GAMEDAY: BARRACUDA AT SILVER KNIGHTS
May 23, 2021
SAN JOSE BARRACUDA (0-1) (15-15-4-2) vs HENDERSON SILVER KNIGHTS (1-0) (15-15-3-1)
Game 2, Best-of-Three, Divisional Round Semifinal
SUN., MAY 23 | 1:00 P.M. | Orleans Arena | Irvine, CA
LISTEN | WATCH | GAME NOTES | BARRACUDA ALL-TIME PLAYOFF INFO
Win or Go Home: After a 4-1 loss to the Henderson Silver Knights on Friday, the Barracuda will need to win on Sunday to force a decisive game three on Monday or their season will be over. During the regular season, the Barracuda went 9-6-2-1 in games following a loss. After Friday’s defeat, the Barracuda now boast a lifetime record of 2-6-0-1 against the Silver Knights and 0-5 in Las Vegas.
Dugan-abbit: Silver Knights forward Jack Dugan opened up the scoring in Henderson’s 4-1 win on Friday over the Barracuda, and then cashed in with a pair of empty-netters to complete the hat trick, marking the first ever playoff hat trick given up by the Barracuda. Dugan had 10 goals in the regular season, scoring multiple goals just twice. And during his two year-stint at Providence College, Dugan never recorded a hat trick even though he finished his final college season in 2019-20 as a Hockey Baker Finalist as he paced NCAA hockey in points (52) and assists (42).
Scouting Report: Former Sharks prospect now turned Silver Knight Danny O’Regan finished the regular season tied for second in the AHL in points (16+20=36) and rookie Jack Dugan finished 11th in league scoring (10+23=33). While defenseman Ryan Murphy paced all AHL blueliners in points (27) and assists (22). Goaltender Logan Thompson, who was named CCM/Goaltender of the Month for Feb. and March, finished his first AHL season first in goals-against average (1.96), among goalies who appeared in 12 or more games, first in save percentage (.943), second in wins (16), fourth in saves (724) and fifth in minutes played (1349). Thompson went 4-1 against the Barracuda in the regular season, with his only blemish coming on March 7 at Solar4America Ice (4-2 L).
Mighty Melo: Barracuda defenseman Nicolas Meloche picked up four points (1+3=4) in San Jose’s single-elimination play-in games, pacing the club in that department. In 12 fewer games than he played with the Barracuda in 2019-20, Meloche surpassed his assist totals (9) by two in 2020-21. In addition, he skated in his first seven NHL games with the Sharks, recording his first and only NHL assist on Feb. 19 at St. Louis.
California Kids: SoCal natives Jake McGrew and Evan Weinger each scored in the Barracuda’s 2-1 single-elimination play-in win over the Tucson Roadrunners on Tuesday. For Weinger, it was his fifth career point (3+2=5) in his fifth career AHL playoff game. For McGrew, it was his first AHL playoff goal in his postseason debut. Both Weinger and McGrew played their youth hockey with the LA Jr. Kings and their junior careers in the WHL. Weinger added an assist in Wednesday’s win over Colorado and now has six points (3+3=6) in seven career playoff games. McGrew was held off the scoresheet in Wednesday’s win but picked up an assist on the Barracuda’s only goal on Friday against Henderson.
World Stage: The Barracuda will be without the services of Sasha Chmelevski (USA), Alex True (Denmark) and Lean Bergmann (Germany) during the playoffs as all three skaters are in Riga, Latvia for the 2021 World Championships. Bergmann scored for Team Germany on Saturday in a win over Norway, 5-1.
Joe the Wall: Josef Korenar made 32 saves in Wednesday’s win over Colorado and 19 stops in Tuesday’s victory against Tucson. With the Sharks season officially over, the team assigned the goaltender back to the American Hockey League just before the Pacific Division playoffs. Korenar appeared in 10 games with the Sharks this past season, where he made seven starts and went 3-5-0, with a 3.17 goals-against average and a .899 save percentage. Before Tuesday, Korenar’s only AHL postseason action came in 2019 where he appeared in four games against the San Diego Gulls, going 1-3, with a 3.45 goals-against average and a .898 save percentage. During the regular season, Korenar went 1-0 against Henderson, picking up a 4-2 win on March 7. After Friday’s hard-luck loss to the Knights in which Korenar made 32 saves, the third-year AHLer is now 3-4 lifetime in AHL playoff action.