GAMEDAY: BARRACUDA VS REIGN
Jan 25, 2020SAN JOSE BARRACUDA (14-21-1-2) vs ONTARIO REIGN (19-18-4-1)
SATURDAY, JAN. 25 | 7:00 P.M. | SAP CENTER | SAN JOSE, CA
LISTEN | WATCH | GAME NOTES | BIOS
Rivalry Renewed: On Saturday the Barracuda host the Ontario Reign (LA Kings) in the final game before the All-Star break. The Barracuda are 2-3-0-1 against the Reign this season and are coming off a 9-0 win in the last meeting on January 8. In that game, Joachim Blichfeld lit the lamp twice and Dylan Gambrell recorded four points (one goal, three assists).
Last Time Out: The Barracuda wrapped up their three-game road trip in Bakersfield on Wednesday night and were handed a 5-0 loss by the Condors. Josef Korenar left the game after one period due to injury, giving up a goal to Cameron Hebig that would turn out to be the game-winner. Stuart Skinner made 35 saves for his first career AHL shutout and the Condors would get additional tallies from Tyler Benson in the second and Joe Gambardella, Kirill Maxsimov (EN) and Anthony Peluso in the third.
Scouting Report: The Reign enter Saturday with the second-worst goal-differential in the AHL (-44) and have allowed eight or more goals five times this year, including giving up nine to the Barracuda twice. In addition, Ontario is the averaging a league-high 16.52 penalty-minutes per game.
Hey Now, You’re an All-Star: The Sharks reassigned Joachim Blichfeld to the Barracuda on Sunday as the team went into its All-Star break. Blichfeld, the Barracuda’s lone 2020 AHL All-Star Classic nominee, has appeared in 28 games with the Barracuda this season and currently sits at second on the team in goals (13), points (25) and is first in power-play goals (4). A season ago, Blichfeld led the WHL in scoring (53 goals, 61 assists) and was named the WHL Player of the Year as a member of the Portland Winterhawks.
Carrick Cooking: Trevor Carrick collected a pair of assists last Friday and now has nine points (three goals, six assists) over his last eight games and is T-second in the AHL in goals (8) among d-men after his recent tear. On December 11, Carrick scored the first blueliner hat-trick in franchise history in a 6-2 win over the Bakersfield Condors and is T-first on the team in game-winners (3). A season ago, the 25-year-old finished sixth among AHL defensemen in scoring (47), fourth in assists (38) and 15th in penalty minutes (86) and helped lead the Charlotte Checkers to a Calder Cup Championship. The Sharks acquired Carrick in an offseason trade that sent Kyle Wood to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Halbs Heating Up: Second-year-pro Jayden Halbgewachs currently leads the Barracuda in goals (14) and game-winners (4) and before Wednesday, Halbgewachs had registered six points (five goals, one assist) over his last five games. Two years ago, Halbgewachs led the CHL in scoring (129) and the WHL in goals (70) as a member of the Moose Jaw Warriors.
Youth Movement: The Barracuda enter Friday as the AHL’s youngest roster with an average age of 22.48-years-old. No other team in the league is under 23-years-old. In fact, seven players on the 'Cuda roster are 21-years-old or younger, including two players under 21 (Sasha Chmelevski [20] and Ivan Chekhovich [20]).