BARRACUDA WEEKLY
Feb 6, 2019
Wild One: In just the third meeting all-time and first since March 19, 2016, the San Jose Barracuda and Iowa Wild faced-off on Tuesday night at the SAP Center. The Barracuda entered Tuesday’s tilt on a seven-game point streak (5-0-1-1) and boasted a record of 5-0-0-1 against Central Division teams in 2018-19, but the Wild scored the first three goals of the game Tuesday and held on for a 4-2 win behind All-Star Kaapo Kahkonen who made 24 saves on 26 shots. The meeting pinned two of the AHL's top young netminders as Czech native Josef Korenar dueled against Finnish native Kahkonen. Both were AHL All-Stars in late January. In the defeat, Korenar saw his three-game winning streak snapped after giving up three goals on 37 shots. Matt Fonteyne and Nick DeSimone found pay-dirt but Gerald Mayhew scored twice for the Wild including the game-sealing empty netter. Prior to Tuesday’s loss, the Barracuda were coming off back-to-back wins over the Stockton Heat on Friday and Saturday to improve to 9-1-0-0 against the Flames affiliate on the season.
Bako Boiling: On Friday, the Barracuda travel to Bakersfield to take on the AHL’s hottest team, the Bakersfield Condors, winners of 10 straight. During the franchise-best stretch, the Condors edged the Barracuda 6-5 in overtime on January 21 at SAP Center as All-Star Joe Gambardella scored the game winner. San Jose is 3-0-1-1 against the Condors this season and 2-0 at Rabobank Arena.
Sommer-Time: Barracuda Head Coach and Oakland native Roy Sommer earned his 750th AHL win on Friday. Sommer, who's the only coach in the 83 years of the AHL to reach 750 wins, is currently 751-640-48-78-73 over his 20+ years of coaching in the AHL. The AHL’s all-time leader in victories, games coached, and seasons coached was the third Golden State native to make the NHL during his playing career that spanned three games with the Wayne Gretzky-led Edmonton Oilers and became the second Californian to score in the NHL on January 28, 1981, against the Montreal Canadiens.
Star-Studded: The Barracuda were well represented at the 2019 AHL All-Star Classic at the end of January in Springfield, MA. Assistant captain Jake Middleton, winger Francis Perron, goaltender Josef Korenar and head coach Roy Sommer were all in Springfield as Barracuda representatives. Perron co-won the sharp-shooter contest on Sunday after hitting all four targets in six attempts and collected two points (one goal, one assist) in the three-on-three tournament. Middleton finished T-second among all skaters with four points (one goal, three assists) during the three-on-three tournament.
The Truth: Sophomore forward Alex True potted a pair of goals in Friday’s 6-4 win at Stockton and now leads the Barracuda in points (36), T-first in goals (14), first in assists (22), third in plus/minus (+17), T-third in power-play goals, second in points-per-game (.88), and first in game-winners (4). Since December first, True has registered seven multi-point games and leads the Barracuda with six points (two goals, four assists) against Bakersfield.
Two-Headed Monster: San Jose’s goalie combo of Josef Korenar and Antoine Bibeau have combined for the AHL’s best goals-against average (2.46) and save percentage (.915). The 20-year-old rookie Korenar is second in the AHL in GAA (2.24), third in SV% (.921), T-fourth in wins (16), and T-third in shutouts (3). Bibeau is 9th in the league in GAA (2.56) and is T-11th in SV% (.914).
Francis on Fire: Acquired from the Ottawa Senators in the Erik Karlsson trade, third-year pro Francis Perron is second on the Barracuda in points (31), T-first in goals (14), third in assists (17), first in power-play goals (6), first in shooting percentage (24.1%), second in game-winning goals (3), T-fifth in plus/minus (+15) and first in multi-point games (8). Friday will be Perron's 150th career AHL game.
