GAMEDAY: BARRACUDA AT GULLS
Jan 11, 2023SAN JOSE BARRACUDA (15-19-0-2) vs. SAN DIEGO GULLS (10-24-0-0)
WED, JAN. 11 | 7:00 P.M. | Pechanga Arena | San Diego, CA
LISTEN | WATCH | GAME NOTES | MEDIA KIT
Diego to the Bay: After earning a point in a 3-2 shootout loss at the Coachella Valley Firebirds on Tuesday, the Barracuda close out its four-game roadie with the first visit this season to San Diego to take on the Gulls on Wednesday. The Barracuda are 1-0 against the Ducks affiliate this season, earning a 3-0 win at Tech CU Arena on Nov. 16. In the victory, Strauss Mann made 21 saves and Jasper Weatherby, Scott Reedy and Andrew Agozzino all scored.
Gull Setting: Prior to its 5-1 loss to the Milwaukee Admirals on Saturday, the Gulls had recorded consecutive shutout wins behind 79 combined stops from goaltender Lukas Dostal, becoming the first goaltender in Gulls history to record consecutive blank sheets. Entering Wednesday, San Diego is 4-2 over its last six games after dropping 12 in a row, the longest winless drought in the AHL this season. The Gulls are 29th in the AHL in goals for (2.68) and goals against (3.82) and are last in the league in shots for (26.06) and shots against (34.29). Both the Gulls and Barracuda have been on the penalty kill a league-high 169 times entering Wednesday. Among AHL defenders, Gulls d-man Nikolas Brouillard ranks first in minors (23), second in power-play goals (4), and third in scoring (27), power-play points (14), and assists (21). Dostal is first in losses (14) and second in shutouts (3).
Sluggish Starts: The Barracuda have scored the first goal of the game in just two of its last 21 outings, going 7-13-0-1 during the stretch. So far this year, SJ have netted the first goal in just 11 of its 37 contests, tied for the fewest in the league with the Cleveland Monsters. In addition, the Barracuda have a -29 goal-differential in the first period, which is last in the AHL. On Tuesday, the Barracuda trailed 2-0 after 20 minutes before scoring once the second and once in the third to force overtime.
Spiky Fish: The Barracuda rank first in the AHL in minor penalties (211) and tied for first in times shorthanded (169), penalty minutes per game (18.91), and majors (22). Jeff Viel is second in the AHL in minor penalties (25), penalty minutes (95), and fourth in majors (5). The Gulls are fifth in the AHL in penalty minutes per game (15.97) and second in minors (194).
Rookie Arrivals: After a pair of goals on Friday, rookie forward Thomas Bordeleau is now pacing all AHL freshmen in goals (17), power-play goals (8), and power-play points (14) and is T-third in scoring (25). Fellow rookie William Eklund is T-fourth among first-year players in scoring (8+16=24) and Danil Gushchin is T-third in power-play points (11), and first in shots (107). Bordeleau (17), Tristen Robins (9), Gushchin (9), Eklund (8), Brandon Coe (3), and Ozzy Wiesblatt (1) have accounted for 47 of the Barracuda’s 90 goals scored (52%), the most among any rookie class this season. Wiesblatt (Rd 1, 31st overall), Bordeleau (Rd 2, 38th Overall), Robins (Rd 2, 56th Overall), Gushchin (Rd 3, 76th Overall), and Coe (Rd 4, 98th Overall) were all part of the Sharks historic nine-forward draft class in 2020. The Barracuda (24.37) and Gulls (24.46) are the fifth and seventh youngest teams in the AHL. Nine different rookies have played for the Barracuda this season compared to two for the Gulls.
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Tech CU Arena is a state-of-the-art, 4,200-seat arena located in San Jose. It is the home of San Jose Barracuda. Tech CU Arena is a partnership between Sharks Sports & Entertainment and Technology Credit Union, a full-service, federally insured not-for-profit credit union headquartered in the heart of San Jose. With more than 155,000 members, Tech CU provides a wide array of financial products and services, including personal banking, financial management, private banking, commercial lending, and business banking. Learn more at www.techcu.com.