GAMEDAY: BARRACUDA AT WILD
Nov 3, 2024SAN JOSE BARRACUDA (6-2-0-0) vs IOWA WILD (2-6-1-0)
SUN, NOV. 3 | 1:00 P.M. | WELLS FARGO ARENA | DES MOINES, IA
LISTEN | WATCH | MEDIA KIT | GAME NOTES | MEDIA KIT
Into the Wild: After a 4-1 loss on Saturday night to the Iowa Wild, the Barracuda close out the season series with Minnesota’s top affiliate on Sunday in Des Moines. Saturday’s loss snapped a five-game winning streak and marked just the second time this season that the Barracuda failed to score at least five goals in a game.
About Saturday: The Barracuda fell behind just 15 seconds into Saturday’s game in Iowa versus the Wild and failed to find its footing, falling 4-1. In the loss, Colin White scored San Jose’s only goal and now co-leads the club in goals (4) and shorthanded goals (2). Yaroslav Askarov allowed three goals on 35 shots, suffering his first loss of the year.
Calling Card: Barracuda 2023-24 Rookie of the Year Ethan Cardwell made his NHL debut on Tuesday in a 4-2 Sharks win over the LA Kings. The 22-year-old finished with a +1 rating in 11:57 of ice time (15 shifts). Before his recall, the Courtice, Ont., native had collected points in his last three games (1+3=4).
Barracuda Ballin’: Despite Saturday’s loss, the Barracuda have outscored the opposition 31-13 to begin the year and 20-11 during five-on-five play. Additionally, before Saturday, they had trailed for just a combined two minutes and 25 seconds through their first seven games and had scored 5+ goals in six of their first seven outings. The Barracuda rank second in the league on the penalty kill (32/33=97%)
Calling Collin: Rookie forward Collin Graf was named the AHL’s Rookie of the Month for October after collecting points in each of his first seven games in the AHL (3+7=10). The undrafted free-agent signee of the Sharks is leading the Barracuda in points (10) and assists (7). Among league-leaders, he is T-third in points and T-fourth in assists. Following his junior season at Quinnipiac in 2023-24, Graf signed an entry-level contract with San Jose on April 4, 2024, and would go on to play seven games with the Sharks, collecting two assists. Graf was a Hobey Baker finalist a season ago and was named the ECAC Player of the Year and the conference’s Gladiator Best Defensive Forward. In 2022-23, he helped the Bobcats capture a National Championship.
Do the Cagn Cagn: 19-year-old rookie blueliner Luca Cagnoni leads all AHL defenders in points (8) and goals (4). A year ago, the native of Burnaby, BC, led Western Hockey League (WHL) defensemen with 90 points and 72 assists and finished tied for third among the group with 18 goals in 65 games with the Portland Winterhawks, earning U.S. Division First All-Star Team recognition. He was the first WHL blueliner since 1993-94 to reach the 90-point threshold and finished nine points clear of the next-closest defenseman in the positional scoring race.
Barracuda Brick: Yaroslav Askarov improved to 5-0 on Wednesday, making 36 stops in a 5-1 win over the Coachella Valley Firebirds. Askarov was named the AHL’s Goalie of the Month on Friday for the October after his perfect start. The 22-year-old, who was selected 11th overall in 2020 by the Predators and was acquired by the Sharks from Nashville in August as part of a blockbuster trade, began the season with back-to-back shutouts and did not allow a goal until 152 minutes and 10 seconds into his tenure with the team. Last season, in Milwaukee with the Admirals, he finished second in the league with 30 wins, just one behind Tucson's Matt Villalta. He was also ranked second in shutouts (6) and fifth in goals-against average (2.39). Askarov won 14 games in a row at one point last year, as he and former Sharks' prospect Troy Grosenick backstopped Milwaukee to a 19-game winning streak.