Hard Wood: Acquired in an offseason trade with the Arizona Coyotes, Kyle Wood is second on the Barracuda in assists (21), first in plus/minus (+19), first in power-play assists (7), and is fourth in points (25). Wood was an AHL All-Star in 2016-17 and was named an AHL All-Rookie member after totaling 43 points (14g, 29a) with the Tucson Roadrunners.
Moving On Up: The Sharks recalled rookie forward Dylan Gambrell on Monday for their four-game road trip that began on Tuesday in Winnipeg. Gambrell was paired on a line with Barclay Goodrow and Melker Karlsson in San Jose's 3-2 overtime win over the Jets. It was Gambrell's sixth career NHL game. The former Denver University Pioneer ranks third on the Barracuda in points (31), third in goals (11), third in assists (17), T-third in power-play goals, first in points-per-game (.90), first in shots (86), second in power-play assists (6), and T-third in game-winning goals (2). On Tuesday, the Barracuda also assigned defenseman Zach Frye to the Orlando Solar Bears of the ECHL.
Overall Record: 26-9-2-4, 0.707 Winning Percentage
- 1st in the Pacific, 1st in the Western Conference, 2nd in the AHL
Last Week’s Results
- Friday, Feb. 1 – San Jose Barracuda 6 at Stockton Heat 4
- Saturday, Feb. 2 – San Jose Barracuda 4 vs. Stockton Heat 2
- Tuesday, Feb. 5 – San Jose Barracuda 2 vs. Iowa Wild 4
This Week’s Schedule
- Friday, Feb. 8 – San Jose Barracuda at Bakersfield Condors – Rabobank Arena (7:00 p.m.)
- Sunday, Feb. 10 – San Jose Barracuda at Ontario Reign – Citizens Business Bank Arena (1:00 p.m.)
Recent Transactions
- Dylan Gambrell recalled to the San Jose Sharks (2/4)
- Zach Frye reassigned to the Orlando Solar Bears (2/5)
Team Leaders
- Goals: Francis Perron/Alex True - 14
- Assists: Alex True - 22
- Points: Alex True – 36
- PIMs: Jeffrey Viel - 70
- Wins: Josef Korenar - 16
- GAA: Josef Korenar – 2.24
- SV%: Josef Korenar – .921
Team Stats
- Total Goals Scored: 139 | Total Goals Allowed: 106
- Total Goals Scored, Week: 12 | Totals Goals Allowed, Week: 10
- Power Play: 26-156 (16.7%), 24th in the AHL
- Penalty Kill: 113-135 (83.7%), 5th in the AHL
Pacific Division - Totals vs. Pacific: (21-8-2-3)
- Colorado (Colorado Avalanche) (2-0-1-1)
- Bakersfield (Edmonton Oilers) (3-0-1-1)
- Ontario (LA Kings) (4-1-0-0)
- San Diego (Anaheim Ducks) (1-3-0-1)
- Stockton (Calgary Flames) (9-1-0-0)
- Tucson (Arizona Coyotes) (2-3-0-0)
Central Division - Totals vs. Central: (5-1-0-1)
- Grand Rapids (Detroit Red Wings) (1-0-0-1)
- Iowa (Minnesota Wild) (0-1-0-0)
- San Antonio (St. Louis Blues) (2-0-0-0)
- Texas (Dallas Stars) (2-0-0-0)
San Jose Sharks (NHL)
- Record Last Week: 2-0-0-0
- Record Overall: 31-16-7, 2nd in the Pacific Division
This Week’s Schedule:
- Thursday, Feb. 7 – San Jose Sharks at Calgary Flames
- Saturday, Feb. 9 – San Jose Sharks at Edmonton Oilers
Recent/News Milestones
- Roy Sommer earned his 750th AHL win on Friday, February 1 at Stockton (6-4 W)
- Francis Perron is one game shy of 150 in his AHL career
- Jake Middleton is one-point shy of 50 in his AHL career