Heat edge Barracuda 3-1, win season series 9-1

San Jose Barracuda couldn’t catch up to the Stockton Heat at the SAP Center on Sun Apr 3, 2022 closing out their season series for 2021-22 (image from the San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Some endings come mercifully.

The crescendo for the San Jose Barracuda in their season series with the Stockton Heat concluded with a 3-1 victory by the Pacific Division leading Heat on Sunday afternoon at SAP Center.

San Jose has tied its season worst losing streak of seven games with nine game remaining. Stockton has won eight of their past nine games as they continue to lead the AHL in points with 87. San Jose went 1-7-1-1 against their division rival this season.

Neither team was able to breakthrough on the scoreboard in the scoreless first period.

San Jose had jump in their legs to begin the game and outplayed Stockton in the opening frame as the outshot the Heat 10-5.

“I thought our compete was there tonight,” said ‘Cuda head coach Roy Sommer. “We didn’t give up much after the first two periods. Way better effort from everyone. I thought everyone gave it their best tonight.”

Stockton (41-12-4-1) drew first blood on the power play to open the second period. A shot from the left slot pinballed around in the crease before Byron Froese poked the puck home for his 18th goal of the season at the 2:34 mark.

The Heat needed just six seconds to double its lead as they scored on the next shift. Johannes Kinnvall found Connor Zary just inside the blue line. Zary snapped a wrist shot past ‘Cuda goalie Alex Stalock for his 11th goal of the season.

Stalock kept San Jose (20-36-2-2) in the game with a brilliant desperation save near the halfway mark of the middle frame. Martin Pospisil had an empty net to shoot at but his quick shot was gloved out of mid air by Stalock while he was down on his stomach leaving a bewildered Pospisil in utter disbelief.

“He (Stalock) made some big stops for us when it counted. He gave a chance to win. We only got two goals by their goalie Wolf (in two games). You’re going to need more than two goals to beat that team,” Sommer said.

San Jose cut the lead in the half on the power play to start the third period. Artemi Kniazev blasted a slap shot past Heat goalie Dustin Wolf for his sixth goal of the season at the 1:38 mark.

Justin Kirkland added an empty net goal with 57 seconds left to seal the deal for Stockton. It was his 18th goal of the season.

Wolf finished the afternoon stopping 27 of the 28 shots he faced in sweeping San Jose this weekend. Stalock, who played his best game since being acquired by San Jose, made 25 saves on 27 shots in the losing effort as the ‘Cuda failed to get give him any goal support this weekend.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 1-for-7 on the power play. Stockton was 1-for-4.

‘Cuda backup goalie Zachary Emond flew in from Orlando earlier today and flew into the Bay Area an hour and a half before the opening faceoff.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Wolf 2) Zary 3) Stalock

UP NEXT: San Jose travels out to Bakersfield to take on the Condors on Wednesday 4/5 at 10:30am at Mechanics Bank Arena.

Heat beat up on the Barracuda in 7-1 win

Read and weep the San Jose Barracuda get crushed in a six goal contest against the Stockton Heat at the Stockton Arena on Sat Apr 2, 2022 (image by the San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

The San Jose Barracuda are down to one goalie.

Starting goalie Zachary Sawchenko suffered an undisclosed injury in the first period and did not return as the Stockton Heat dominated the San Jose Barracuda in a 7-1 victory on Saturday evening at Stockton Arena.

Stockton has won six of their last seven games as they lead the Pacific Division with 85 points. San Jose has lost six games in a row and anchor the bottom of the division with 44 points with nine games left to play.

San Jose (20-35-2-2) actually drew first blood 68 seconds into the game. Lane Pedersen blasted a shot on net that was initially stopped by Heat goalie Dustin Wolf. Mason Jobst, who played in his second game with the ‘Cuda, cleaned up a big rebound for his first goal as member of the Barracuda and his fifth overall on the season at the 1:08 mark.

Stockton (40-12-4-1) responded at the 7:24 mark with a power play goal. Justin Kirkland fired on a shot on net that redirected by Connor Zary past Sawchenko for his 10th goal of the season.

The Heat took the lead with 1:04 left in the opening frame with a short-handed goal. Eetu Tuuola finished off a three-on-two odd man rush with a wrist shot to the near post for his 12th goal of the season.

