GAMEDAY: BARRACUDA VS EAGLES
Oct 29, 2021SAN JOSE BARRACUDA (2-1-0-0) vs. COLORADO EAGLES (0-4-0-1)
FRI., OCT. 29 | 7:00 P.M. | SAP Center at San Jose | San Jose, CA
LISTEN | WATCH | GAME NOTES
Third Time’s the Charm: After collecting a pair of one-goal victories over the Eagles in Loveland last weekend, the Barracuda look to make it three-straight against the Avs affiliate as the club returns to the Bay Area for its home opener on Friday night. Tonight’s game will mark the first outing for the Barracuda at the SAP Center with fans in attendance since March 7, 2019, 541 days ago. San Jose boasts a lifetime record of 7-5-2-1 against Colorado and a 5-2 mark at home, outscoring the Eagles in those games 30-10. Dating back to last year’s playoffs, the Barracuda have beat Colorado in three consecutive games.
Colorado Crumble: The Colorado Eagles dropped to 0-4-0-1 on the season after a 5-4 loss in Bakersfield on Wednesday. The defeat was the club’s fourth-straight regulation loss and third-consecutive one-goal loss. Rookie netminder Justus Annunen allowed five goals on 31 shots and is now 0-3-1 on the year and 0-4-2 in his AHL career. Against San Jose, Annunen is 0-3 in three starts between the regular season and playoffs.
Bright Spots: Despite the team’s sluggish start, fourth-year-pro Kiefer Sherwood ranks second in the AHL with eight points (4+4=8) in five games. In addition, Sherwood, along with rookie Alex Newhook, sit T-second in power-play goals (2). Colorado has managed to score on the power-play (8/22=36.4%) in all five of its games so far this year and is only behind the winless Gulls for the best PP in the league. Colorado is tied with Rockford for the most goals against (24) so far this year.
Trades and Transactions: The Sharks traded forward Dylan Gambrell to the Ottawa Senators on Monday for a 2022 7th round draft pick. Gambrell, 25, skated in three games with the Barracuda this season after clearing waivers in mid-October. The Barracuda also recalled defenseman Cole Moberg from Orlando on Wednesday and reassigned fellow defenseman Montana Onyebuchi to the Solar Bears on Thursday.
Mighty Megna: Barracuda captain Jaycob Megna will skate in his 350th AHL game on Friday. The 28-year-old spent the first five years of his career within the Ducks organization before signing with the Golden Knights before the 2019-20 campaign and then latched on with San Jose in 2020. Of the 349 games he’s played so far, 39 have been in teal. Megna has a pair of assists in three games so far this season.
Sommer Time: Head Coach Roy Sommer returns for his AHL-best 24th season in 2021-22 and his 26th within the Sharks organization. The Oakland, Calif. native has been behind the bench for 1,677 games, going 790-680-48-159 (W-L-T-OTL/SOL) over that span. During the 2015-16 season, the Barracuda’s first in San Jose, Sommer surpassed Fred “Bun” Cook (636 wins) for the most wins in AHL history in a 4-2 win over the Ontario Reign on Feb. 10, 2016.