GAMEDAY: BARRACUDA VS WILD
Mar 2, 2020
SAN JOSE BARRACUDA (17-27-4-2) vs IOWA WILD (36-16-3-3)
MONDAY, MARCH 2 | 11:00 A.M. | SAP CENTER | SAN JOSE, CA
LISTEN | WATCH | GAME NOTES
Morning Matchup: On Monday morning, the Barracuda continue their season-long six-game homestand with a matchup against the Iowa Wild (Minnesota Wild). The Barracuda are 1-0-1-0 against the Wild this season and 4-2-2-0 all-time. The Wild enter Monday coming off a 2-0 win at Stockton on Saturday night and are in the midst of a six-game road trip. Since the Barracuda last faced Iowa on January 18, the Wild have gone 13-2-0-1 over their last 16 games.
Last Time Out: After falling into a first-period deficit, the Barracuda would score a pair of unanswered goals in the opening-period on Saturday against the Gulls. First, Anthony Greco at 15:40 and then from Jeff Viel at 17:26. After a scoreless second, Jayden Halbgewachs would pot his team-leading 17th goal of the year just 22 seconds into the third but Troy Terry would answer back 39 seconds later for the Gulls before tying the game up at 14:08. In overtime, Max Comtois potted the winner to complete the comeback for SD. Zachary Sawchenko took the loss, allowing four goals on 36 shots while Kevin Boyle earned the win by making 29 saves on 32 shots.
Need for Speed: Newly acquired forward Anthony Greco netted his first goal as a member of the Barracuda in his second game on Saturday. Greco was acquired in a trade on Monday along with a first-round pick from the Tampa Bay Lightning for forward Barclay Goodrow and a third-round pick. A season ago, Greco set the AHL’s all-time record for the fastest skater at the 2019 AHL All-Star Classic in Springfield, MA.
Carrick Cookin’: Barracuda defenseman Trevor Carrick ranks T-third in the AHL in goals (10) among defensemen and first in game-winning goals (4). In addition, Carrick boasts a team-best +13 rating and is a +8 over his last eight games.
Mad Max: Second-year forward Maxim Letunov leads the Barracuda in points (34), assists (22), power-play assists (9) and is T-third in points-per-game (.76). In addition, he is tied for first in power-play goals (4). Letunov scored his first NHL goal on February 6, 2020 at Edmonton (Mikko Koskinen).
Sasha Sizzlin’: Rookie forward Sasha Chmelevski picked up an assist on Saturday to extend his point streak to a career-best four games (two goals, three assists) and now has eight points over his last seven games (two goals, six assists). The Southern California native co-leads the team with four power-play goals.
Light-Halb(s): Second-year pro Jayden Halbgewachs netted his team-leading 17th goal of the year on Saturday, extending his point streak to three games (two goals, three assists). Halbgewachs is first on the Barracuda in goals (17), second in points (33), tied for third in assists (16) and second in power-play goals (3). Two years ago, as a member of the Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL), Halbgewachs led the CHL in scoring (129) and the WHL in goals (70).
Rookie Rising: Barracuda rookie All-Star Joachim Blichfeld picked up an assist on Saturday and now ranks second on the Barracuda in points-per-game (.78) and is tied for first in power-play goals (4). In addition, he is third in points (31) on the team and second in goals (15). Among AHL rookies, Blichfeld is T-13th in points.
El Jefe: Jeff Viel scored again on Saturday and now has five goals over his last five games and points in four of his last five (five goals, one assist). In addition, Viel leads the Barracuda in penalty minutes (94) and majors (6).
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.