Alex Stalock replaced Sawchenko to start the second period. Sawchenko finished with 12 saves on 14 shots.

Stockton scored two late goals in the second period for a comfortable 4-1 lead.

Tuuola scored his second goal of the game and 13th of the season when he cleaned up the rebound off of a Byron Froese shot at the 14:34 mark.

Then just over four minutes later when Matthew Phillips took advantage of a Barracuda turnover inside their own zone. Phillips buried a wrist shot past Stalock after receiving the gift for his 26th goal of the season.

Stockton put the game away with three goals in the third period.

Glenn Gawdin scored his 14th goal of the season at the 2:52 mark. Phillips scored his second goal of the game at the 11:17 mark. Adam Ruzcika completed the scoring with his 11th goal with 15 second remaining.

Wolf finished the evening stopping 24 of the 25 shots he faced to earn the victory. Stalock made 22 saves on 27 shots in mop-up duty.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 0-for-1 on the power play. Stockton was 1-for-2.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Tuuola 2) Phillips 3) Kirkland

UP NEXT: San Jose concludes its season series with Stockton on Sunday 4/3 at 3:00pm at SAP Center.

Heat edge Barracuda 3-1; San Jose looses two of last three games

The San Jose Barracuda defenseman Artemi Knyazev (25) skates against the Stockton Heat at the SAP Center in San Jose on Tue Mar 22, 2022 (file photo from the San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE— The Stockton Heat scored two unanswered goals in the third period to defeat the San Jose Barracuda 3-1 on Tuesday evening at SAP Center.

San Jose has lost two out of its past three games. Stockton leads the Pacific Division with 79 points as they have won two games in a row. This was a make-up game that was originally scheduled back on December 29th, 2021.

The Barracuda (20-30-2-2) drew first blood early in the first period when Brinson Pasichnuk scored his first goal of the season at the 1:32 mark. Kyle Topping received the only assist on Pasichnuk’s goal.

Stockton (37-11-4-1) answered back just past the midway point of the opening frame. Matthew Phillips scored an unassisted goal, his 25th of the season, at the 11:18 mark.

There was no scoring during the second period despite Stockton outshooting San Jose 19-11 in the middle frame. Both Dustin Wolf and Zachary Sawchenko kept the game tied heading into the second intermission.

The Heat scored what proved to be the game winning goal just past the halfway mark of the the third period. Justin Kirkland scored his 15th goal of the season, with help from Juuso Valimaki, at the 11:22 mark.

Stockton sealed the deal with an empty goal from Kevin Gravel, his third of the season, at the 18:37 mark when San Jose pulled Sawchenko for an extra attacker.

Wolf finished the evening stopping 25 of the 26 shots he faced to earn the victory. Sawchenko, played brilliant in his first start since being sent back down to the Barracuda, as had 40 saves on 42 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 0-for-4 on the power play. Stockton was 0-for-3.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Sawchenko 2) Kirkland 3) Pasichnuk.

UP NEXT: San Jose continues its five game homestand hosting the Abbotsford Canucks on Thursday 3/24 at 7:00pm at Solar4America Ice at San Jose.

Barracuda give it their best effort but can’t hang on lose to Tucson 4-3 in OT

The San Jose Barracuda’s left winger Jayden Halbgewachs (89) and goaltender Zachary Edmond (35) prepare to defend the net against the Tucson Roadrunners offense at Tucson Arena on Fri Mar 18, 2022 (photo from the San Jose Barracuda)

By Len Shapiro

The San Jose Barracuda (19-30-2) gave it all they had but just couldn’t hold onto the lead at Tucson Arena. The Barracuda down two goals came back in the third period to knot it up 3-3 to force overtime. The Barracuda were outshot in the shootout and dropped their second of this three game series 4-3 to the Tucson Roadrunners (18-28-4).

The Barracuda did have one positive outcome from Friday night’s thriller they continue to put the puck in the net on the power play they did it twice to later tie the Roadrunners. In the first period San Jose got help from Joachim Blichfeld. It was the ninth power play goal this season scoring in the first 27 seconds on the game.

San Jose’s Lane Pederson continues to be consistent scoring in his third straight game and notching his fifth goal of the season scoring in five of his last six games. In facing the Roadrunners Pederson’s former team he has got revenge on his old teammates scoring a goal in each of the three games he’s faced them.

