GAMEDAY: BARRACUDA VS. MOOSE (4-1-17)
Apr 1, 2017SAN JOSE BARRACUDA (40-14-2-5) VS. MANITOBA MOOSE (25-35-4-5)
Saturday, April 1, 2017
SAP Center – San Jose, Calif. (7:00 p.m.)
Tonight’s Matchup: On Saturday, The San Jose Barracuda and Manitoba Moose wrap up their four-game season series. The Barracuda are 3-and-0 against the Winnipeg Jets affiliate and have now won six straight versus Central Division teams. San Jose enters the second game of the weekend set with the leagues best home winning percentage (21-5-1-2 = .776) while the Moose are 21st in road winning percentage (13-18-2-2 = .429).
Killin’ It: San Jose is 17-for-17 on the penalty kill over their last three games and have scored on the power play in four-straight games. San Jose leads the league in shorthanded goals, and rank second on the power play (25.5%) and fifth on the PK (85.0%).
Shuttin’ The Door: On Friday, Troy Grosenick collected his league-leading tenth shutout and is now second in goals-against average (2.03), second in save percentage (.929) and T-second in wins (28). The record for shutouts in a season is 13 set by Hartford’s Jason Jason LaBarbera during the 2003-04 season.
Too Good: On Sunday, Barclay Goodrow potted his third pro hat trick, setting a Barracuda single-season mark for goals (24), hat tricks in a season and shorthanded goals (4). Goodrow leads the Barracuda in goals is T-first in the League in shorthanders.
The New Guys: Over the last week the Barracuda have added three new players. Both forward Tim Clifton and defenseman Nick DeSimone were signed to two-year entry levels deals following the conclusion of their collegiate careers, and netminder Clarke Saunders was added on 25 game standard player tryout (PTO). Clifton, 24, recently completed his senior season with Quinnipiac (ECAC) where he served as an alternate captain. He finished as the team’s fourth-leading scorer with 25 points (13 goals, 12 assists) in 39 games. His 13 goals and seven power-play goals tied for first on the team. Additionally, he won 58.2% of his face-off’s, which placed him 6th in the ECAC and 19th in the NCAA. DeSimone, 22, recently completed his junior season with Union College, helping the Dutchmen reach the first round of the NCAA Hockey Championship tournament. The third-year player recorded career-highs in games played (38), goals (9), points (19) and plus/minus (+13), ranking T-1st amongst Union defenders in goals, and 2nd in points and plus/minus. His nine goals were tied for the second-most amongst ECAC defensemen, while his +13 ranked T-7th. Saunders, 27, is in his third-year as a pro and is fifth in the ECHL in goals-against average (2.60), ninth in save percentage (.913), and is third in wins (28). Saunders is 28-7-1-1 in 38 games played with three shutouts for the Eagles and was named the Warrior Hockey ECHL Goaltender of the Month for the Month of February.
Heed Check: Among AHL blueliners, San Jose’s Tim Heed is fourth in points (13+38=51), T-sixth in goals, third in assists, T-fifth in power-play goals (8), T-fourth in game-winning goals (4) and is T-19th overall in the league in points.
Ryan Rolling: Among AHL defenseman, Barracuda d-man Joakim Ryan is seventh in points (9+32=41), T-fourth in game-winning goals, sixth in assists, and is sixth in the AHL in plus/minus (+24).
Dynamic Danny: Among freshman, the All-Star forward Danny O’Regan is first in points (21+33=54), second in assists, T-fifth in goals, second in power-play goals (9), and is T-13th in points overall in the AHL.
Milestone Alert: Saturday’s game will be Ryan Carpenters 200th AHL game played
In Case You Missed It: Troy Grosenick made 26 saves, and the San Jose Barracuda scored three-second period goals to roll to a 3-0 win over the Manitoba Moose on Friday night at SAP Center. The shutout win was Grosenick’s (28-9-3) tenth of the season and San Jose’s twelfth as a team. After a scoreless first, the Barracuda exploded for three unanswered second-period goals. Nikita Jevpalovs (13) broke the deadlock at 1:48 as he tipped a Julius Bergman point shot. San Jose added to its advantage at the six-minute mark when a Manitoba’s clearing attempt redirected off John McCarthy’s skate to an uncovered trailing Ryan Carpenter (12) beat Eric Comrie on a one-on-one. Danny O’Regan (21) completed the three-goal frame on the power play at 18:01 with a loose-puck backhand from close range. In the third, Grosenick stopped all ten Moose shots and held for San Jose's third win against the Moose in as many tries.