NCAA basketball podcast with Michelle Richardson: Kentucky continues to roll blasts Vols; Zags stay perfect dump San Diego St; plus more

Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari shows his involvement against the Tennessee Vols on Sat Feb 20, 2021 in Knoxville Tenn (AP News photo)

On the NCAA basketball podcast with Michelle:

#1 No.8 Kentucky made it no contest with a 70-55 win over the No.19 Tennessee Vols. Four Kentucky players in double figures Isaiah Jackson led with 16 points and Davion Mintz followed up with 15 in the not even close contest.

#2 San Diego (3-8) didn’t have a chance they got landslided by Gonzaga (22-0) 106-69. The Zags Drew Timme led with 21 points and Jalen Suggs with 17.  Gonzaga remains undefeated.

#3 Michigan (16-1) and Ohio State (18-5), 92-87 Wolverines win it, Michigan high scorers Hunter Dickinson 22 and Eli Brooks 17 and Chaundee Brown had 15.

Michelle’s Final Thoughts

Join Michelle Sundays for the NCAA basketball podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NCAA podcast with Michelle Richardson Sun Feb 21, 2021 by Sports Radio Service | Free Listening on SoundCloud

Special teams key in Barracuda’s 3-2 win over Gulls

Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

San Diego may be America’s Finest City but it has been a House of Gorrors for the San Jose Barracuda for more than a year. Thanks to a late power play goal in the third period by Alex True, San Jose reversed their fortunes with a 3-2 regulation victory over the San Diego Gulls on Wednesday evening at Pechanga Arena.

It was the first victory in San Diego this season (1-3) and the first win since January 20, 2018. With the much-needed win, the Cuda have tied the Gulls for second place in the Pacific Division with 73 points.

True’s heroics came when Cavan Fitzgerald sent in a low shot from the point that gave captain John McCarthy a chance, but was initially stopped by the Gulls’ goalie Kevin Boyle. True pounced on the rebound and punched it in for his team-leading 23rd goal on the power play at 15:16 mark of the third period.

San Jose (33-20-3-4) drew first blood early in the first period. Jeffery Viel executed a big body check during a battle for a puck inside the Gulls’ zone that resulted in a loose puck gathered up by TJ Hensick. Hensick quickly fed it over to Dylan Gambrell, who snapped a wrist shot far side past Boyle (22-10-1) for his 18th goal of the season at the 6:30 mark.

The Cuda doubled their lead when Francis Perron fed a pass over to Nick DeSimone in the high slot. DeSimone wasted no time and fired a shot just underneath the glove of Boyle for his 12th goal of the season at the 13:44 mark.

San Diego (33-21-4-3) cut the lead in half with just three seconds left in the opening frame. Sam Carrick won a faceoff over to Chase De Leo, who fed it over to Ben Street, who wired a shot past Cuda goalie Antoine Bibeau (13-12-5) for his fifth goal of the season at the 19:57 mark.

The Gulls drew even late in the second period. Adam Cracknell was able to poke home a shot from close range for his 16th goal of the season at the 14:15 mark. The goal snapped six-game goal-less drought for Cracknell. Street and Brent Gates Jr. were credited with assists.

Despite outshooting the Gulls 13-5 in the middle frame, San Jose went into the second intermission tied up at 2-2.

In the third period, San Jose were in penalty trouble to start the third period. Their penalty kill unit responded by killing 1:18 of a 5-on-3 opportunity as Bibeau made some big saves to be the best penalty killer for the Cuda.

Bibeau, who played one of his best games of the season, was finally rewarded with a victory, making 23 saves on 25 shots to push his record to a game over the .500 mark. Boyle stopped 23 of the 26 pucks he faced in suffering the defeat.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 1/3 on the power play. San Diego was 0/3.

The announced attendance was 6,934.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda return back home to host the Ontario Reign on Friday, March 29 at 7:00 pm at SAP Center.

Gulls take down Barracuda 4-3

Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

The San Diego Gulls continued their dominance over the San Jose Barracuda as they scored three unanswered goals to hang on for a 4-3 victory on Friday evening at Pechanga Arena. It was San Diego’s fifth win in a row and fourth in a row over San Jose.

