BARRACUDA TAKE DOWN TUCSON IN SEASON FINALE, 4-2
Apr 15, 2023Tucson, AZ - The San Jose Barracuda (31-34-2-5) battled it out on Friday night at the Tucson Convention Center Arena, defeating the Tucson Roadrunners (30-33-8-1), 4-2.
Neither team would find the back of the net in the first period, but the Barracuda would see an early power play opportunity as Michael Kesselring would be called for cross-checking 26 seconds into the game. In his professional debut with the Barracuda, defenseman Arvid Henrikson would make his way onto the scoresheet early, picking up a hooking penalty at the 3:10 mark.
In the second period, Danil Gushchin (22) would get things going early for the Barracuda, sending one over the right shoulder of Tyler Parks (8-9-2-0) just 57 seconds into the middle frame. To even things up at the 6:13 mark, Kesselring (15) would fire one in behind Strauss Mann (8-7-0-1) off of a turnover. Putting home an Andrew Agozzino rebound, Kyle Criscuolo (17) would restore the San Jose lead with 50 seconds remaining in the period.
The third period would see Michael Lombardi (1) score in his professional debut with the Roadrunners to tie the game, putting the puck in an open net to Mann’s left. The tie would stand until Nick Cicek (1) would score his first since March 26, 2022, to put the Barracuda up with 40 seconds remaining in regulation with a shot off the faceoff that snuck behind Parks. With four seconds to go, C.J. Suess (10) would hit double digits for goals, finding the empty net to finish the Barracuda season.
Mann would finish the night with 22 saves on 24 Roadrunners shots while Parks would stop 32-of-35 in the Tucson loss. Neither team would find special teams success, with San Jose finishing a perfect 6-for-6 on the PK and Tucson finishing 4-for-4.
The Barracuda finish the regular season eighth in the AHL’s Pacific Division and thank you for following along all season long. Visit sjbarracuda.com for all your Barracuda news and updates.