GULLS HOLD OFF BARRACUDA 4-2, TAKE 2-1 SERIES LEAD
Apr 22, 2019San Jose, Ca - The San Jose Barracuda (1-2) welcomed the San Diego Gulls (2-1) into SAP Center on Monday night for game three of the best-of-five divisional round matchup. After scoring early, San Jose was unable to sustain the pressure and San Diego found a way to dictate the pace of play through the remainder of the game, earning a 4-2 win.
The Barracuda took an early lead in the first when Jon Martin (2) received a pass from Matt Fonteyne and fired a shot from the slot that beat Gulls goaltender Jeff Glass through the five-hole, giving San Jose a 1-0 lead at 2:48. The Barracuda would hold onto their advantage until there was only 38 seconds left in the first as Sam Steel (2) buried a Sam Carrick pass in the low slot to tie the game at 1-1.
San Diego took advantage of an early-second period power-play when a broken passing play allowed Ben Street (1) to settle a bouncing puck in the high slot before wheeling around and firing a wrist shot top corner to give the Gulls the lead at 3:41. San Diego would double their advantage when Justin Kloos led a two-on-one and fed Chase De Leo (3) who deked to his backhand and slid a shot past Josef Korenar to give the Gulls a 3-1 lead at 16:47. The Barracuda would get one back before the end of the period when Jake Middleton rang a shot off the post and as both teams looked to secure the rebound the puck ended up on the stick of an uncovered Martin (2) who ripped it in at 1:16 to draw San Jose back within one.
San Diego held the 3-2 lead until there was only 57 seconds remaining in the game, when Adam Cracknell (1) buried an empty netter from in between the face-off dots to give the Gulls the 4-2 lead as San Diego beat out an icing moments before. With the 4-2 win, San Diego now leads the series 2-1.
Glass (2-1) stopped 20 of the 22 shots he faced en-route to the win for San Diego, while Korenar (1-2) surrendered four goals on 36 shots, taking the loss.
It's a quick turnaround for the Barracuda, who play game four of the divisional semifinal series with the Gulls on Wednesday at SAP Center with puck drop set for 7 pm. Wednesday's game will offer $5 20oz beer/hot dog special and the first 4,000 fans will receive a rally towel. You can follow Wednesday's game live on the Sharks + SAP Center app, 1220 KDOW, or through watchtheahl.com.
#SJBARRACUDA