San Jose (19-7-1-3) drew first blood when Dylan Gambrell set up Vincent Praplan late in the first period. Praplan beat Gulls goalie Kevin Boyle (12-5-0) for his fourth goal of the season at the 16:28 mark. Kyle Wood received the secondary assist.

San Diego (16-11-1-3) tied it up with 11 seconds left in the opening frame. Maxim Letunov lost the puck in the Gulls zone when he blew a tire. It led to a 2-on-1 odd man rush where Troy Terry finished off a nice give-and-go with Joe Blandisi as he snapped home the puck past Cuda goalie Josef Korenar (13-2-1) for his 13th goal of the season. He now has six points in five games against San Jose.

Korenar stopped Ben Thomson on a break away half way through the second period.

Adam Cracknell gave the Gulls the lead when he was set up with a pretty touch pass from Chase De Leo on the left wing and snapped a wrister past Korenar for his fourth goal of the season at the 14:52 mark. Thomson received the secondary assist.

Terry gave San Diego a two-goal cushion with second goal of the night to open the third period. Once again, Blandisi fed a wide-open Terry, skated in from his left to his right and slid the puck past the five-hole of Korenar for his 14th goal of the season at the 1:32 mark. Terry now has five goals in five games against San Jose.

Gambrell gave life to San Jose with a power play goal. Nick DeSimone fed a pass over to the point to Gambrell who blasted a shot off the goal post into the back of the net for his ninth goal of the season at the 13:16 mark. With the goal, Gambrell is currently on a six-game point streak.

Blandisi put the game away with a power play goal late in the period. Andrej Sustr set up Blandisi, who had a three-point night, scored his seventh goal of the season at the 16:21 mark. Trevor Murphy received the secondary assist.

Jon Martin completed the scoring with a power play goal right as the horn sounded to end the game. Martin scored his fifth goal of the season at the 19:59 mark. Alex True and Gambrell received assists.

Boyle made 27 saves on 30 shots to earn his seventh victory in a row. Korenar made 22 saves on 26 saves in suffering only his second regulation loss of the season.

GAME NOTES: San Jose was 2/3 on the power play. San Diego was 1/4.

Defenseman Jacob Middleton was called up to the San Jose Sharks earlier in the day to help fill a roster position with Radim Simek out with an upper body injury.

Francis Perron was out of the lineup due to a lower body injury. He will miss the rest of the road trip this weekend.

Perron, Middleton and Korenar will represent the Cuda at the 2019 AHL All-Star Game as they were selected to the Pacific Division team earlier this week. The game will be played in Springfield, Massachusetts on January 28th.

The announced attendance was 10,253.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda conclude their road trip up in Ontario as they take on the Reign on Saturday, January 5 at 6:00 pm at Citizens Bank Arena.

Three takeaways from San Jose State’s heartbreaking 16-13 loss at San Diego State

Photo credit: @SJSUSpartanFB

By: Ana Kieu

Oh where do I begin? Saturday night was a time for the San Jose State Spartans to redeem themselves, which they did against the San Diego State Aztecs, but fell short 16-13 at SDCCU Stadium. The Aztecs avoided an upset, thanks to their senior kicker John Baron II, who finished with a perfect 3-for-3 on field goals, including his late, go-ahead field goal that sealed the deal for his team.

Here are my three takeaways from San Jose State’s heartbreaking 16-13 loss at San Diego State.

Second week in a row
Senior kicker Bryce Crawford helped the Spartans to an early 6-0 lead after the first quarter. Crawford converted field goals of 42 and 24 yards, respectively.

This was the second week in a row where the Spartans scored first on a Crawford field goal. The Spartans gave everything the Aztecs were able to handle, and while their record hasn’t shown dominance, Crawford’s one heck of a kicker who’s one of the bright spots on the Spartan roster.

Not a great return
Quarterback Josh Love returned to the field following a concussion sustained against the Army Black Knights at Levi’s Stadium on Saturday, October 13.

Love was intercepted once on a fourth quarter pick by the Aztecs’ sophomore safety Tariq Thompson, who returned the ball to midfield. As a result, 15-yard penalty was assessed for a horse collar tackle, which placed the ball on the Spartan 35-yard line.

Limited amount
The Spartans limited the Aztecs to just 293 yards of total offense. This was the fewest yards the Spartans have given up to a FBS opponent since their 16-14 win over the Fresno State Bulldogs to close out the 2016 season.

