net. Assists went to Smith and William Karlsson.

The Golden Knights almost scored again at 8:31 left in the first, when Martin Jones came out to stop a shot from Brayden McNabb and was completely out of the net when Smith got a chance at the rebound. Chris Tierney was in the paint and blocked the shot. The Sharks followed it up with good zone time, but all of their shots seemed to hit bodies and skates.

The second Vegas goal came with as little fanfare as a goal can have: most seemed to miss it and play continued. A horn went a few moments later, alerting all that something was wrong. On review, Nate Schmidt scored with a shot from the blue line that hit the post and went off the goal net camera. David Perron won an offensive zone faceoff against Chris Tierney and slid the puck to Eric Haula on the wall. Haula got the puck to Schmidt. The time of the goal was 15:38.

By the halfway mark of the third period, the shot count was 11-3 in favor of Vegas. The Golden Knights did not let up. DeBoer pulled Martin Jones with 2:15 left in the period. The Sharks got a couple of shots in the 15 seconds before Ryan Carpenter and Cody Eakin broke away to score on the empty net. It was Eakin’s third goal of the playoffs and Carpenter’s third assist. An additional assist went to Nate Schmidt.

That was it, except for the handshake.

The schedule for the Western and Eastern conference final rounds are yet to be determined, as the two series (Jets-Predators, Capitals-Penguins) are still ongoing.

Sharks Shut Out Devils 3-0

Photo credit: San Jose Sharks

by M. Walsh

The San Jose Sharks started a five-game road trip on Friday, with a 3-0 win in New Jersey. Melker Karlsson scored the first goal of the game, with Joe Pavelski and Joonas Donskoi adding to the score. Martin Jones made 28 saves for the shutout, while Keith Kinkaid made 30 stops for the Devils.

Asked if starting the trip a day early helped prepare the team, Sharks Captain Joe Pavelksi said:

Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t. We won, so it helped. Coming off our home stand which wasn’t the best, I think it was good for us to get on the road an extra day and realize it’s a business trip for sure but we’ll have some fun, and it’s a great way to start it tonight.

The New Jersey Devils have had an excellent start to their season, winning six of seven games before the loss to the Sharks. Two of their young stars, forward Nico Hischier and defenseman Will Butcher get some credit for the early season success. In Friday’s game, Butcher led his team with five shots on goal. So far this season, Butcher has nine assists, while Hischier has two goals and five assists. After the game, Martin Jones described the Devils’ game as “They’re quick, they’re really good around the net. They make a lot of quick little plays in and around the net, so they’re definitely a dangerous team.”

The Sharks lineup looked the same as it had in their last game, one of just two wins this season. After the game, Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer said:

We need our depth, I thought our depth guys were good tonight. I thought all the guys on Tierney and Carpenter’s line were solid and we got good contributions from them. If not offense, then zone time and offensive zone play. So that was a good sign… It was the best that our depth forwards I think have played as a group, which is what we need.

The first goal came in the first period at 14:11. Tim Heed shot the puck in and the Sharks forwards swarmed the net. After Kinkaid made a couple of stops, Hertl made a quick pass from behind the net that found Karlsson right on the edge of the blue paint. From there he was able to put the puck into the far corner. Assists went to Hertl and Heed.

During that sequence, Logan Couture seemed to take the a shot off of his ankle and he left the game for the rest of the period. He did return to play the second period, but then missed some minutes at the start of the third.

The second goal came early in the second period. The Devils had the Sharks stuck in their own zone for a spell, but when the Sharks broke out they moved quickly. Defenseman Justin Braun sent the puck down low to Joe Thornton, who sent it right back as Pavelski got to the net. Braun took the shot from the blue line and Pavelski tipped it in. Assists went to Thornton and Braun. Of the goal, Pavelski said after the game:

I was a little surprised it went in, I was really tight to the goalie at the time. A lot of times they’ll be able to shut those down. Actually, one of my uncles passed yesterday and that was the one thing, you know, from family that they said, get a goal for that. And I don’t think that goal probably should have went in so I’m sure he had a little bit to do with it.

In the final two minutes of the second period, Joonas Donskoi showed off his skill and tenacity with the third goal. He carried the puck over the line, accompanied by his linemates Jannik Hansen and Ryan Carpenter. Donskoi took a shot from the faceoff circle which Kinkaid stopped and kicked back out. Donskoi caught the rebound on his backhand and threw it back in. An assist went to Justin Braun. Of Donskoi’s performance, DeBoer said:

He’s a very good player. Whether he plays with Thornton and Pavelksi or whether he plays with Tierney or Carpenter, he comes to work every game and he’s got to find a way to create offense for us. So I thought he was good tonight, played well. He’s just got to keep building on that.

