GAMEDAY: BARRACUDA AT REIGN
Feb 23, 2020SAN JOSE BARRACUDA (16-25-3-2) vs ONTARIO REIGN (26-19-5-1)
SUNDAY, FEB. 23 | 3:00 P.M. | TOYOTA ARENA | ONTARIO, CA
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Sunday Funday: On Sunday, the Barracuda wrap up a two-game road trip in Ontario and kick of a home-and-road with the Reign. The Barracuda are 2-4-0-1 against the Kings affiliate this season and 1-1-0-1 at the Toyota Arena.
Last Time Out: The Barracuda saw their two-game winning streak and four-game point streak come to an end on Saturday in San Diego, falling to the Gulls 6-3. After falling into a 4-0 deficit in the second period, Thomas Gregoire and Jeff Viel inched the Barracuda within two but a late second-period power-play goal for SD proved too deflating. Kevin Boyle earned the win for the San Diego, stopping 34 of the 37 shots he faced.
Meloche Moves Up: On Tuesday, the Sharks recalled defenseman Nicolas Meloche from the Barracuda, the first NHL recall of his career and first since he was acquired from the Avalanche in September for goaltender Antoine Bibeau. So far with the Barracuda this season, the 22-year-old has appeared in 38 games, collecting six assists and 30 PIM. In addition, the organization assigned veteran blueliner Dalton Prout to the Barracuda for a two-week conditioning stint.
Carrick Cookin’: Barracuda defenseman Trevor Carrick potted a pair of goals on Monday and finished for the second-straight game with a +3 rating. Carrick now ranks third in the AHL in goals (10) among defensemen and first in game-winning goals (4). With his two goals on Monday, Carrick reached 50 goals and 200 points in his AHL career.
Mad Max: Barracuda forward Maxim Letunov returned to the Barracuda’s lineup on Sunday in Bakersfield after his first NHL stint and helped the Barracuda snap an eight-game skid. Then, on Monday, he netted a goal and an assist in a 6-3 win over Tucson. On Saturday, he collected an assist and now leads the team in points (33) and assists (22). In addition, he is tied for first in power-play goals (4). Sunday will mark Letunov’s 100th AHL game played.
Rookie Rising: Barracuda rookie All-Star Joachim Blichfeld picked up an assist on Saturday and now ranks first on the Barracuda in points-per-game (.81), second in points (30) and tied for first in goals (15) and power-play goals (4). Among AHL rookies, Blichfeld is 14th in points.
El Jefe: Jeff Viel collected the first two-goal, three-point game of his career on Monday and scored again on Saturday, matching his rookie-season goal totals in 22 fewer games. Viel leads the Barracuda in penalty minutes (90) and majors (6).
Home-Sweet-Home: The San Jose City Council unanimously approved a 200,000 square-foot expansion of Solar4America Ice at San Jose on January 28th, which will add two additional recreational ice sheets to the facility, increasing the building’s total ice sheets to six. The expansion will make S4A Ice at San Jose the largest ice facility under one roof west of the Mississippi River. One of the additional ice sheets will be located inside a 4,200-seat, two-story spectator arena which will serve as the new home for the San Jose Barracuda. Construction for the facility is expected to begin in April 2020, with a targeted completion date of April 2022.
Youth Movement: The Barracuda enter Friday as the AHL’s youngest roster with an average age of 22.62-years-old. Of the team’s 21 players, 14 players have less than two years of AHL experience.