BARRACUDA FEND OFF STARS, COLLECT 2-1 WIN
Jan 18, 2019San Jose, Ca - The San Jose Barracuda (23-8-1-3) welcomed the Texas Stars(21-13-3-2) (Dallas Stars) to SAP Center at San Jose for the first and only time this season on Friday evening. San Jose bested Texas 6-1 in the only other meeting back on October 27th. The Stars and Barracuda battled throughout the contest, but San Jose used two first period goals to hold on for a 2-1 victory.
The first period opened with heavy pressure from the Stars, but it was the Barracuda who would break through for the game's first goal. After San Jose successfully killed off a penalty, Matt Fonteyne (3) won a battle in the offensive zone and sniped a shot top corner short-side from below the right circle to give the Barracuda a 1-0 lead at the 3:59 mark of the first. Despite being heavily outshot in the period, San Jose would extend their lead to two on a power play with 2:48 remaining in the first. Jayden Halbgewachs (10) was able to double the Barracuda's lead with a falling wrister through traffic from below the hashes.
San Jose ended up being outshot 20-to-9 in the opening period, however they carried a 2-0 lead into the second frame. With 15:11 remaining in the second period, the Stars capitalized on their third power play opportunity and trimmed the deficit to one. Gavin Bayreuther (3) took advantage of a screen and scored on a wrist shot from the right point to give the Stars their first tally of the night.
The Barracuda hunkered down and killed a crucial third-period-penalty to preserve the 2-1 victory. San Jose's defensive effort was headlined by Josef Korenar who made 40 saves in his fourteenth win on the season.
The win extended the Barracuda's Pacific Division lead to five points over the second place San Diego Gulls. Next up for the Barracuda is a meeting with the Bakersfield Condors (Edmonton Oilers) inside SAP Center at San Jose on Monday, January 21st. Puck drop is set for 7PM and all the action can be heard live on 1220 KDOW, the Sharks App, and watched at watchtheahl.com.
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