The Sharks play again Saturday in Brooklyn against the New York Islanders at 4:00 PM PT.

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.

San Jose Barracuda Tuesday game wrap: Fischer and Wood get Roadrunners early lead hand Cuda 2-1 loss in first of two meetings

sjbarracuda.com photo: San Jose Barracuda forward John McCarthy (17) is chased by the Tucson Roadrunners center Chris Mueller (19) as the Roadrunners goaltender Adin Hill (33) looks on Tuesday night at SAP Center

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Barracuda pulled within a goal in the second period, but their comeback bid fell short and they dropped a 2-1 decision to the Tuscon Roadrunners at SAP Center Tuesday.

The Barracuda — the Roadrunners

The Roadrunners got on the board first. Christian Fischer took a pass from Chris Mueller and put it into the net for his 20th goal of the season at 15:57 of the opening period.

The Roadrunners went on their first power play of the game after Barclay Goodrow went to the box for tripping at 12:22. They capitalized with the man advantage for a 2-0 lead 43 seconds later. Kyle Wood used a wrist shot to beat Troy Grosenick stick-side for his 14th goal of the season. With that goal, Wood currently leads the AHL in power-play goals (11) among all rookies.

Shots were 12-9 in favor of the Barracuda, but they trailed the Roadrunners 2-0 after 20 minutes.

The Barracuda cut the lead in half with 5:51 left in the second period. Adam Helewka tried to beat Adin Hill five-hole, but hit the left post. Ryan Carpenter proceeded to clean up the rebound for his 14th goal of the season.

Alex Schoenborn was called for cross-checking just as time expired at the 20-minute mark. Despite outshooting the Roadrunners 21-16, the Barracuda continued to trail 2-1 after 40 minutes.

Schoenborn served his cross-checking penalty during the first two minutes of the third period.

The action intensified midway through the period. Dakota Mermis was called for hooking at 12:38. Less than a minute later, Jamie McBain received a double minor for high-sticking Rourke Chartier.

In his postgame press conference, Barracuda head coach Roy Sommer confirmed Chartier was okay after taking a stick to the face.

Hill was called for delay of game with 20.5 seconds left in regulation. The Barracuda went on the power play, but were unable to capitalize with the man advantage, and their comeback fell short.

The Barracuda (43-16-2-5) dropped a 2-1 decision to the Roadrunners (27-31-8-0).

“I think our power play is kind of (good) and we got some weapons on there,” Colin Blackwell said when asked if there was anything his team could’ve improved on the power play. “I don’t think they have to really improve anything…I think if we just keep shooting, we’ll score on the power plays…It was just one of those nights where we didn’t get ahead of them, but they’re a good team and I expect them to that (capitalize on power plays) for the rest of the year.”

“I thought we were (real) flat,” Sommer said. “You know, especially the first 20 minutes, 25 minutes until we scored in the second (period) and then the game picked up a little bit.”

Notes
The Barracuda honored Grosenick’s AHL Goalie of the Year victory on the jumbotron. Fans gave him a big round of applause.

The Barracuda were without Zack Stortini as he served the first game of his two-game suspension after a controversial incident with the Stockton Heat Sunday. Stortini was accused of kneeling Heat defenseman Oliver Kylington.

The Barracuda went with six defenders: Joakim Ryan, Tim Heed, Mirco Mueller, Julius Bergman, Dan Kelly and Jacob Middleton.

Up Next
The Barracuda and Roadrunners return to action Thursday 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 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.

Barracuda Finish Weekend With Loss to Gulls

By Mary Walsh

photo credit: San Jose Barracuda–San Jose goaltender Aaron Dell was in the headlights as the San Diego Gulls made work on net in their 3-1 victory at SAP on Sunday

SAN JOSE– The San Diego Gulls beat the San Jose Barracuda by a score of 3-1 Sunday. The teams split the weekend meeting with a win each. Two goals were scored by Antoine Laganiere, and one by Matt Bailey for San Diego. Goaltender Anton Khudobin made 34 saves on 35 shots for the win. The Barracuda goal was scored by Ryan Carpenter, while Aaron Dell made 17 saves on 19 shots.