Even though the Aztecs had three time consuming possessions that turned into scores and squeaked out a win in the end, the Spartans had almost nothing to be ashamed of. The Spartans simply have to watch the tape and prepare to host the UNLV Rebels inside CEFCU Stadium this Saturday at 3:30 pm PT.

San Jose State shows no quit, but San Diego State prevails 16-13 on Baron’s late field goal

Photo credit: @SJSUSpartanFB

By: Ana Kieu

The San Jose State Spartans left for sunny San Diego on Friday. Of course, the main reason behind their most recent business trip was to take on the San Diego State Aztecs at SDCCU Stadium in a lopsided Mountain West matchup on CBS Sports Network on Saturday night.

San Jose State, however, has to win the turnover battle. Last week, San Jose State fumbled the ball over four times and each one of those fumbles gave Army great field position and one fumble resulted in a scoop and score. San Jose State also had to improve their running game by bolstering their blocks and pass protection.

Enough about the San Jose State’s needs (and wants). Let’s get to the game recap, which has been written below.

San Jose State had one thing on their mind tonight and that was to beat San Diego State. That, of course, caused most, if not all, Aztec fans to openly laugh. Anyways, San Jose State’s locker room was decked with the players’ signature blue and gold helmets, which has always made a fashion statement. However, San Jose State was there to play San Diego State, not strut their stuff for a fashion show.

Spartans head coach Brent Brennan decided to make Josh Love the starting quarterback. The Aztecs won the coin toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff.

The Spartans wasted no time as Bryce Crawford opened the scoring with a 42-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead with 8:56 left in the first quarter. Just 2:31 later, Crawford made it a 6-0 game with a 24-yard field goal. Somewhere between those field goals, Jesse Osuna notched a fumble recovery, sparking San Jose State’s offensive prowess.

The Spartans led the Aztecs 6-0 at the end of the first quarter. But San Jose State had to be wary as they held a 3-0 lead over Army at the end of the first quarter last Saturday and then gave up 52 unanswered points.

Things escalated quickly as the Aztecs took advantage of the Spartans early in the second quarter. Chase Jasmin jumped into the end zone for a 1-yard rushing touchdown and John Baron kicked in the extra point to get ahead 7-6 at the 13:11 mark. After that, red fireworks lit up the clear, dark San Diego sky.

Baron kicked in the 36-yard field goal to put the Aztecs up 10-6 with 16 seconds left in the second quarter. The Spartans had a 1st and 10, but they took a knee to conclude the first half. San Diego State took a 10-6 lead to the locker room.

Baron kicked in the 22-yard field goal to expand the Aztecs’ lead 13-6 with 7:09 left in the third quarter. There were a lot of critics who were surprised the game was this close, but the Spartans’ offense and defense was able to tread water this time around.

Before everyone knew it, San Jose State evened the score 13-13 with 50 seconds left in the third quarter. Malike Roberson ran for a 1-yard rushing touchdown and Crawford kicked in the extra point to tie the game.

The Aztecs, however, went ahead 16-13 with 4:36 left in the fourth quarter. Baron kicked in the 51-yard field goal that sealed the deal.

San Jose State hasn’t won a road game since November 26, 2016 at Fresno State. The Spartans fought in a game that was supposed to be a blowout for the Aztecs, but their efforts simply weren’t enough as the Aztecs won a tight game, 16-13. With the loss, San Jose State falls to 0-7 (0-3 MW), while San Diego State improves to 6-1 (3-0 MW).

Notes
Spartans’ tight end Josh Oliver continues to be the national leader among tight ends. Oliver is #1 in the nation among tight ends with 5.5 receptions per game, #2 in the nation among tight ends with 66.8 yards per game and in the top 10 in the Mountain West Conference among all receivers in receptions as well as yards per game.

Spartans’ defensive end Boogie Roberts isn’t just a talented defensive end. Roberts is also a naturally born leader who is very well-spoken and that’s why he has been able to elevate his team’s performances on and off the field.

Up Next
The Spartans return home to host the UNLV Rebels next Saturday, October 27 at 3:30 pm PT on ATSN and KLIV 1590 AM.

