GAMEDAY: BARRACUDA VS EAGLES
Nov 10, 2024SAN JOSE BARRACUDA (6-4-0-0) vs COLORADO EAGLES (6-4-0-1)
SUN, NOV. 10 | 3:00 P.M. | TECH CU ARENA | SAN JOSE, CA
LISTEN | WATCH | MEDIA KIT | GAME NOTES | MEDIA KIT
Birds of a Feather: The Barracuda dropped their third game in a row on Saturday, 3-2, versus the Colorado Eagles and first of the season on home ice. The two teams will run it back on Sunday afternoon at Tech CU Arena, the second game on the eight-game season series. After the loss, the Cuda have now dropped 12 in a row against the Eagles (0-9-3-0), being outscored 54-26 during that span and 22-10 at home. The Barracuda have just one win in their last 16 games against Colorado. San Jose’s last victory over the Eagles came on Nov. 12, 2022 (2-1 OTW) as Luke Johnson scored the OT winner 40 seconds into the extra session.
About Saturday: The Barracuda dropped their third game in a row on Saturday, 3-2, against the Colorado Eagles. After Matthew Phillips opened the scoring in the first, Andrew Poturalski and Collin Graf would notch the next two goals to give the Barracuda a 2-1 lead. But with 13:01 left in the third, Jayson Megna (4) tied it and then Tye Felhaber (3) gave the Eagles a 3-2 lead at 17:01. Yaroslav Askarov allowed three goals on 27 shots, dropping his second game in a row. Kevin Mandolese made 37 saves to pick up the win.
Do the Cagn Cagn: Rookie defenseman Luca Cagnoni picked up an assist on Saturday and now has points in seven of his last eight games (4+5=9). Among AHL defenders, the 19-year-old is T-first in goals (4) and points (10). 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.
Back with the Barracuda: The Sharks assigned forwards Danil Gushchin and Ethan Cardwell to the Barracuda on Monday after Macklin Celebrini and Ty Dellandrea were removed from the IR. Gushchin collected his 100th AHL point (42+58=100) on Saturday when he picked up an assist on the Barracuda’s first goal and matched a franchise-high with nine shots on net. In 10 games this season with the Sharks, he collected one assist. Cardwell appeared in three games with the Sharks during his first call-up stint of his career, registering zero points. A year ago, Cardwell was named the Barracuda’s rookie of the year after scoring a team-high 23 goals.
Hot Pot: Andrew Poturalski scored on Saturday and added an assist. Poturalski now has three goals in his last two games and six in his last six. The veteran center leads the Barracuda in goals (6), shots (28), and is T-first in power-play goals (2). The Sharks signed the two-time Calder Cup Champion to a two-year contract in July. The native of Williamsville, NY, finished the 2023-24 season with the Coachella Valley Firebirds, collecting 51 points (15+36=51), a plus-eight rating and a team-high nine power-play goals.
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 (13) and assists (9). On Saturday, he scored his fourth goal of the year and now ranks T-second on the team in goals. Among league-leaders, he is T-third in points and 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.
Blueline Bolster: The Sharks activated defenseman Lucas Carlsson off IR on Wednesday and assigned him to the Barracuda on Thursday after the veteran cleared waivers. Carlsson signed a two-way, two-year contract with the Sharks on July 1, 2024. A season ago, he ranked third in the AHL in goals among defensemen (15) and led all rearguards in game-winners (5) and was T-13th in points (39). Carlsson represented the Charlotte Checkers at the 2024 AHL All-Star Classic in San Jose. In 2022-23, the native of Gavle, Sweden, led all AHL defenders in goals (20) and was named to the AHL Second All-Star Team.
Thunder Road: On Thursday, the Barracuda assigned forwards Luke Grainger and Mitchell Russell to the ECHL’s Wichita Thunder. Grainger scored his first pro goal last Wednesday in his season debut as the Barracuda beat the Coachella Valley Firebirds, 5-2, at Tech CU Arena. A year ago, he appeared in two games with the Barracuda after signing a PTO out of Western Michigan. Russell made his season debut on Sunday at Iowa after suffering an injury during training camp.