The Gulls took six penalties in all, the Barracuda took none. The Barracuda did have two goals discounted, which did not happen to the Gulls. Anton Khudobin was in net for the San Diego Gulls on Sunday. His backup ws Matt Hackett. Khudobin has played 99 NHL games with Boston, Carolina, Minnesota and Anaheim. Hackett has played in 26 NHL game with Buffalo and Minnesota. It would appear that the Anaheim Ducks are not taking any chances with goaltending this season.

Nevertheless, the less experienced Aaron Dell only let two pucks get by him, while Khudobin let three in. Two did not count but they did get by him.

San Diego scored less than four minutes into the game, when Barracuda goaltender Aaron Dell collected the puck behind the net and passed it forward, where a Gull was lurking. He made the initial save on the quick shot that followed, but in doing so he slid too far from the net. Matt Bailey caught the rebound and put it behind Dell for his third goal of the season. An assist went to Antoine Laganiere.

The fifteen minute mark approached and San Jose was still trying to get their second shot on goal, while San Diego had nine. They got it, in the course of a power play. Harry Zolnierczyk was in the box for slashing. The Barracuda got credit for three shots on that power play, but the score remained unchanged.

The Barracuda had one more shot in the period. The first ended with the score 1-0 and the shots 11-5 San Diego. The Barracuda made up some lost ground in the first few minutes of the second period, creeping closer on the shot clock and even almost scoring a goal off a peculiar bounce that coincided with some confusion in the Gulls’ zone. The goal did not count but the shots were 12-9 at that point. San Jose was on the hunt and San Diego was caught a little bit off guard.

The Barracuda completed the shot clock comeback with a power play at 6:27, a too many men penalty to San Diego. That power play went by with the score still 1-0 visitors. The shot clock read 14-13 Barracuda 102 seconds later, when the Gulls scored again, this time through a chaotic coverage breakdown by the Barracuda. The goal was Laganiere’s 12th of the season. Assists went to Corey Tropp and Matt Bailey. It was the second shot of the period for the Gulls.

The Barracuda had a third consecutive power play at 11:40 of the second. This time it was Stu Bickel in the box for tripping. Still no goal fro San Jose. At 14:02, San Jose had a fourth power play and San Diego still had none.

That fourth power play made all the difference. Karl Stollery carried the puck off the wall into the slot, where he sent it in the direction of Ryan Carpenter, who was at the side of the net with his stick ready for a deflection. Trevor Parkes was battling with a Gull in front of Khudobin so the goaltender never saw the shot coming. It was Carpenter’s 4th of the season. Assists went to Stollery and Barclay Goodrow.

The shot count for the second period was 19-4 Barracuda.

San Jose had their fifth power play at 3:12 of the third, thanks to a tripping penalty on Corey Tropp.

After a frustrating sequence in and out of the Gulls’ zone, the Barracuda finally connected on a pass or two and Nikolay Goldbin took a shot from near the goal line at 9:04 of the third. The puck went in, but the presence of a teal skater on the other side of the blue paint qualified as interference. He did not really seem to be in the way but that is how the officials called it. For the second time in the game, a Barracuda goal was waived off.

The sixth Barracuda power play came with a little more than eight minutes remaining in the third period. Joseph Cramarossa was the culprit, confined for high-sticking.

Dell came out of his net with just under two minutes left, but the additional skater did not make the difference. The final shot count was 35-19 Barracuda.

While no Barracuda player had more than three shots, eight different players finished the game with three. It was a solid effort.

The Barracuda next play on Wednesday, in San Jose at 7:30 PT, against the Ontario Reign.

Barracuda Cool Off Heat in 5-1 Win

By Mary Walsh

photo credit: San Jose Barracuda

SAN JOSE– The San Jose Barracuda trounced the Stockton Heat to the tune of 5-1 on Sunday. It was the Barracuda’s first game back from the holiday break, while the Heat were playing their second in two days. It may not have been a must-win for San Jose, but it certainly was a should-win. Barracuda goaltender Troy Grosenick made 31 saves on 32 shots. Barclay Goodrow scored two goals, Trevor Parkes, Petter Emanuelsson and Bryan Lerg scored the other three. Ryan Carpenter had two assists in the game. The lone Stockton goal was scored by Derek Grant.

Troy Grosenick in net for San Jose, Joni Ortio in net for Stockton. San Jose wore home whites and Stockton was in their red and black uniforms. Despite starting the game by chasing down Turner Elson in their own zone, the Barracuda quickly established themselves in the offensive zone and kept pressure on for several shifts.