San Jose State to meet with San Diego State on Saturday night

Photo credit: @SJSUSpartanFB

By: Ana Kieu

The winless San Jose State Spartans are coming off a tough loss to the Army Black Knights. Their next opponent, the San Diego State Aztecs, likely won’t make it any easier for them unless if they run out of gas. The last time these teams played each other, San Diego State blewout San Jose State 52-7 inside CEFCU Stadium in San Jose, Calif.

Here’s what you need to know about Saturday’s conference game between these teams.

Basic facts
San Jose State at San Diego State
Saturday, October 20, 2018
San Diego County Credit Union Stadium, San Diego, Calif., 7:30 pm PT
CBS Sports Network

San Jose State record
0-6, 0-2 Mountain West. Most recently, San Jose State lost to Army 52-3, on October 13. San Jose State’s last win was a 20-17 victory over Mountain West member Wyoming on November 25, 2017.

San Diego State record
5-1, 2-0 Mountain West. San Diego State made it five wins in a row with a 21-17 win over Air Force on October 12.

Series history
San Diego State leads the series, 20-19-2. San Diego State has wins in the last five meetings between these teams including a 38-34 triumph in San Diego on September 22, 2012 to end a 60-year winless streak in San Diego.

Play-by-play details
KLIV (1590 AM, San Jose) originates San Jose State football broadcasts. Justin Allegri calls the play-by-play. Kevin Richardson provides commentary. San Diego State’s broadcast begins at 7:00 pm PT with a pregame show.

Television
CBS Sports Network will provide play-by-play coverage of the San Jose State at San Diego State game. Carter Blackburn calls the play-by-play. Aaron Taylor provides analysis. John Schiffren is the sideline reporter. The live telecast is scheduled for 7:30 pm PT.

Road trip
For the first time since the September 22 game at Oregon, San Jose State has a road game. San Jose State recently completed their first three-game homestand in 11 seasons. Recently, San Jose State hosted Hawaii on September 29, Colorado State on October 6, and Army West Point (52-3) on October 13. In 2007, San Jose State hosted UC Davis, Idaho and Hawaii on consecutive weeks.

Road victory, maybe?
San Jose State’s last win on the road was a 16-14 victory over Fresno State to wrap up the 2016 season. Since then, San Jose State has been 0-8 on the road.

Feast or famine
In its last two games, San Jose State outscored its two opponents, Colorado State and Army, 30-24, in the third quarter. Against Colorado State, San Jose State overcame a 28-0 halftime deficit to take a 30-28 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Against Army West Point, a 14-3 halftime deficit mushroomed into San Jose State trailing 38-3 after three quarters.

Interception streak ends
San Jose State’s six-game streak intercepting a pass, which began with the 2017 regular season finale against Wyoming ended following the Army West Point loss. Army was 2-of-5 passing for 54 yards and a touchdown. San Jose State has nine interceptions in the first six games this season and are tied tenth nationally in pass interceptions.

Three offensive lines so far
After six games, San Jose State has used three different starting offensive line combinations. Although Jackson Snyder, Troy Kowalski and Jake Colman have started in every game this season, none of the three have started every game at the same position.

Snyder opened the season at right tackle and has been the starting left tackle since the Washington State. Kowalski moved from left tackle to left guard and Colman moved from left guard to right guard in the same game.

Trevor Robbins had started each of the first five games at center. Kyle Hoppe replaced Robbins in the starting lineup against Army West Point. Deano Motes now has five starts at right tackle. Jesse Chamberlain started the opener at right guard.

Spartan nation, don’t forget you can call or text (408) 924-7589 for San Jose State football tickets. Enjoy Saturday’s game on CBS Sports Network and/or KLIV 1590 AM.

2018 season off to a good start as the Cardinal rout the SDSU Aztecs 31-10

Photo credit: @StanfordFball

By Jerry Feitelberg

STANFORD — The Stanford Cardinal avenged the stunning upset loss to the San Diego State Aztecs last year. The Cardinal offense had trouble getting going in the first half. The Aztec defense shut down the Cardinal’s running game as they held Bryce Love in check. K.J. Costello did not get the passing game going until late in the first half. The Cardinal led 9-7 at the half, and the Aztecs knew they had a chance to pull off another upset. That did not happen as the Cardinal offense came to life in the second half and the best the Aztec offense could do against the Cardinal defense was a field goal. The Cardinal won the game 31-10 at Stanford Stadium on Friday night.

