GAMEDAY: BARRACUDA AT GULLS

Jan 21, 2021

BARRACUDA (0-1-0-0) at GULLS (1-0-0-0)

6 p.m. PT; (WATCH)

The Barracuda continue their seven-game exhibition schedule tonight in Irvine as they take on the San Diego Gulls at Great Park Ice & Fivepoint Arena for the second time over the last three nights. The Barracuda dropped their preseason opener to the Gulls on Tuesday, 5-1.

In the loss, Joachim Blichfeld, who was an AHL All-Star as a rookie a year ago, lit the lamp for San Jose’s lone goal. Meanwhile, veteran AHLer Sam Carrick scored twice in the win for the Gulls. Josef Korenar allowed five goals on 36 shots, while Lukas Dostal stopped 28 of 29. The Barracuda finished the game 0-for-1 on the power play, while San Diego went 2-for-3.

In 11 meetings last season against the Ducks affiliate, the Barracuda posted a 4-5-2-0 record and a 2-3 mark at San Diego. Jeff Viel led all Barracuda skaters with nine points (three goals, six assists) in 10 contests while Jayden Halbgewachs netted a team-best five goals in 11 games versus SD.

Carrick was San Diego’s head-to-head point leader for the second-straight year, notching 11 points (six goals, five assists) in 10 games against San Jose.

The Barracuda finished the Covid-19 shortened 2019-20 campaign, 7^th in the Pacific Division with a record of 21-27-5-2 (49 points), but finished on a strong note, going 6-2-2-0 over their final 10 games.

Ryan Merkley and Ozzy Wiesblatt highlight the Barracuda's opening preseason roster. The Sharks selected Merkley 21st overall in 2018 and Wiesblatt 31st overall in 2020. Wiesbatt recorded one shot on net in his professional preseason debut. Merkley, who skated in a handful of games for the Barracuda two years ago, fired one shot on net and finished with a minus-two rating on Tuesday.

A full Barracuda training camp roster can be found here.

A full Gulls training camp roster can be found here.

A projected Barracuda lineup can be found below:

45 Bergmann - 60 Gallant - 29 Gabriel

78 Weinger - 74 Topping - 86 Blichfeld

58 Hamaliuk - 84 Letunov - 93 Coe

89 Halbgewachs – 14 Suomela – 27 Wiesblatt

47 Carrick - 57 DeSimone

77 Cukste – 68 Russo

24 Megna – 6 Merkley

34 Harvey

32 Korenar