GAMEDAY: BARRACUDA AT EAGLES
Oct 22, 2021SAN JOSE BARRACUDA (0-1-0-0) vs. COLORADO EAGLES (0-1-0-1)
FRI., OCT. 22 | 6:05 P.M. | Budweiser Events Center | Loveland, CO
LISTEN | WATCH | GAME NOTES
Mile High Matchup: After dropping its opener in Bakersfield on Sunday, 1-0, the Barracuda continue their three-game road trip in Colorado on Friday with the first of two games over the weekend against the Eagles and the first of three straight overall against the Avs affiliate. The Barracuda are 7-5-2-1 lifetime against the Eagles and 2-3-2-1 at the Budweiser Events Center. Friday’s game will mark the first regular-season matchup between the clubs since Feb. 8, 2020, 622 days ago.
First Taste: The Barracuda outshot the Bakersfield Condors in each period Sunday, and 34-15 in the game, but Condors’ forward Seth Griffith managed to light the lamp on the power-play in the second period, coming off the team’s second and final shot of the frame, and Stuart Skinner turned in the fourth blank sheet of his career as the Barracuda were dropped 1-0 by the Condors. The 15 shots against, matched the fewest shots allowed in a game in franchise history. Noah Gregor put a career-high seven shots on net himself but the Barracuda went 0-for-5 on the man-advantage. In the end, Alexei Melnichuk suffered the loss, allowing one goal on 15 shots.
Colorado Cooled: The Eagles earned a point in a 5-4 shootout loss at the hands of the Henderson Silver Knights on Friday in Las Vegas and were dropped 6-3 two nights later by the Silver Knights. Rookie Justus Annunen suffered the opening-night loss, allowing four goals on 25 shots, while Hunter Miska gave up five goals on 19 shots on Sunday in defeat. So far, Mikhail Maltsev leads the team with four points (1+3=4) but has since been recalled to the Avalanche.
Young Guns: Sunday marked the AHL debut of four Barracuda skaters, Adam Raska, Nick Cicek, Artemi Knyazev and Montana Onyebuchi. The Barracuda’s roster is comprised of seven rookies and an overall average age is 23.15, which is the third youngest in the league.
Sommer Time: Head Coach Roy Sommer returns for his AHL-best 24th season in 2021-22 and his 26th within the Sharks organization. The Oakland, Calif. native has been behind the bench for 1,675 games, going 788-680-48-159 (W-L-T-OTL/SOL) over that span. During the 2015-16 season, the Barracuda’s first in San Jose, Sommer surpassed Fred “Bun” Cook (636 wins) for the most wins in AHL history in a 4-2 win over the Ontario Reign on Feb. 10, 2016.