Barracuda Weekly (12.21.16)
Dec 21, 2016BARRACUDA TOP HEAT ON TUESDAY, POINTS IN 9 OF 10
San Jose is ranked number two in the AHL on both the power play and penalty kill
Weekly Rewind
Saturday, Dec. 17 – BARRACUDA 5 vs. Bakersfield 0
Troy Grosenick made it three-straight shutouts as the San Jose Barracuda dominated a worn-down Bakersfield Condors club that was coming off a game in Ontario the night before. Marcus Sorensen (5), Adam Helewka (5), Nikolay Goldobin (3), Nikita Jevpalovs (2) and Jon Martin (1) all scored in the victory, and San Jose collected their third-straight win and fourth win in a row via the shutout.
Sunday, Dec. 18 – BARRACUDA 3 vs. Ontario 4 (OT)
Teddy Purcell (3) snapped Troy Grosenick’s shutout streak at a franchise-record 248 minutes and eight seconds in the first period of Sunday’s tilt. But San Jose responded with two power play goals, first Joakim Ryan (3) and then Adam Helewka (5). Adrian Kempe (5) tied it at two in the second for Ontario, but Helewka (6) recaptured San Jose’s lead and made it three-for-three on the man advantage. The Barracuda looked bound for two points until Brett Sutter (5) tied the game with just three minutes and 14 seconds left in regulation and then Michael Mersch (9) won it in overtime for the Reign on a four-on-three power play. Tim Heed had three assists in the loss.
Tuesday, Dec. 20 – BARRACUDA 5 vs. Stockton 3
Tim Heed and Danny O’Regan each collected three points to extend their point streaks to five games, and the San Jose Barracuda were able to beat the first-place Stockton Heat for the first time this season, 6-3. Adam Helewka scored his fourth goal (7) in his last three games to get San Jose on the board first. Nikolay Goldobin (2) continued San Jose's red-hot power play and made it 2-0 San Jose. The Heat would stick around with a goal from Brandon Bollig (7), but John McCarthy netted his second short-hander to make it 3-1. Mike Angelidis (4) had swiped in a rebound to make it 3-2 before Barclay Goodrow (9) went five-hole with less than a minute left in the second. In the final frame, Mike Jankowski (6) redirected a puck past Mantas Armalis but Heed (7) netted a dagger late, and Ryan Carpenter (4) put an empty-netter in to seal the win.
The Week Ahead
Monday, Dec. 26 – BARRACUDA vs. Stockton
The San Jose Barracuda are off for the holidays but resume play the day after Christmas for the second straight game against the first-place Stockton Heat as they wrap up a seven-game home stand. San Jose is 1-2 against the Heat this season and 10-3-1-1 all-time in 15 matchups.
Wednesday, Dec. 28 – BARRACUDA at Bakersfield
The San Jose Barracuda battle the Bakersfield Condors for the fifth time this season and are coming off a 5-0 win over the Condors at home on Dec. 17. San Jose is 0-1 in one game played in Bakersfield, 3-1-0-1 on the year and 3-3-0-1 all-time at Rabobank Arena.
Broadcast Bites
- Troy Grosenick did not play in San Jose’s victory over Stockton on Tuesday, but the fourth-year pro is having a career year. His five shutouts are first in the AHL and his goals-against average (1.98) and save percentage (.930) both rank seventh in the league.
- The Barracuda are second in the league on both the power play (26.5%) and penalty kill (86.7%) and have scored goals in seven of their last 11 power play chances.
- Danny O’Regan’s team leading 27 points (7+20-27) is first among all AHL rookies and eighth in the league. O’Regan is riding his second five-game point streak of the season.
- Tim Heed’s 22 points (7+15=22) is fourth in the AHL among blueliners. Heed had six points in his last two games (1+5=6) and is now on a career-long five game point streak.