GAMEDAY: BARRACUDA VS STARS (2-20-17)
Feb 20, 2017
Game #45 – San Jose Barracuda (30-11-1-3) at Texas Stars (24-21-1-2)
Monday, February 20, 2017
3:00 PM PST, SAP Center, San Jose, California
LISTEN LIVE | WATCH LIVE | GAME NOTES
Tonight’s Matchup: For the first time since November 12, the San Jose Barracuda and Texas Stars will do battle. The Stars are coming off a weekend split with the Chicago Wolves at home and begin a six-game California swing this afternoon that will conclude in San Jose on March 1. The Barracuda scored a season-high eight goals against Texas in an 8-5 win over the Stars on November 12 and are 1-1-0 in two games played against their Pacific Division foe.
Best of the West: For the first time in team history, the San Jose Barracuda sit atop the Pacific Division and Western Conference. San Jose is riding a franchise-long 11-game winning streak and stands second in the AHL with a record of 30-11-1-3 (.711). Before this streak, the longest winning streak (2004-present) by a Sharks affiliate came in the 2014-15 season when the Worcester Sharks won eight in a row from January 4-21, 2014. The Barracuda are also riding a five-game home winning streak from Jan. 16-to-now and hold the second-best home winning percentage in the league at .778 (16-4-1-1).
Dazzling Danny: Among rookies, Barracuda All-Star forward Danny O’Regan is T-first in points (14+28=42), first in assists, 10th in goals, and T-11th overall in the AHL in points. O'Regan is T-first on the Barracuda in points, T-second in goals and second in assists.
Oh Boy Troy: Barracuda All-Star netminder Troy Grosenick is riding a career high nine-game winning streak and is first in the AHL in shutouts (7), first in goals-against average (1.93), first in save percentage (.935) and fifth in wins (18).
Heed Check: Barracuda blueliner Tim Heed is second among defenseman in the AHL in points (11+31=42), seventh in goals, first in assists, T-second in power play goals (7), and T-first in game-winning goals. Heed is riding a seven-game point streak (2+3=9) and is T-first on the Barracuda in points, T-fifth goals, first in power play goals (7) and T-first in game-winning goals.
Sorensen Soaring: Over his first 20 games in the AHL, Barracuda forward Marcus Sorensen recorded just nine points (5+4=9) and had a 10-game stretch from mid-November to mid-December where he didn’t record a single point, but in his last 20 games, Sorensen has exploded for 20 points (9+11=20) and a plus-eight rating. A former Ottawa Senators draft pick, Sorensen is riding a seven-game point streak (3+7=10) and a six-game assist streak (7).
San Jose’s Last Time Out: The San Jose Barracuda blanked the Ontario Reign, 2-0, at Citizens Business Bank Arena on Saturday night to extend their winning streak to 11. Adam Helewka (12) gave San Jose a first-period lead, and John McCarthy (12) added some insurance in the second. Troy Grosenick made 20 saves to earn his league-leading seventh shutout.
Texas’s Last Time Out: The Texas Stars saw their four-game winning streak come to an end as they suffered a 4-1 loss to the Chicago Wolves at H-E-B Center in Cedar Park, Texas on Saturday night. Ethan Werek (5) scored the lone tally for the Stars and former Tucson Roadrunner, Justin Peters, suffered the loss after allowing four goals on 24 shots.