GAMEDAY: BARRACUDA VS EAGLES
Nov 23, 2019
SAN JOSE BARRACUDA (5-10-0-1) vs COLORADO EAGLES (9-7-0-0)
SATURDAY, NOV. 23 | 1:15 P.M. | SAP CENTER | SAN JOSE, CA
LISTEN | WATCH | GAME NOTES | BIOS
Rivalry Rematch: On Saturday afternoon, the Barracuda wrap up their four-game homestand as they take on the Colorado Eagles for the second game of two over the weekend. The Barracuda fell to the Eagles on Friday, 4-1. A season ago, the ‘Cuda went 3-1 against Colorado at home, outscoring the Eagles 19-to-4 in those games.
Last Time Out: Sheldon Dries opened up the scoring for Colorado in the first with his team-leading sixth goal of the year and then Julien Nantel made it 2-0 Eagles just 32 seconds into the second. Noah Gregor extended his point streak to five games and made it points in all three games since reassignment from the Sharks when he scored at 13:32 of the second but the Barracuda couldn’t find a way to even up the score and eventually the Eagles sealed the win with two-empty netters. Andrew Shortridge was solid but took the loss after allowing two goals on 25 shots.
Eagles Soaring: Colorado enter Saturday with a 6-2 road record and have won their last three on visiting ice. In addition, Colorado is a +7 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 last Sunday and now leads the Barracuda in goals (6) and is second in points (10) and T-first in power-play goals (3). Among AHL rookies, Blichfeld is 12th in scoring, T-third 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.
Gregor Going: Barracuda forward Noah Gregor netted his second goal of the year on Friday and now has points in five-straight games (two goals, five assists) and three-straight (one goal, three assists) since the Sharks assigned him back to the AHL last Sunday. Selected by San Jose in the fourth round in 2016, Gregor finished fifth in the WHL in goals (43) last season as a member of the Prince Albert Raiders. In addition, he helped Prince Albert claim a WHL championship and totaled 24 points (13 goals, 11 assists) in 23 playoff games.
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]).