GAMEDAY: BARRACUDA AT FIREBIRDS
Feb 23, 2025SAN JOSE BARRACUDA (26-18-2-3, 55 pts.) vs COACHELLA VALLEY FIREBIRDS (28-17-1-5, 62 pts.)
SUN, FEB. 23 | 3:00 P.M. | ACRISURE ARENA | PALM, CA
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Road Wrap: On Sunday, the Barracuda close out their two-game roadie in Coachella Valley against the Firebirds. The Barracuda are 6-0 versus the Kraken affiliate this season and 2-0 at the Acrisure Arena, outscoring CV 21-10 in the six contests. Prior to this season, the Barracuda had just one win against Coachella Valley in 16 attempts.
Saturday Shine: The Barracuda never trailed on Saturday, upending the Ontario Reign, 3-1, at the Toyota Arena. With the win, the Cuda snapped their three-game skid versus the Reign and ended Ontario’s seven-game points streak and four-game winning streak. Gabe Carriere earned his fourth victory of the year, making 23 saves, while the Barracuda got goals from Thomas Bordeleau, Ethan Cardwell, and Mitchell Russell.
Hot Pot: All-Star Andrew Poturalski recorded his 30th assist of the year on Saturday, becoming the first player in the AHL to reach 50 points. With the helper, the veteran forward now has points in his last four (2+3=5) and nine of 10 (5+9=14). The former Firebird has eight points (4+4=8) in six games versus Coachella Valley this year, including six points (3+3=5) in the last three meetings.
Fired Up: The Firebirds enter Sunday having won their last three and are 7-2 over their last nine. Coachella Valley beat first-place Calgary 4-1 on Saturday behind a pair of power-play goals from John Hayden. Seattle’s top affiliate boasts the AHL’s eighth-ranked power play (20.1%) and fifth-ranked penalty kill (84.9%), going nine-for-nine on the PK during their current winning streak. The Firebirds are averaging a league-low 10.10 penalty minutes per game. Rookie forward Jani Nyman is leading AHL rookies in goals (22) and is T-fourth among all skaters.
FireFish: In the last meeting against the Firebirds, the Barracuda managed to pick up a 4-3 shootout win on Jan. 22 at Tech CU Arena behind a 30-save performance from Aaron Dell. In the victory, former Firebirds Andrew Poturalski and Jimmy Schuldt scored, along with Jack Thompson before Danil Gushchin and Lucas Carlsson found the back of the net in the shootout. The Barracuda have gone 6/24 (25%) on the PP and 17/21 (81%) on the PK against CV.
Luca Lightning: Rookie defenseman Luca Cagnoni picked up a pair of power-play points (1+1=2) on Wednesday and now leads the AHL in PP-points (25), T-first in power-play assists (16), and T-third in power-play goals (9). Among league blueliners, he is first in power-play points and assists, second in goals (13) and power-play goals, and T-second in points (36).