GAMEDAY: BARRACUDA AT CONDORS
Mar 13, 2021
SAN JOSE BARRACUDA (5-4-2-0) at BAKERSFIELD CONDORS (7-5-0-0)
SATURDAY MAR. 13 | 6:00 P.M. | Mechanics Bank Arena | Bakersfield, CA
LISTEN | WATCH | GAME NOTES
Bak to Work: The Barracuda and Condors square off for the second of four-straight games against each other on Saturday after Bakersfield picked up a 4-1 win on Friday. Saturday marks the third meeting on the 10-game season series between the Pacific Division foes and the third meeting of seven in March. The Condors enter the game riding the AHL’s second-longest winning streak.
Blichfeld is Back: The Sharks assigned second-year pro Joachim Blichfeld back to the Barracuda on Wednesday. During his recall, Blichfeld skated in two games for the Sharks and was given a two-game suspension by the NHL for an illegal check to the head of Avalanche forward Nathan McKinnon on March 3. Before his recall, Blichfeld had recorded points in five consecutive games (6+3=9) before Friday and had goals in three-straight appearances (five goals over that span). Despite missing the Barracuda’s last four games, Blichfeld still leads the team in points (9) and goals (6).
Dynamic Duo: Cooper Marody (1+1=2) and Tyler Benson (0+2=2) each collected two points on Friday, extending their point streaks to eight games apiece. Marody, last week’s CCM/AHL Player of the Week, leads the AHL in scoring (16) and goals (9) and has eight goals, seven assists over his last seven. Benson has four goals and 10 assists.
Bakersfield Buzzing: After beginning the season 0-5, the Bakersfield Condors have won their last seven consecutive games, outscoring their opponents 31-to-seven during the winning streak. During the streak, the Condors have collected a power-play goal in six of the seven games (6/24=25%), and dating back to Feb. 13 (0-3 L vs. Henderson) the Condors have killed off 20-straight on the penalty kill. Bakersfield has scored the first goal in each game and has not given up a first-period goal over the seven games, outscoring their opponents 13-to-0 in the opening-20 minutes.
Gregor Grilling: On Tuesday, Noah Gregor beat Lukas Dostal of the San Diego Gulls just 11 seconds into the first period, setting a new franchise record for the quickest goal to start a game. The Barracuda would win the contest 4-2 and Gregor, who was assigned to the AHL earlier in the afternoon from the Sharks, would finish with a pair of points (1+1=2) and the game’s first star. Gregor has skated in 15 games with the Sharks this year, scoring three times.
Up and Down: The Sharks recalled centermen Antti Suomela and Fredrick Handemark on Thursday from the Barracuda. For Suomela, 26, it marks his first recall of the year. Due to the delayed AHL and NHL start, Suomela began the year in Finland, appearing in 10 games with HIFK (Liiga), collecting five points (2+3=5). He currently ranks firsts on the Barracuda in shots (28) and power-play points/assists (3). In 10 games with the Barracuda, the third-year Shark’ has six points (1+5=6). Handemark, 27, scored twice on Tuesday in the Barracuda’s 4-2 win over San Diego and leads the club with a plus-six rating. Handemark has seven points (3+4=7) in 10 games with the Barracuda this year. The first-year Shark', made his NHL debut on Jan. 18 at St. Louis. Handemark, like Suomela, began the year in Europe, skating in 25 games with the Malmo Redhawks (SHL), totaling 15 points (6+9=15). Handemark scored his first NHL goal (Ryan Miller) in the Sharks’ 6-0 win over Anaheim on Friday.
Halbs Heating Up: Before Friday, Jayden Halbgewachs had scored three goals over his last three games after scoring just one time over his first six games of the year. The third-year pro leads the team in power-play goals (2) and game-winning goals (3), and is second on the team in goals (4) and shots (26).