GAMEDAY: BARRACUDA VS STARS
Mar 18, 2023SAN JOSE BARRACUDA (25-29-1-4) vs. TEXAS STARS (32-17-7-3)
SAT, MAR. 18 | 6:00 A.M. | Tech CU Arena | San Jose, CA
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Marching Along: After a 6-2 loss on Friday to the Texas Stars, the Barracuda close its three-game homestand with the second of back-to-back games against Dallas’ top affiliate. Saturday is the second meeting of four on the season series that will span over an eight-game stretch. A year ago, the Barracuda went 2-2 against the Stars and 1-1 at home. All-time, the Cuda are 15-9-1-2 against Texas, and 9-4-0-1 at home, and since the Stars joined the Central Division in 2018-19, the Barracuda 8-5 and 4-3 at home. This season, the Barracuda are 2-3 against the Central Division and boast a lifetime record of 34-17-2-2 and 17-11-0-0 at home.
No Fun Friday: The Barracuda entered the third period tied at 2-2 with the Stars on Friday night at Tech CU Arena but would give up four goals in the finals 20 minutes, falling 6-2. In the loss, SJ allowed a season-high 47 shots on net, as Strauss Mann made a career-high 41 saves in the loss. In the defeat, Danil Gushchin made it goals in consecutive games and Jeff Viel also scored. Riley Tufte finished with a team-high three points (2+1=3) for Texas while Curtis McKenzie also notched a pair of goals and Rhett Gardner collected three assists.
Cuda Chronicles: The Barracuda enter Saturday one point behind the Tucson Roadrunners for the final playoff spot in the Pacific Division. Entering Friday, SJ has six more home games left on its schedule and 13 total. Despite being held to two goals on Friday, the Barracuda have averaged 3.92 (51 GF) goals-for-per-game over its last 13 and have notched 4+ goals in nine of those contests. The Cuda are 28th in the AHL in goals-for (2.85) and 25th in goals-against (3.41).
Star Bright: The top-seed in the Central Division, the Texas Stars, close out its six-game road trip on Saturday. The Stars are 5-5 over its last 10 and 2-3 on the roadie. Texas enters Saturday with the fifth-best road record in the AHL (17-9-6-1, 41 pts., .621%) and are third in road goals scored (112). The Stars rank second in the AHL in goals-for (3.63), seventh in goals-against (2.90), and third in shots-for (32.73) and shots-against (28.07). Additionally, the Stars are seventh on the penalty kill (82.9%) and 17th on the power play (19.1%). First-year Stars forward Riley Barber ranks T-third in the league in goals (27) and T-sixth in points (56). Against the Pacific, the Stars are 8-8-1-0.
El Cap: Barracuda captain Andrew Agozzino collected three more points (2+1=3) on Wednesday, reaching 50 points for the fifth time in career and the first time since 2018-19 when he was a member of the Colorado Eagles. His team-leading 24 goals is the third-best single season total of his career and the best since 2018-19 when he notched 26. Since missing five games from Jan. 7 to Jan. 15, the 11-year vet has 23 points (13+10=23) in his last 20 games, collecting points in nine-straight from Feb. 11 to Mar. 8 (6+7=13). Agozzino has points in 11 of 13 (9+8=17) and three goals over his last three games. He is just one goal shy of matching Barclay Goodrow’s (2016-17) single-season franchise record of 25 goals in a season and eight points shy of matching Danny O’Regan’s (2016-17) single-season points record of 58.