GAMEDAY: THOROUGHBLADES VS. HEAT
Feb 2, 2019
Kentucky Thoroughblades (25-8-2-4 .718) vs. Stockton Heat (18-21-4-1.466)
SATURDAY, FEB. 2 | 1:15 P.M.
SAP Center | San Jose, Calif.
LISTEN | WATCH | GAME NOTES
Afternoon Hockey: After earning a 6-4 win on Friday, the San Jose Barracuda enter Saturday’s matchup against the Stockton Heat riding a six-game point streak and seven-game winning streak over the Flames affiliate. The Barracuda are 8-1-0-0 against Stockton this year and 31-11-2-1 all-time.
Star-Studded: The Barracuda were well represented at the 2019 AHL All-Star Classic earlier this week in Springfield, MA. Assistant captain Jake Middleton, winger Francis Perron, goaltender Josef Korenar and head coach Roy Sommer were all in Springfield as Barracuda representatives. Perron co-won the sharp-shooter contest on Sunday after hitting all four targets in six attempts and collected two points (one goal, one assist) in the three-on-three tournament. Middleton finished T-second among all skaters with four points (one goal, three assists) during the three-on-three tournament.
Sommer-Time: Barracuda head coach and Oakland native Roy Sommer earned his 750th AHL win on Friday. The AHL’s all-time leader in victories, games coached and seasons coached was the third Golden State native to make the NHL during his playing career that spanned three games with the Wayne Gretzky-led Edmonton Oilers and became the second Californian to score in the NHL on January 28, 1981, against the Montreal Canadiens.
Home-Sweet-Home: After going 3-1-1 during its most recent five-game homestand, the Barracuda rank first in the Pacific in home winning percentage (.737 13-4-1-1) and first in goal differential (+19).
The Truth: Sophomore forward Alex True potted a pair of goals on Friday and now has points in four-straight games (three goals, five assists). True leads the Barracuda in points (36), T-first in goals (14), first in assists (22), second in plus/minus (+18), T-third in power-play goals, first in points-per-game (.92), and first in game-winners (4). True finished second on the Barracuda in goals last season (15) as a rookie and has now registered seven multi-point games since December 1.
Two-Headed Monster: San Jose’s goalie combo of Josef Korenar and Antoine Bibeau have combined for the AHL’s best goals-against average (2.39) and save percentage (.917). The 20-year-old rookie Korenar is second in the AHL in GAA (2.20), third in SV% (.922), T-fourth in wins (16), and T-third in shutouts (3). Bibeau is T-12th in the league in GAA (2.59) and is T-12th in SV% (.913).
Francis on Fire: Acquired from the Ottawa Senators in the Erik Karlsson trade, third-year pro Francis Perron is second on the Barracuda in points (31), T-first in goals (14), third in assists (17), first in power-play goals (6), first in shooting percentage (27.5%), second in game-winning goals (3) and is T-third in plus/minus (+15).
Hard Wood: Acquired in an offseason trade with the Arizona Coyotes, Kyle Wood is second on the Barracuda in assists (21), first in plus/minus (+21), first in power-play assists (7), and is T-fourth in points (24). Wood was an AHL All-Star in 2016-17 and was named an AHL All-Rookie member after totaling 43 points (14g, 29a) with the Tucson Roadrunners.
Gambrell Good: Rookie forward Dylan Gambrell collected his third three-point night of his AHL career on Friday and his second two-goal goal game of his career. Gambrell is third on the Barracuda in goals (11), T-fourth in assists (16), third in points (27), T-third in power-play goals (2), T-third in game-winning goals (2), and second in points-per-game (.90). Gambrell won a NCAA National Championship at Denver University in 2017.