On the opening drive, the Cardinal took the ball down to the Aztec 20-yard line. The key play on the drive was a 21-yard pass play from Costello to JJ Arcega-Whiteside. The drive stalled at the 20 and Jet Toner was asked to kick a 38-yard field goal. The usually reliable Toner’s attempt went wide and the Cardinal came up empty.

The Cardinal defense appeared to have the Aztecs pinned in their end of the field. However, Aztec QB Christian Chapman Completed an 8-yard pass to Parker Houston for a first down. Running back Juwan Washington ripped off runs of 22, 10, and 40 yards to get SDSU down to the Cardinal’s 4-yard line. Washington ran the ball into the end zone for the first score of the game. The extra point was good, and the Aztecs were ahead 7-0 with 2:38 left in the first quarter. The Aztecs went on an 8-play, 92-yard drive that took 4:14 off the clock.

In the second period, the Cardinal defense stiffened and forced the Aztecs to punt. The 50-yard punt was fielded by Connor Wedington. He returned the punt 12 years but appeared to fumble the ball on Stanford’s 35-yard line. The call was challenged, and it was reversed when the review showed the ground caused the fumble. Stanford retained possession. There were 11 minutes left in the first half. The Aztecs defense forced Stanford to punt. Jake Bailey’s 63-yard punt went out of bounds at the Aztec one-yard line. It was third down and six from the Aztec 5-yard line. The Cardinal defense pressured Chapman to run into the end zone. ILB Bobby Okereke tackled Chapman for a safety. The Cardinal trailed 7-2 and will get possession of the ball. The Aztec defense stymied the Cardinal once again, and they had to punt the ball away with 6:02 left in the second quarter. The Cardinal finally scored a touchdown with just 27 seconds left in the half. The Cardinal went on a 3-play, 54-yard drive. The key play was a 38-yard pass from Costello to Arcega-Whiteside for the score. The extra point was good, and the Cardinal has the 9-7 advantage. The stats showed the Cardinal were not able to get the running game going. They rushed for a total of just 15 yards Heisman Trophy candidate Bryce Love had 10 carries for seven yards. Costello completed 12 passes in 19 attempts good for 141 yards. SDSU’s Juwan Washington carried the ball 17 times for 114 yards and one touchdown.

The Cardinal kicked off to the Aztecs to start the third quarter. The Stanford defense stopped the Aztec offense and forced them to kick. The Cardinal received the ball on the Aztec 49-yard-line. Costello engineered a 49-yard drive in 4 plays that culminated with a 19-yard strike to JJ Arcega-Whiteside in the end zone for the touchdown. Toner converted the extra point. Stanford leads 16-7 with 11:02 left to play in the third period. Stanford’s kickoff went out of the end zone for a touchback. The Aztecs then went on a 62-yard drive from their own 25-yard line. The drive stalled on Stanford’s 11-yard line. The Aztecs made a 30-yard field goal to tail the Cardinal 16-10 with 6:49 left in the quarter. Stanford was at its own 20-yard line and having trouble moving the ball. The Aztec defense was putting pressure on Costello, but he eluded the pass rush and found Arcega-Whiteside streaking down the far sideline. The Aztec defender fell down, and Arcega-Whiteside has his third touchdown of the night. The Cardinal converted the two-point conversion (Costello to Arcega-Whiteside again) to increase the lead to 24-10.

The Cardinal scored with 10:54 left in the game to take a 31-10 lead. Stanford went on a 68-yard drive in 7 plays culminating with a 19-yard strike from Costello to tight end Colby Parkison for the score. The extra point was good.

Stats: K.J.Costello had a terrific evening. He completed 21 passes in 31 attempts good for 332 yards, four touchdowns and one interception.

But the running game for Stanford was nonexistent. Bryce Love could not get anything going. He had 18 touches, and all he could muster was a measly 29 yards.

JJ Arcega-Whiteside was Costello’s favorite receiver Friday night. Arcega-Whiteside had six receptions for 226 yards and three touchdowns.

Aztecs quarterback Christian Chapman was 10-for-15 passing for 113 yards.

Cardinal running back Juwan Washington had 24 carries for 158 yards and one touchdown.

40,913 fans watched the Cardinal win their first game of the 2018 season.

