GAMEDAY: BARRACUDA VS EAGLES
Nov 22, 2019
SAN JOSE BARRACUDA (5-9-0-1) vs COLORADO EAGLES (8-7-0-0)
FRIDAY, NOV. 22 | 7:00 P.M. | SAP CENTER | SAN JOSE, CA
LISTEN | WATCH | GAME NOTES | BIOS
Friday Night Lights: On Friday, the Barracuda continue their four-game homestand as they take on the Colorado Eagles for the first game of two over the weekend. The Barracuda are 1-1 against the Avs affiliate thus far this season after a 4-0 win in the most recent matchup on October 26th in Loveland. A season ago, the Barracuda went 3-1 against Colorado at home, outscoring the Eagles 19-to-4 in those games.
Last Time Out: Despite Evan Weinger scoring a minute and nine seconds into Wednesday’s game against Tucson, the Barracuda would give up seven unanswered goals before Max Letunov scored at 14:58 of the third. Tucson would score again in the period to hand the Barracuda an 8-2 loss. The eight goals against tied the most given up on home ice in franchise history and the six-goal losing margin also matched the largest in franchise history. In the defeat, the Barracuda gave up a pair of power-play goals and a shorty.
Eagles Soaring: Colorado enters Friday with a 5-2 road record and have won their last two on visiting ice. In addition, Colorado is a +4 in goal differential on the road compared to a -5 at home.
Blichfeld Beasting: Rookie forward Joachim Blichfeld recorded his second multi-goal game of his rookie season on Sunday and now leads the Barracuda in goals (6) and co-leads the team in points (10) and power-play goals (3). Among AHL rookies, Blichfeld is 10th in scoring, T-second in goals and T-second in power-play goals. Last year, Blichfeld led the WHL in scoring (53 goals, 61 assists) and was named the WHL Player of the Year (Four Broncos Trophy) as a member of the Portland Winterhawks. The Sharks selected the Denmark native in the seventh round of the 2016 NHL draft.
Sumo Summoned: The Sharks recalled forward Antti Suomela on Tuesday for the first time since last December. Suomela scored on Sunday and had recorded points in three straight games (one goal, two assists) and five of his last six (four goals, three assists) contests. Last Wednesday, Suomela recorded the first multi-goal game of his career at San Diego and put a career-high eight shots on net. Suomela was in the Sharks lineup on Thursday in Vegas and even had a goal called back for goaltender interference on Timo Meier.
California Kid: California native and sophomore forward Evan Weinger netted his second goal in as many games on Wednesday and now has points in three-straight (two goals, one assist) and seven of his last eight (four goals, four assists). The Barracuda signed Weinger to an AHL contract following his junior career in the WHL two seasons ago.
Youth Movement: The Barracuda are the AHL’s youngest roster with an average age of 22.48-years-old. The Rockford IceHogs are the only other team with an average age under 23-years-old and the Barracuda have eight players 21-years-old or younger, including two players under 21 (Sasha Chmelevski [20] and Ivan Chekhovich [20]).