GAMEDAY: BARRACUDA VS GULLS
Mar 7, 2020
SAN JOSE BARRACUDA (20-27-4-2) vs SAN DIEGO GULLS (28-18-6-2)
SATURDAY, MARCH 7 | 8:00 P.M. | SAP CENTER | SAN JOSE, CA
LISTEN | WATCH | GAME NOTES
Rubber Match: On Saturday, the Barracuda wrap up their season-long six-game homestand with the second of two games over the weekend against the San Diego Gulls (Anaheim Ducks). The Barracuda are 4-5-1-0 against the Gulls this season and 2-2-1 at the SAP Center after a 3-2 overtime win on Friday night. After Friday’s W, the Barracuda have now earned points in nine of their last 11 games (6-2-3) and have collected wins in a season-long three-straight games and have points in four-straight (3-0-1).
Last Time Out: After the Gulls jumped out to a 2-0 lead thanks to a first-period goal from Justin Kloos and a second-period shorthanded goal from Chase De Leo, Sasha Chmelevski would score at 18:05 of the second before Nick DeSimone tied the game at 19:53 of the middle period. After a scoreless third period, Jayden Halbgewachs would score just 37 seconds into overtime to complete the comeback win. Zachary Sawchenko stopped a career-high 42 to earn his sixth win of the year, extending his point streak to four (3-0-1).
Jay Day: Jayden Halgewachs potted his AHL-best third overtime goal on Friday in the Barracuda’s 3-2 OT win against San Diego, extending his team-lead in goals to 18. Halgewachs is second on the Barracuda in points (34) power-play goals (3) and fourth in shots (111).
Carrick Cookin’: Barracuda defenseman Trevor Carrick enters Saturday tied for third in the AHL in goals (10) among defensemen and first in game-winning goals (4). In addition, Carrick boasts a team-best +16 rating and has a +11 rating over his last 11 games. On Friday, Carrick skated in his 400th professional game (AHL – 393, NHL – 7), collecting an assist.
Mad Max: Prior to Friday, second-year forward Maxim Letunov had collected a pair of assists in each of his last two games, extending his team lead in points to 38 and assists to 26. In addition, Letunov ranks first on the Barracuda in power-play assists (10) and points-per-game (.79). Letunov scored his first NHL goal on February 6, 2020, at Edmonton (Mikko Koskinen).
Rookie Rising: Barracuda rookie All-Star Joachim Blichfeld scored on Wednesday and now ranks third on the Barracuda in points-per-game (.74) and first in power-play goals (5). In addition, he is second in goals (16), third in points (32) and third in shots (113). Among AHL rookies, Blichfeld is tied for 12th in points and ninth in goals.
Brodz Boiling: After recording just one goal over an 18-game stretch, Jonny Brodzinski scored twice on Monday and twice on Wednesday and added an assist on Friday to extend his point streak to three games.
El Jefe: Jeff Viel collected an assist on Friday and now has nine points (five goals, four assists) over his last eight games. Viel is third on the Barracuda in goals (13) and first in penalty minutes (101) and majors (7).
Youth Movement: Despite adding 26-year-old Anthony Greco on Monday, the Barracuda are still the AHL’s youngest roster with an average age of 23.03-years-old. In fact, 14 players on San Jose’s AHL roster have two or fewer years of AHL experience.