The Heat pushed San Jose back in the third minute of play, though most of their progress was facilitated by Barracuda errors. Turnovers and ill-conceived passes almost combined to give Stockton the lead, but Troy Grosenick stopped the puck and allowed San Jose to regroup.

McNally had a very good shitft early in the first period. He stole the puck, intercepted passes, took a couple of shots, kept the puck in when it looked on its way out.

The Barracuda took the lead 7:49 into the first period. Nikolay Goldobin caught puck near boards behind goal line, shot it at Ortio’s pads, and had it come back to him. He shot it again, and Jeremy Langlois caught that rebound. Langlois shot it and Trevor Parkes deflected it in.

San Jose padded their lead less than two minutes later when Ryan Carpenter caught puck behind net and passed it to Gus Young at the point. Young shot it and Petter Emanuelsson caught the rebound and threw it past Ortio.

The Barracuda took the first penalty of the game at 12:06, Nikita Jevpalovs went to the box for high-sticking, but his teammates killed the penalty off.

With 5:54 left in the period, San Jose got a power play as Stockton’s Garet Hunt went to the box for slashing. The Heat penalty kill was as effective as the Barracuda one. After the power play ended, Stockton came on with renewed vigor. The Barracuda could not seem to get in passing lanes as the Heat came through the neutral zone, and San Jose found themselves trapped for a long spell, defending their zone. Grosenick had a couple of close calls but he kept the Heat off the board.

With 1:09 left in the period, the Barracuda’s Bryan Lerg went to the box for slashing. San Jose started the penalty kill with a short-handed rush, and when the play returned to the Barracuda zone, Grosenick made a good save through traffic, snuffing some energy from the Heat.

At the end of the first, the score was 2-0 Barracuda, and the shots were 14-10 Barracuda.

San Jose killed off the rest of the penalty to strt the second, and then followed up with another strong push.That was cut off by a penalty to Joakim Ryan for interference at 3:27.

The Heat power play was cut short when Emile Poirer was called for hooking at 4:09. The Barracuda made good use of their short power play when Karl Stollery took a shot from the point, while Goodrow and Carpenter waited at the net. Ortio scrambled to keep the puck out but Goodrow and Carpenter kept after it. Bryan Lerg arrived late as the puck came away from the scramble. He took the shot to give the home team a 3-0 lead. Assists went to Stollery and Carpenter.

Near the half way mark, a Stockton shot rang off the post in an unusual manner, triggering a video review that came to naught. The review did give the Barracuda a little time to rest up for a penalty kill, as McNally had just gone to the box for high-sticking.

With 8:27 remaining in the second, Barlcay Goodrow skated in to the Stockton zone and put a puck right under Ortio for a 4-0 lead. Stockton changed goalies after that, putting Kent Simpson in net.

Gallant and Ryan Lomberg exchanged blows after a questionable hit, and both went for five minutes. Kenny Agostini served the two minutes for Lomberg’s charging penalty.

The Barracuda power play was ineffective and almost as soon as it ended, Petter Emanuelsson went to the box for interference. The Stockton power play opened with a quick short-handed chance for San Jose. Grosenick’s shutout ended with that penalty, as the Heat took the puck round the outside of the Barracuda zone, ending with a near-the-goal-line shot from Derek Grant over Grosenick’s shoulder. Assists went to Jakub Nakladal and Morgan Klimchuk.

Another fight ensued, this time between Turner Elson and Julius Bergman. They joined Gallant and Lomberg in the box.

With almost three minutes remaining in the second, Mitchell Heard went to the box for cross-checking, giving the Barracuda another power play that they did not score on.

At the end of the second, the score was 4-1 and the shots 29-20 Barracuda.

The Barracuda did not have a shot through the first three minutes of the third period. Barclay Goodrow took one of their first shots of the period and scored his second goal of the game. Stockton goaltender Simpson tried to cover the puck in front of the blue paint, by falling forward onto it. The puck escaped him and Goodrow had a clear view of an open net. An assist went to Bergman.

The middle ten minutes of the period were relatively uneventful, save another Lomberg fight, this one with Greger Hanson. Another Heat power play came during the last six minutes, when Trevor Parkes went to the box for tripping. San Jose was pretty efficient at getting the pucks out without giving Stockton much time to shoot.

The Barracuda had yet another power play opportunity during the final two minutes, as Turner Elson went to the box for slashing.

Final score: 5-1 San Jose. Final shot count was 35-32 San Jose.

The Barracuda next play on Monday at 1:15 PST, against the visiting Charlotte Checkers.