Jayden Halbgewachs who hadn’t scored a goal in five games picked up one on Friday night for his 15th of the season. Halbgewachs third period goal was the tying goal and it couldn’t have come at a better time marking his sixth power play goal for the 2021-22 campaign.

The Barracuda goaltender Zach Edmond playing in his seventh game for San Jose (3-2-2) had his hands full trying to stop the Roadrunners who kept him standing on his head all night. Edmond stopped 33 shots allowing four goals.

Barracuda head coach Roy Sommer has one big take away from Friday night’s game and that the Barracuda have now scored multiple power play goals over their last seven games. While the power play has improved the Barracuda have now lost three of their four games.

The Barracuda are 1-1 in this series with the Roadrunners and play the rubber game of this match tonight at Tucson Arena for a 7:00pm PDT face off. The Barracuda return back to SAP Center in San Jose on Tue Mar 22 to host the Stockton Heat the last time these two teams met the Heat beat the Barracuda by three goals 6-3 on Sat Mar 12th at Stockton Arena.

Barracuda lose to Heat in three goal loss 6-3; San Jose opens three game series starting Wed in Tucson

Emilio Petterson (46) of the Stockton Heat gets a penalty shot goal in the third period against the San Jose Barracuda goaltender Alexi Melnichuk (1) at the Stockton Arena on Sat Mar 12, 2022 (photo from the San Jose Barracuda)

By Len Shapiro

The Stockton Heat (34-9-4) turned things up on the San Jose Barracuda (18-29-2) on Saturday night with a 6-3 win. With the loss the Barracuda are now 1-4-1 against the Heat. The Barracuda’s Jasper Weatherby scored his third goal of the season in the first period.

For Weatherby he has scored all three of his goals over his last three games. For Barracuda head coach Roy Sommer that says alot about going with the hot hand. To show you how effective Weatherby has been he has executed his goals on the power play each time.

Jake McGrew who went without a goal in 11 games found the back end of the net scoring his ninth goal of the season in the second period. The Barracuda’s Lane Pederson scored on a power play goal as well and has scored seven points in seven games.

The power play despite the loss on Saturday has been working for the Barracuda they have gone 2-4 against the Heat and have scored on multiple power play goals in five of their last seven games.

Look out for the Heat’s Emilio Petterson who scored twice including on a penalty shot in the third period against the Barracuda. This was the second time the Barracuda had been penalized and had to face the penalty shot this season. The first one didn’t score but Petterson got the red light on the second penalty shot of the season against the Barracuda.

The Barracuda will get a break from the Heat and open up a three game series against the Tucson Roadrunners on Wed Mar 16th in Tucson all three games run on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Barracuda look to come back tonight in Stockton; Concludes home at home series with Heat

The San Jose Barracuda after taking a one goal overtime loss to the Stockton Heat Fri Mar 11, 2022 at SAP Center in San Jose look to avenge the loss Sat Mar 12, 2022 to conclude the two game home at home series at Stockton Arena (image by the San Jose Barracuda)

On the Barracuda podcast with Marko:

#1 The San Jose Barracuda (18-28-2) lost 6-5 in a shootout to the Stockton Heat (32-9-4) on Friday. It was the eighth straight home loss against the Heat for the Barracuda.

#2 The Barracuda got goals from Joachim Blichfield, Eban Weinger, Artemi Kniazev, John Leonard. Goaltender Zachary Emond made 34 saves in the loss. It was Kniazev’s first pro multi-goal game.

#3 The first period was scoreless with the Barracuda outshooting the Heat 14-8. The penalty box saw some traffic with the Heat taking three penalties to the Barracuda’s two.

#4 On Friday night the Barracuda Joachim Blichfeld scored got a goal and now leads San Jose in points with with 33. Blichfeld is tied for the team lead in goals.

#5 The Barracuda and Heat went six rounds in the overtime shootout on Friday and San Jose dropped to 2-1 in shootouts for the season. Marko do you see these teams evenly matched at times they played a close game Friday and the two teams match up again tonight in Stockton at 6:00 pm PST.

