GAMEDAY: BARRACUDA AT REIGN
Jan 5, 2019San Jose Barracuda (19-7-1-3 .700) vs. Ontario Reign (10-14-3-2 .431)
SATURDAY, JAN. 5 | 6:00 P.M.
Citizens Business Bank Arena | Arena, Calif.
LISTEN | WATCH | GAME NOTES
Tonight’s Matchup: On Saturday, the San Jose Barracuda and Ontario Reign (Los Angeles Kings) connect for the third time this season and the second time in Ontario. San Jose is 2-0-0-0 against its Southern California rival this season and have outscored the Reign nine-to-three in the two previous games.
Hey now, you’re an All-Star: On Thursday, the AHL announced that Barracuda assistant captain Jake Middleton, winger Francis Perron and goaltender Josef Korenar were all named to the 2019 AHL All-Star Classic, which will take place in Springfield, Mass. on January 27-28. In addition, Barracuda head coach Roy Sommer will be the Pacific Division’s coaching representative for the AHL All-Star Classic. Middleton was recalled for the first time in his career on Friday.
Road Warriors: Despite Friday’s 4-3 loss at San Diego, the Barracuda still boast the Pacific’s best road winning percentage (9-3-1-2 = .658) and best road goal differential (+8). Friday was just the third time San Jose scored twice in a game on the power-play and the first time away from SAP Center.
Yo Joe: 20-year-old rookie netminder Josef Korenar saw his seven game winning streak come to an end on Friday, but still ranks third in the AHL in goals-against average (2.31), eighth in save percentage (.914) and is T-third in wins (13). On Thursday, Korenar was named to the 2019 AHL All-Star Classic.
Francis on Fire: Acquired from the Ottawa Senators in the Erik Karlsson trade, Francis Perron is first on the Barracuda in points (27), goals (13), power-play goals (6), shooting percentage (29.5% 2nd in the AHL), game winning goals (3) and is T-third in plus/minus (+14). After netting a power-play goal on Friday, Perron has points (7g, 9a) in 11 of his last 14 games including four multi-point games over that stretch. On Thursday, Perron was named to the 2019 AHL All-Star Classic.
True or False? After recording just one goal over his first 13 games, Alex True has nine goals over his last 16, including seven over his last 12 games. On December 16 at Ontario, True notched his first four-point (1g, 3a) game of his career and has 20 points (9g, 11a) over his last 17. True is T-first on the Barracuda in plus/minus (+15) and is second in both points (25) and goals (10) and is T-second in assists (15). On Monday, True collected three points (one goal, two assists) and now has four multi-point games this season.
Gambrell Good: Rookie forward Dylan Gambrell collected three points (1g, 2 a) on Friday and now has points (6g, 10a) in 13 of his last 14 games and is riding a six-game point streak (3g, 5a). A National Champion at Denver University in 2017, Gambrell is third on the Barracuda in points (22), third in goals (9), T-fourth in assists (13), T-second in power-play goals (2), and T-first in points-per-game (.96).
Hard Wood: Acquired in an offseason trade with the Arizona Coyotes, Kyle Wood leads the Barracuda in assists (18), T-second in plus/minus (+14) and is fourth in points (20). Wood was an AHL All-Star in 2016-17 and was named an AHL All-Rookie member after totaling 43 points (14g, 29a) with the Tucson Roadrunners.
Youth Movement: The Barracuda enter Saturday with the AHL’s third youngest roster (24.31). The Barracuda are comprised of 13 AHL rookies and five sophomores. Just four players on San Jose’s AHL roster are Sharks draft picks.