BARRACUDA WEEKLY (2.9.17)
Feb 9, 2017‘CUDA RETURN HOME AND EARN 6TH-STRAIGHT WIN ON WEDENESDAY
San Jose sits at first in the Pacific, second in the West and fourth in the AHL
Weekly Rewind
Friday, Feb. 3 – BARRACUDA 4 at Manitoba 1
Following the All-Star break, the San Jose Barracuda traveled north of the border to face the Manitoba Moose for the first time at MTS Centre in Winnipeg. In the opening frame, Nikolay Goldobin (11) continued his strong offensive play and snuck behind the Moose defense before collecting his fourth goal in three games with a dazzling move from close range at 12:09. After Quinton Howden (10) had tied the game for Manitoba in the first, Barclay Goodrow cashed in on his third goal in as many games and his team-leading 15th of the year in the second on the man advantage at 17:21. With the game in the balance in the final frame, veteran-Captain John McCarthy ripped a pair of power-play goals past Eric Comrie from between the hashes at 13:11 and 15:53 to secure a Barracuda franchise best fourth-straight road win. San Jose went a perfect three-for-three on the power play and two-for-two on the penalty kill. Troy Grosenick earned his fourth win in a row by making 25 saves on 26 shots.
Saturday, Feb. 4 – BARRACUDA 5 at Manitoba 4
In game two of the weekend set, the Moose jumped onto an early power play, and Peter Stoykewych (4) fired a point shot past Troy Grosenick at 3:24. San Jose responded as Adam Helewka (10) banked the puck off Brian Straight from below the goal line at 5:05. John McCarthy (10) then gave San Jose its first lead on a redirect from a Barclay Goodrow shot from the point at 17:37. The Barracuda added two more in the second, first, Danny O’Regan on the power play at 4:18 and then Buddy Robinson finished a loose puck in the crease at 7:17 for his first as a member of the Barracuda. In the final frame, rookie forward Kyle Connor (7, 8) made things interesting for the Moose with goals at 10:43 and 15:10, cutting the San Jose lead to 4-3. Marcus Sorensen (13) looked to seal the win for San Jose with an empty netter at 18:04, but Quinton Howden (11) scored 11 seconds later for the Moose. Troy Grosenick made 36 saves and held on in the final minute and 45 seconds to secure his fifth straight win and a franchise-best fifth straight victory.
Wednesday, Feb. 8 – BARRACUDA 2 vs. San Diego 1
In their first game back at home since January 16, the San Jose Barracuda welcomed in the red-hot San Diego Gulls, winners of six straight and points in their last 12. After a slow-moving first period, Adam Helewka (11) intercepted a Gulls cross-ice pass, raced down the left wing and beat Jhonas Enroth short side at 13:58 of the first. Nikita Jevpalovs (7) continue his strong sophomore campaign by swiping a backhand shot past Enroth in the slot at 1:29 of the second. The Gulls put 15 shots on Troy Grosenick in the third and were able to cut San Jose’s lead in half with a shorthanded goal from Chris Wagner (8) at 12:26, but San Jose held on for the 2-1 win. Troy Grosenick made 38 saves to earn his sixth-straight win, while Enroth allowed a pair of goals on 28 shots and suffered his first loss as a Gull’.
The Week Ahead
Saturday, Feb. 11 – BARRACUDA at Bakersfield (Rabobank Arena)
Listen: AM 1220 KDOW at 6:00 p.m.
Watch: AHLLive.com
NHL Affiliation: Edmonton Oilers
The San Jose Barracuda take on the Bakersfield Condors on Saturday night at Rabobank in Bakersfield. The Barracuda are 6-2-0-1 against the Condors this season and 1-2-0 in Bakersfield. The Condors have lost a pair games in a row and sit at sixth in the Pacific Division at 19-18-4-1 (.512%), while San Jose has now won six in a row including five in a row on the road and are in first in the Pacific at 25-11-1-3 (.675). Nikolay Goldobin leads all skaters in points (2+7=9) during the nine-game season series. San Jose and Bakersfield will play one another two more times after Saturday.
Sunday, Feb. 12 – BARRACUDA vs. Ontario (SAP Center)
Listen: AHLLive.com at 5:00 p.m.
Watch: AHLLive.com
NHL Affiliation: Los Angeles Kings
The San Jose Barracuda and Ontario Reign renew their rivalry on Sunday night at SAP Center. After beginning the season 2-0 against Ontario, the Barracuda have lost three straight including a 7-2 loss at Citizens Business Bank Arena on January 21, San Jose’s last loss. The Reign are coming off a victory over Bakersfield on Wednesday, 2-1, and sit just behind San Jose in the Pacific Division at 24-10-8-0 (.667%). San Jose is 1-0-0-1 against the Reign at home but are riding a three-game home winning streak and are tied for the best home record in the AHL at 14-4-1-1 (.750). Ontario holds the best road winning percentage in the Pacific at 11-5-6 (.636). During the season series, Tim Heed leads all skaters in points (2+6=8).
Broadcast Bites
- Troy Grosenick is now first in the AHL in shutouts (6), first in save percentage (.931), second in goals-against average (2.09) and seventh in wins (15).
- Grosenick’s six-game winning streak is one shy of a career-high of seven set during the 2014-15
- Tim Heed is riding a four-game point streak and among defenseman in the AHL is third in points (11+26=37), T-first in assists, fourth in goals, T-second in power-play goals (7), T-first in game winning-goals (4) and is 11th in shooting percentage (13.8%)
- Danny O’Regan is second among AHL rookies in points (14+24=38), T-first in assists, T-seventh in goals, T-fifth in power-play goals (5), and is T-10th in points overall in the AHL despite playing just 37 games.
- San Jose is on a franchise long six-game winning streak and a franchise long five-game road winning streak. The 2014-15 Worcester Sharks set a franchise record with eight wins in a row.
UPCOMING MILESTONES
- John McCarthy is three games shy of 500 for his professional career
- Nikita Jevpalovs is one game shy of 100 for his AHL career
- Mirco Mueller is two games shy of 100 in his AHL career
- Julius Bergman is one game shy of 100 for his AHL career
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Joakim Ryan (D), Tim Heed (F) recalled to the San Jose Sharks (NHL) on 2/6
Tim Heed (D), Kevin Labanc (F) reassigned to the San Jose Barracuda (AHL) 2/6