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

Barracuda Fall 6-5 to Heat in Shootout

Tough close loss for the San Jose Barracuda against the Stockton Heat at SAP Arena in San Jose on Fri Mar 11, 2022 (image from the San Jose Barracuda)

By Mary Walsh

SAN JOSE- The San Jose Barracuda (18-28-2) lost 6-5 in a shootout to the Stockton Heat (32-9-4) on Friday. It was the eighth straight home loss against the Heat for the Barracuda. Emilio Pettersen, Jakob Pelletier, Mark Simpson, Walker Duehr and Matthew Phillips scored for Stockton. Adam Werner made 20 saves for the win. The Barracuda got goals from Joachim Blichfield, Eban Weinger, Artemi Kniazev, John Leonard. Zachary Emond made 34 saves in the loss. It was Artemi Kniazev’s first pro multi-goal game.

The first period was scoreless with the Barracuda outshooting the Heat 14-8. The penalty box saw some traffic with the Heat taking three penalties to the Barracuda’s two. The last of those penalties were matching roughing penalties to Connor Mackey and Jasper Weatherby.

The second period saw a flurry of scoring, starting with Joachim Blichfield’s goal at 2:07. Kyle Topping set Blichfield up for the one-timer with a circle to circle pass. Assists went to Topping and Santeri Hatakka.

Stockton’s Emilio Pettersen tied it up less than 30 seconds later, redirecting a shot from Mark Simpson.

Eban Weinger scored to give San Jose the lead back at 4:53, muscling his was past Kevin Gravel to get to the net. Assists went to Sasha Chmelevski and Jake McGrew.

Jakob Pelletier tied it again at 6:05. Matthew Phillips slipped by Ryan Merkley and then chased the puck down to make a diving pass across to Pelletier for the shot.

San Jose took their third lead of the game at 16:51 on their third shot of the period. Stockton’s Nick DeSimone lost his footing as he carried the puck behind his net and went down. John Leonard was right behind him to pick up the loose puck and carry it up the boards. Leonard passed it to Artemi Kniazev, who had just entered the zone. Kniazev took the shot and beat Werner on the stick side. Assists went to Leonard and Hatakka.

The shot count was 13-3 Stockton. The only penalty of the period went to Kyle topping for slashing, at 19:29. That put the Barracuda on the penalty kill to start the third period.

The Barracuda killed that off and then added to their lead with another goal from Kniazev. John Leonard made a short pass up the ice to where Kniazev was moving to the net. Kniazev took the shot from low in the circle and beat Werner through the five hole.

Mark Simpson cut San Jose’s lead back to one at 5:24. Justin Kirkland took a shot from the blue line and Simpson cleaned up the rebound.

John Leonard scored on the power play to make it 5-3 San Jose with a backhand at 6:11. That was the first power play goal against Stockton in 17 tries. Chmelevski and Kniazev got the assists.

Walker Duehr scored for Stockton at 9:53. His spin shot went off of the post. Kevin Gravel got the assist.

Matthew Phillips made it a tie game at 18:21 on a power play with the Stockton net empty. Phillips got his stick on the the puck as it slid out of a scrum at the net. Assists went to Jakob Pelletier and Juuso Valimaki.

The Barracuda were outshot again in the third period, 17-5. The overtime period was lively with a lot of chances for both teams but no goals. The Sharks had three shots and Stockton got none on net.

The first six shooters in the shootout scored, but the goaltenders found their groove in the next two rounds and stopped four shooters. In the sixth round, Johannes Kinnvall scored and Werner made a save on Jake McGrew to win it.

The Barracuda will play again on Saturday, in Stockton against the Heat at 6:00 PM PT.

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Leonard might be what the doctor ordered with hat trick and player of the week award

The San Jose Barracuda forward John Leonard (47) who scored a hat trick and was named the AHL Player of the week did it against the Tucson Roadrunners on Sun Mar 6, 2022 (photo by Kavin Mistry)

On the SJ Barracuda podcast with Marko:

#1 Marko, talk about the San Jose Barracuda (17-28-2) forward John Leonard being named the AHL player of the week. Leonard scored his second hat trick of the season against the Tucson Roadrunners (17-26-3) on Sunday night helping the Cuda to a three goal 6-2 win.

#2 Lane Peterson scored a goal and got an assist after playing four games and has five points.

#3 The Barracuda Nick Merkley picked up tenth goal of the season and got an assist against the Roadrunners on Sunday. The goal was his fourth in five games.

#4 The Barracuda right winger Joachim Blichfeld who has 17 goals put in his eighth power play goal Sunday against the Roadrunners and is tops in points with 32 for San Jose.

