GAMEDAY: BARRACUDA AT ICEHOGS
Mar 15, 2024SAN JOSE BARRACUDA (18-28-8-2, 46 pts.) vs. ROCKFORD ICEHOGS (26-22-5-2, 59 pts.)
SAT, MAR. 16 | 5:00 P.M. | BMO CENTER | ROCKFORD, IL
LISTEN | WATCH | GAME NOTES | MEDIA KIT
Rock & Roll: The Barracuda continue their four-game road trip on Saturday in Rockford with the first of back-to-back games versus the IceHogs (Chicago Blackhawks). Saturday is just the third all-time trip to the BMO Center and the first since Mar. 31, 2018. The Barracuda are 1-1 versus the Hawks top affiliate this season, 2-6-0-0 all-time, and 1-1-0-0 all-time on the road.
Last Time Out: After a 2-1 win over the Stars last Friday at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park, the Barracuda were dealt a 6-3 loss on Saturday night in the second of back-to-back versus Dallas’ top affiliate. In the loss, the Barracuda got goals from Ozzy Wiesblatt, Nikolai Knyzhov, and Scott Sabourin. After a scoreless first, Texas got goals from Mark Rassell and Matej Blumel in 28 seconds. The Barracuda would cut the lead to one in the second but the Stars would run away with the win by scoring three unanswered goals to jump out to a 5-1 lead seven and a half minutes into the third.
Trade Winds: The Barracuda sent forward Jordy Bellerive to the Syracuse Crunch on Friday for forward Joe Carroll. Carroll, 23, has 22 points (11 goals, 11 assists) through 48 games, including four game-winning goals, three power-play goals, a shorthanded goal, and three shorthanded assists. Carroll was a teammate of new defenseman Jack Thompson in Syracuse just last week. In addition, he was a teammate of current Barracuda forwards Scott Sabourin and Cole Cassels in Belleville a season ago and Barracuda defenseman Artem Guryev in Peterborough two seasons ago.
Ozzy Out: The Sharks loaned Barracuda forward Ozzy Wiesblatt to the Milwaukee Admirals on Friday. Wiesblatt, who is still under contract with the Sharks through 2024-25, will return to the organization following the conclusion of the 2023-24 season. The Admirals sit atop the Central Division, 10 points ahead of the second-place Grand Rapids Griffins.
Meet and Greet: Saturday marks just the seventh all-time meeting between the Barracuda and IceHogs and third this season. The Barracuda opened the 2023-24 season at Tech CU Arena against the IceHogs, splitting a pair of 7-2 finals. The first game in Barracuda franchise history was Oct. 9, 2015, at SAP Center versus Rockford. Michael Haley scored the first goal in franchise history at 19:47 of the first period, but the Barracuda fell 4-2. In the last trip to the BMO Center, the Barracuda fell 5-3 on Mar. 31, 2018. Sam Warning, Brandon Mashinter, and Caleb Herbert scored in the loss, while Stephon Williams suffered the defeat in the net.
Land and Sea: The Sharks and Blackhawks enter Saturday with the highest odds of landing the 2024 first-overall pick. On Sunday, the Sharks will be in the Windy City to faceoff with the Blackhawks while the Barracuda and Blackhawks affiliate, the IceHogs, will square off two hours up the road in Rockford.
Sabs Sizzling: Scott Sabourin notched his sixth goal over his last eight games last Saturday at Texas and now co-leads the team in goals (16). The veteran forward is first in the AHL in penalty minutes (150), T-third in minor penalties (30), and majors (6). Among Barracuda skaters, he is T-first in goals and power-play goals (5), shorthanded goals (1), and first in game-winning goals (3).
Hogs Heating Up: Prior to their 5-3 loss at Texas, the IceHogs had won seven in a row. Rockford is two points out of the third spot in the Central Division and have picked up wins in each of its last two on home ice. Friday marks the first game of a four-game homestand.