GAMEDAY: BARRACUDA AT REIGN
Jan 6, 2023SAN JOSE BARRACUDA (14-18-0-1) vs. ONTARIO REIGN (15-12-0-1)
FRI, JAN. 6 | 7:00 P.M. | Toyota Arena | Ontario, CA
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Off to Ontario: After snapping its eight-game losing streak on Wednesday at home against the Henderson Silver Knights, the Barracuda kick off a four-game road trip against the Ontario Reign (Los Angeles Kings) on Friday night. SJ is 1-2 against the Reign so far this year, 0-1 in Southern California, and are coming off a 5-1 loss in the last meeting on Nov. 23 at the Toyota Arena. In the defeat, the Reign did all of its damage in the first two periods, getting goals from Sam Fagemo, Tobias Bjornfot, and Tobie Bisson in the first period, and tallies from Tyler Madden and Jordan Spence in the second to make it 5-0 while Pheonix Copley earned the win and Eetu Makiniemi took the loss. Tristen Robins scored the Barracuda’s only goal on the power play to make it 5-1 at the time in the second period.
Reigny Day: The Reign enter Friday having dropped its last five, giving up 4.4 goals against per game during the stretch. Despite falling 3-1 in its last home game on New Year’s Eve against Calgary, the Reign are T-sixth in the AHL in home winning percentage (10-5-0-0=.667) and fourth in plus/minus (+16). Ontario had the best power play in the AHL a year ago, but despite having many of the same pieces from last year’s squad, the Reign enter Friday with the 22nd-ranked man-advantage (18.6) and have just one power-play tally against San Jose on 16 attempts. The Reign are 0/10 on the PP in its last two games and have given up a league-high eight shorthanded goals. The Reign do possess the sixth-best penalty kill (83.6) in the AHL and the second-best home PK (85.5). Last season, T.J. Tynan led the AHL in power-play assists (46) and defenseman Jordan Spence finished fifth (24) in PP helpers.
Head-to-Head: The Barracuda sit just two points behind the Reign for the fifth spot in the Pacific Division entering Friday. Ontario’s Taylor Ward leads all skaters in points (2+2=4) during head-to-head play, while Jeff Viel is pacing the Barracuda with two goals versus Ontario, scoring both in the team’s 4-3 shootout win over the Reign on Nov. 10 at Tech CU Arena. The Barracuda are 31st in the AHL in goals for (2.55) and 24th in goals against (3.48), while the Reign are 21st in goals for (2.93) and seventh in goals against (2.75).
Sluggish Starts: The Barracuda scored the first goal of the game on Wednesday for just the second time in its last 18 games, going 6-12 during the stretch. So far this year, the Barracuda have netted the first goal in just 11 of its 34 outings, the second-fewest in the league. In addition, the Barracuda have a -25 goal-differential in the first period, also the second worst in the AHL. The Reign are 11-2-0-1 (.821) when scoring first, fourth-best winning percentage in the AHL.
Spiky Fish: The Barracuda rank first in the AHL in minor penalties (197) and second in times-shorthanded (157), penalty minutes per game (19.36), and majors (21). Jeff Viel is first in the AHL in minor penalties (25), second in penalty minutes (95), and fourth in majors (5).
Rookie Arrivals: Rookie forward Thomas Bordeleau is pacing all AHL freshmen in goals (15), power-play goals (7), power-play points (13) and is T-fourth in scoring (22). Fellow rookie William Eklund is T-third among first-year players in scoring (8+15=23) and Danil Gushchin is T-third in power-play points (11), and first in shots (98). Bordeleau (15), Tristen Robins (9), Eklund (8), Gushchin (8), Brandon Coe (3), and Ozzy Wiesblatt (1) have accounted for 44 of the Barracuda’s 84 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.