BARRACUDA SHUTOUT HEAT 3-0 IN ROAD TRIP FINALE

Feb 2, 2018

STOCKTON, CA - The San Jose Barracuda (21-17-1-2) used 30 saves from Antoine Bibeauand a pair of goals from Rudolfs Balcers to top the Stockton Heat (20-16-2-3) on Friday night at Stockton Arena.
 
Balcers (11) lit the lamp for the lone tally of the opening 20 minutes at 15:03 as he pulled the puck from a pile in front of Heat netminder Jon Gillies and whipped a shot just inside the left post from close-range. A feisty first saw several open-ice collisions that led to a pair of fights. First, Jacob Middleton and Austin Carroll danced, and then Emerson Clark fought Tanner Glass.
 
46 seconds into the second, Balcers (12) cashed in again by beating Gillies on the far side as he streaked down the left wing. 25 seconds later, Filip Sandberg (7) snapped a 13-game goalless drought by backhanding a loose puck in on the far side, ending Gillies night after allowing three goals on 11 shots in 21 minutes and 11 seconds of work. Tyler Parsonswould make all six saves he faced in the period to keep the score at 3-0 through two periods. The game stayed chippy as former Heat forward Brandon Bollig would drop the mitts with Oleg Yevenko at 9:44.
 
In the third, Bibeau stopped all nine shots he faced, and the Barracuda held on for the win.
 
Bibeau (14-8-1) earned his third shutout of the year by making all 30 saves he faced, while Gillies (12-4-4) suffered the loss in just over a period of play. Parson stopped all nine shots he faced in relief.

The Barracuda return to SAP Center on Saturday to take on the Heat at 7:00 PM. Listen live on AM 1220 KDOW or on the all-new Sharks + SAP Center App. Tickets start at just $10 and are available for purchase at SJBarracuda.com/tickets. 
 
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