Henderson, Nev. – San Jose Sharks Prospect of the Year Eric Pohlkamp earned an assist in his professional debut, but an early deficit proved too much to overcome as the San Jose Barracuda were eliminated from the Calder Cup Playoffs with a 5-1 setback Friday at Lee's Family Forum.

“We have to give (Henderson) credit - they're a good team,” said San Jose Head Coach John McCarthy. "They play fast. They're fast in transition. The defended well tonight. I thought we had a really hard time getting pucks into dangerous areas. The effort was there. The buy-in was there. I'm proud of my group."

San Jose found itself trailing 7:56 into the contest as netminder Laurent Brossoit made an initial save but was beaten off the rebound opportunity, and the hosting Silver Knights doubled their advantage to 2-0 with a power-play goal at 17:40 of the opening frame, the two-goal cushion holding into the first intermission.

Henderson added on to its advantage 2:07 into the second period, but the Barracuda were able to trim the deficit prior to the break as Egor Afanasyev lit the lamp with just 1:06 left in the middle period. Pohlkamp was credited his first professional point, the primary assist, and Jimmy Huntington earned his first assist of the postseason with the secondary helper. 

“It took me a little in the first couple of shifts (to get settled)," said Pohlkamp. "They kept it really easy for me, the guys. It's tough to go out the way we did, but it was a great experience for me."

San Jose pushed to draw closer in the final period but were unable to solve Henderson netminder Carl Lindbom, who was a perfect 11-for-11 in the frame. The Silver Knights tacked on a pair of empty-net goals in the final three minutes of action, producing the 5-1 final.

"I think (the season) is something to build off," said McCarthy. "Before we hit a little bit of a skid in April, I thought we were rolling pretty good. Our leaders did a great job leading the group. We're still growing as a staff and growing as an organization. It's a step in the right direction."

Pohlkamp finished the game with a team-high four shots on goal and a plus-1 rating. Brossoit made 20 saves on 23 shots faced in the contest.