Up Next: The Cardinal will host the USC Trojans at Stanford Stadium next Saturday. The game will start at 8:30 pm PDT and will be televised on FOX.

Gulls respond with three unanswered goals in 3-2 overtime win over Barracuda

Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Dennis Rasmussen scored the game-winning goal with over two minutes left in overtime as the San Diego Gulls (25-17-1-0) completed a 3-2 comeback victory over the San Jose Barracuda (21-18-2-3) Saturday afternoon at the SAP Center.

After successfully killing off a Barracuda power play that transferred over from the third period, Rasmussen was able to skate down the left wing on a 2-on-1 opportunity and was able to beat Cuda goalie Troy Grosenick (5-8-3) with a wrist shot just inside the left post at the 2:41 mark of overtime. It was Rasmussen’s third goal on the season.

There wasn’t much offense generated in a penalty-filled first period that saw neither team convert on their power play chances. The Barracuda had a four-minute advantage when Corey Tropp went into the sin bin for a double-minor high-sticking penalty.

However, an interference penalty by Tim Heed negated Tropp’s penalty. Both combined for only nine shots on goal.

The Barracuda would strike first after a clean faceoff win by Alex True, defenseman Paul Martin sent a shot in from the point that deflected off the skate of Gulls defenseman Steven Olesky right on to the body of Emerson Clark and into the back of net past Gulls goalie Kevin Boyle (14-8-1) for his fifth goal of the season at the 11:15 mark of the second period.

Brandon Bollig gave the Cuda a 2-0 lead when he tapped home a rebound of a Jon Martin shot for his eighth goal on the season. The goal came on a 2-on-1 opportunity created by Martin at the Gulls blueline at the 16:52 mark of the second period. Michael Brodzinski received the secondary assist.

“It’s been a long time coming,” said Bollig, after ending his long scoring draught. “Droughts like that are gonna happen. Unfortunately, it lasted a little longer than I would’ve liked. We could use that extra scoring and that’s what I’m looking to keep going.”

San Diego wouldn’t go quietly into that good afternoon as Kevin Roy would cut the lead early in the third period when the Cuda turned over the puck in the neutral zone. Sam Carrick was able to feed Roy open along the left boards and he was able to skate in and rifle a shot past Grosenick for his ninth goal of the season at the 3:08 mark.

The Gulls would tied the score just 87 seconds later as Carrick skated into the Cuda zone and his shot deflected off a skate right into the hands of Eric Fehr, who buried it past Grosenick for his 14th goal on the season at the 4:35 mark.

“A two minute burst, they score a couple of goals,” said Cuda head coach Roy Sommer. “We kinda were back on our heels a bit.”

Things would get nasty when Mike Liambas landed a vicious elbow to the upper body of an unsuspecting Marcus Sorensen five and half minutes into the third period. Sorensen would leave the ice under his own power. The hit lit a spark under the Cuda as the hitting picked up by both teams in the final 10 minutes of the third period.

The Cuda had scoring chances late in the third period and early in the overtime, but were the victims of bad luck as they hit two posts with a puck rolling just past the goal into the corner.

“We had some point blankers,” said Sommer. “We hit a cross bar, hit two posts. Hey I liked the way we played. I wish we had a better outcome. We play like that, we’re going to win a lot more (games) than we lose.”

Boyle had a busy afternoon making 37 saves on 39 shots for the victory. Grosenick, arguably the most hard luck goaltender in the AHL, made 21 saves on 24 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: Both teams were 0/4 on the power play.

San Diego came into the game with the best power play in the AHL at over 24%, with a 38% success rate against San Jose.

The announced attendance was 3,162.

UP NEXT: San Jose looks for revenge Sunday afternoon against the San Diego Gull at SAP Center. Face off is scheduled for noon PT.

Barracuda lose 3-2 and get swept by Gulls in weekend series

Photo credit: @sjbarracuda

By: Ana Kieu

The San Jose Barracuda were looking to write a positive page against the San Diego Gulls in 2018 and rebound from a two-game losing skid at the Valley View Casino Center on Saturday night.

Previously, the Barracuda matched a franchise high with 46 shots on net, but suffered a 5-0 blowout from the Gulls on Jan. 5.

The Barracuda’s starting lineup featured Emerson Clark, John McCarthy, Adam Helewka, Jacob Middleton, Mike Brodzinski and Troy Grosenick.

