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Dec 7, 2017

Hey Barracuda fans! Nick Nollenberger here. It’s another week, which means it’s time for another blog. On Sunday, Barracuda Head Coach Roy Sommer collected his 700th win as a head coach in the American Hockey League. It was awesome to witness hockey history firsthand, and a milestone few in the sport have ever reached. Sommer is the only coach in the AHL to reach 700 victories and just one of seven coaches in the active three highest levels of professional hockey to hit 700 wins.

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Maybe more impressive than 700 W's is the fact it’s all occurred with one organization. Sommer will coach his 1,500th game of his AHL career on Friday when the Barracuda host the Tucson Roadrunners.

After Wednesday’s 6-0 loss to Stockton, Friday’s matchup against the top team in the Pacific, Tucson, only grows in importance. Eight current Sharks spent time with the Barracuda last year, leaving the 2017-18 Cuda searching for offensive production from new characters. San Jose’s had tremendous goaltending along the way this year, as they did a season ago, and they’ve scraped together offense as a committee. The consistency has wavered at times this season, but it is evident that this team is going to compete and their 7-2-0-1 record after a loss shows the type of resilience this group has.

After Friday, the Barracuda hit the road for a pair in Tucson on Tuesday and Wednesday, and it marks the first multi-game road trip since Texas in late October. A road trip could be just what this team needs to hit its stride. Currently San Jose is T-fifth in the Pacific Division (9-9-0-1=.500), and is right in the thick of the race through a third of the season.

That's it from me, we'll talk to you all next Thursday.