GAMEDAY: BARRACUDA VS GULLS
Mar 9, 2021SAN JOSE BARRACUDA (4-3-2-0) at SAN DIEGO GULLS (9-5-0-0)
TUESDAY, MAR. 9 | 6:00 P.M. | Solar4America Ice | San Jose, CA
LISTEN | WATCH | GAME NOTES
Home Sweet Home: After earning three of a possible four points against the Gulls in Irvine over the weekend, the Barracuda will welcome San Diego into San Jose for a rubber match on Tuesday. The Barracuda boast a lifetime record against the Gulls of 22-22-6-3 (H: 12-10-3-1/R: 11-12-3-2).
Maxed Out: On Saturday, Maxim Letunov lit the lamp for his first of the year. The third-year pro, led the Barracuda in scoring (40) and assists a year ago (28) and was the team’s MVP. He also skated in five games with the Sharks, netting his first NHL goal.
Player to Watch: San Diego’s Andrew Poturalski enters Tuesday’s game tied for third in the AHL in scoring (12) and first in assists (10). The 27-year-old has already surpassed his point totals from an injury-riddled 2019-20 season. Poturalski, a Calder Cup Champion in 2019 with the Charlotte Checkers, was named the Jack A. Butterfield Award winner as AHL Playoff MVP that season.
California Connection: Barracuda captain Jaycob Megna was drafted by Anaheim in 2012, and spent his first five professional seasons within the Ducks organization before signing with Vegas last year. In 2018-19, he served as the Gulls’ captain and still holds San Diego’s games played record (216). On Jan. 27, 2021, the Sharks traded defenseman Trevor Carrick to Anaheim in exchange for forward Jack Kopacka. Carrick is now a member of the Gulls. The team turned around and traded Kopacka to the Ottawa Senators along with a seventh-round draft pick for current Barracuda defenseman Christian Jaros. Former Sharks’ second-round pick Jeremy Roy is also on San Diego’s roster, currently on a professional tryout agreement
California Dreaming: Barracuda forwards Sasha Chmelevski, Jake McGrew, and Evan Weinger all dressed for the Barracuda on Friday, marking the first time in Barracuda and Sharks' affiliate history that they had three Californians in one game. Chmelevski, who was born in Huntington Beach before moving to Michigan in his early teens, made his NHL debut on Feb. 5 at Anaheim, making Sharks history by assisting on fellow Californian Matt Nieto’s goal. McGrew, who was selected along with Chmelevski in the 2017 NHL Draft by the Sharks, grew up just 15 minutes from Irvine in Orange California. Weinger grew up in El Segundo, California, which is 45 minutes from Irvine. On Friday, Chmelevski and Weinger each scored for the Barracuda, and Matt Nieto lit the lamp in the Sharks 5-4 overtime loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.