#5 Marko, the Barracuda head to Ontario to face the Reign on Wednesday night in Ontario at 7:00pm (PST) a tough place to place and the Barracuda are looking for their second straight win.

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

Heat upend Barracuda 4-3 with Valimaki’s OT winner

It takes two to tango the Stockton Heat’s left winger Alex Gallant (20) and the San Jose Barracuda defenseman Montana Onyebuchi (79) mix it up at the Stockton Arena on Sat Mar 5, 2022 (photo by the San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

Every point is a critical one for the San Jose Barracuda.

They overcame a two-goal deficit in the third period but weren’t able to pick up the second point in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Stockton Heat on Saturday evening at Stockton Heat.

Juuso Valimaki scored 52 seconds in the extra session, his second of the season, to give the Pacific Division leaders their 31st win of the season.

San Jose have lost two out of its past three games. Stockton snapped its two-game losing streak and still only have single digit losses in regulation.

Stockton (31-9-4-1) drew first blood early in the first period. Nick DeSimone made one move around a Barracuda defender before firing a wrist shot at the net that was tipped past ‘Cuda netminder Alexei Melnichuk by Luke Philp for his 17th goal of the season at the 3:50 mark.

The Heat doubled its lead just past the halfway mark of the opening frame. Emilio Pettersen centered a pass from behind the net to Walker Duehr who buried a wrist shot past Melnichuk for his sixth goal of the season at the 10:37 mark.

San Jose (16-28-2-0) were even with Stockton on the shot clock with nine shots but weren’t able to get nothing past Heat netminder Dustin Wolf.

The Barracuda cut the lead in half midway through the second period. Dillon Hamaliuk led an odd man rush into the Heat zone. Hamaliuk found Sasha Chmelevski all alone in front of the crease and the Orange County native beat Wolf with a one-timer for his 10th goal of the season at the 10:04 mark.

Stockton regained their two-goal lead late in the middle frame when a big hit at the ‘Cuda blueline led to a two-on-zero that resulted in Pettersen scored his fifth goal of the season at the 17:03 mark.

San Jose scored two goals in the third period to force overtime.

Artemi Kniazev made a backdoor centering pass to a wide open Hamaliuk and he buried a one-timer past Wolf for his second goal of the game.

It was Hamaliuk’s first multi-point game of his AHL career.

The Barracuda scored the equalizer on a three-on-one rush after a turnover by Stockton in their own zone. John Leonard skated in a wired a wrist shot past Wolf for his 13th goal of the season at the 14:15 mark.

Wolf finished the evening stopping 28 of the 31 shots he faced to earn the victory. Melnichuk made 34 saves on 38 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: Both teams did not have a power play opportunity as neither team drew a penalty during the game.

The Three Stars of the Game were: 1) Valimaki 2) Pettersen 3) Philp

UP NEXT: San Jose returns home to host the Tucson Roadrunners on Sunday 3/6 at 5:00pm at SAP Center.

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Cuda looking to make up for Sunday’s loss; Host Knights Friday at SAP

The San Jose Barracuda Scott Reedy is second in the AHL in scoring and contributed to his goal total with 14 and 23 points against the Stockton Heat Sun Jan 1, 2022 (file photo Santa Cruz Sentinel)

On the Barracuda podcast with Marko:

#1 Marko, that first period for the San Jose Barracuda (11-14-1-0) did the Barracuda in when the Stockton Heat (19-3-2-1) out shot San Jose 19-7 scoring twice and putting the Barracuda behind the eight ball in the first period which would prove to be San Jose’s demise in the three goal 4-1 loss at the SAP Center on Sunday night.

#2 The Heat’s Dustin Wolf is making a name for himself one of the top AHL goalies picking up his tenth consecutive win saving 33 shots. The win streak in the AHL best amongst goaltenders.

#3 Despite the Barracuda struggling against the Heat on Sunday the Barracuda’s Scott Reedy continues to lead in goal scoring with 14 goals and 23 points and is second in goals in the AHL.

#4 The win by the Heat is their seventh consecutive win at SAP Center the last time the Heat lost in San Jose was March 19, 2019, 5-4.

#5 The Barracuda next up face the Henderson Silver Knights on Fri Jan 7th a 7:00 pm PST puck drop in Henderson. The Knights seem to give the Barracuda fits each time they meet.

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