Grosenick made a noteworthy save to open the first period. Shots were 8-6 in favor of the Gulls midway through the first, but the Barracuda picked up the pace as time went by.

Radim Simek was called for cross-checking and the Barracuda went on the penalty kill for the remainder of the first.

The Barracuda put 16 shots on goal, but they left the first scoreless against the Gulls.

The Gulls drew first blood with a power play goal for a 1-0 lead at 14:38. Eric Fehr poked in the rebound for his team-leading 11th goal of the season.

Filip Sandberg scored what looked like a goal off a strange bounce, but the officials waived it off, claiming they saw a high stick. No goal for San Jose.

The Barracuda tied the score at one apiece with an unassisted goal from Adam Helewka with 5:01 left in the second.

Both teams ended up in the same place, but this time around, the Barracuda and Gulls each scored a goal apiece after the second. Shots were 30-23 in favor of San Jose.

Joe Blandisi redirected Marcus Pettersson’s one-timer just eight seconds into the man advantage for a power play goal–his fifth of the season–at 17:46.

The Gulls’ lead was short-lived as Emerson Clark scored off of a point-blank opportunity at 16:04.

Just when you thought the Gulls were ready to give up on the game, San Diego regained the lead, 3-2, on Sam Carrick’s wrist shot en route to the opposing net.

Despite leading in shots, 42-30, midway through the third, San Jose trailed San Diego 3-2.
The Barracuda still had a chance as they went on the power play while the Gulls’ switched on their penalty kill, which eventually worked.

The Barracuda lost to the Gulls 3-2 on the road.

Notes
USA Hockey announced on January 1 during the second intermission of the Winter Classic between the New York Rangers and Buffalo Sabres at Citi Field in New York that San Jose Barracuda captain John McCarthy had been selected to the United States men’s ice hockey team for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games. The Olympics will be held from Feb. 9-25 in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

The AHL announced on Thursday that Barracuda goalie Antoine Bibeau has been selected to represent San Jose at the 2018 All-Star game in Utica, N.Y., later this month.

Barracuda rookie forward Rudolfs Balcers added another assist in San Jose’s last game and now ranks T-10th in the AHL among first-year players in points (23) and T-sixth in assists (16). Balcers leads the Barracuda in points, assists, and is tied with Danny O’Regan and Brandon Bollig for the team lead in goals with seven.

Barracuda head coach and Bay Area native Roy Sommer collected his 700th AHL win of his career on Dec. 3 at Bakersfield, 2-1. Sommer is the first coach in the 82-year history of the AHL to reach 700 coaching wins.

Six players from the Barracuda’s 2017 Calder Cup playoff roster are now on the San Jose Sharks (Marcus Sorensen, Tim Heed, Barclay Goodrow, Timo Meier, Joakim Ryan and Kevin Labanc).

Up Next 
The Barracuda return to SAP Center on Tuesday, January 9, where they’ll host the San Antonio Rampage  at 7 pm PT.

Cal Bears Mens Basketball Podcast: Morris Phillips and Michael Duca discuss Cal’s shocking win at San Diego State

Photo credit: San Diego Union Tribune

On the Cal Men’s basketball podcast with Morris & Michael:

The Cal Bears in their last contest at San Deigo State University last Saturday led for most of that game in which Cal won it 62-61 and the game with Central Arkansas that was played on Wednesday, December 6th at Cal in which Central Arkansas won by a convincing margin 96-69. Central Arkansas did catch UCLA coming back from China with the shoplifting incident and took them to overtime in Pauley Pavilion and lost 106-101.

You have to consider them capable even when their not playing Cal, but on Cal’s part, they went to San Diego and won, led most of the game and put up with boisterous Viejas Arena. The Bears own offense efficiency so far this year is really surprising the one thing that wasn’t surprising that happened on Saturday in San Diego and the Bears were able to put up that 13 point lead with 13 minutes to go in the game. Things got really tough for them and they went 12 full minutes and scored five points and only rescued themselves by scoring the last five points of the game.

Cal host Cal State Fullerton Saturday at 1:00PM at Haas Pavilion.

Morris does the Cal Bears basketball podcast each Monday and then Tuesday nights with Michael Duca at http://www.sportsradioservice.com