Barracuda Close Out 2015 With A 3-2 Shootout Thriller
Dec 30, 2015San Jose, CA –The San Jose Barracuda (12-10-2-3, 29pts) presented by Barracuda Networks closed out the 2015 calendar year with an exciting 3-2 shootout victory over the visiting Charlotte Checkers (17-11-1-1, 36pts) in front of 4,064 fans at the SAP Center on Wednesday afternoon. The Barracuda head to Bakersfield to face the Condors on Monday, January 2nd at 7:00pm.
Captain Bryan Lerg scored the only goal in the shootout while Aaron Dell (5-6-2) made 31 saves and stopped all three shooters in the shootout for the win. Micheal Haley (1-0-1) and Ryan Carpenter (1-0-1) scored for the Barracuda in a hard fought hockey game. Sergey Tolchinsky (1-1-2) and Jake Chelios (1-0-1) scored for the Checkers with Daniel Altshuller (4-0-1) making 32 saves in the loss.
Aaron Dell was the best player for the Barracuda in the first period as the Checkers dominated possession for the first several minutes. The Checkers had two prime scoring opportunities in the first three minutes of the game but Aaron Dell came up big both times, spinning around and sweeping the puck off the goal line with his paddle on the first attempt and stopping the puck with his skate on the wraparound attempt on the second.
At 9:34 Alex Gallant (4th FM) and Kyle Hagel (7th FM) had some words pre-faceoff and decided to drop the gloves once the puck was dropped resulting in a spirited toe to toe scrap with both players dishing out some heavy shots.
Sergey Tolchinsky (3rd) scored first goal for the Checkers, using his speed to get past all of the defenders and put a quick wrist shot into the back of the net.
The Barracuda fought back and were able to tie it up with 12 seconds left in the period thanks to Micheal Haley (7th) who powered his way to the front of the net and shoveled the puck past Daniel Altshuller on a rebound. The Barracuda went to the locker room with a 13-12 shot advantage through the first period.
Both teams came out strong with exciting back and forth play in the second period. Haley (1st FM) and Mike Cornell (5th FM) engaged in the second fight of the game at 6:42 with Haley wrestling Cornell to the ice. Both goaltenders saved all shots attempted with Charlotte taking the shot advantage 13-12. The score remained at 1-1 heading into the second intermission.
Aggressive and fast paced play ensued in the 3rd. Ryan Carpenter (4th) gave the Barracuda their first lead of the game, putting the puck over Altshuller’s shoulder and into the back of the net after a big scramble in front of the Charlotte net at 4:59.
Jake Chelios (4th) tied it up 2-2 with a back door one timer on the power play at 14:35. Shots were 7-6 in favor of the Checkers in the third period.
Overtime followed with the Barracuda going on the 4 on 3 man advantage 15 seconds in. The Checkers then were called on a too many men on the ice penalty, to give the Barracuda a 5 on 3 power play advantage.
The Checkers fought off the Barracuda offensive onslaught and then took another penalty with 29.4 seconds remaining. Neither team was able to score in the overtime as they went to the shootout.
Dell saved all three shootout attempts by the Checkers and Lerg scored on a gorgeous deke and backhand shot to win it for the Barracuda.
Notes: Three Stars: 3rd star: Aaron Dell (31 Saves W) 2nd star: Sergey Tolchinsky (1-1-2) 1st star: Ryan Carpenter (1-0-1)….Final shots were 35-33 in favor of San Jose… Daniel Altshuller (4-0-1) made 32 saves on 34 shots for Charlotte….Troy Grosenick (5-6-2) made 31 saves on 33 shots for San Jose ….San Jose went 0-for-5 on the power play while Charlotte went 1-for-5…. Scott Timmins (inj), Daniel Doremus (inj), Frazer McLaren (inj), Mark Cundari (Spengler Cup), Patrick McNally and Rick Pinkston did not dress for the Barracuda… San Jose finished with a 5-2-2-0 (12 pts in 9gp) record in December with 29 GF and 30 GA…Joakim Ryan (0-5-5) had a four game point streak….Micheal Haley (2-0-2) has a two game goal streak…the Barracuda have 17 fighting majors this season…Roy Sommer picked up his 629th win in his career and is now just seven wins away from tying Fred Bun Cook for most wins in AHL history.
Coming up….
On Saturday, January 2nd the Barracuda head to Bakersfield to face the Condors (AHL affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers) at 7:00pm at Rabobank Arena. Coverage begins at 6:30pm on AM 1220 KDOW.
On Sunday, January 3rd the Barracuda return home to host the Texas Stars (AHL affiliate of Dallas Stars) at 5:00pm at the SAP Center. Coverage begins at 4:30pm on AM 1220 KDOW.
All games can be heard live online at www.kdow.biz with a 30 minute pregame show before puck drop. Fans may watch the games online for a small fee at www.ahllive.com. Join the game day conversation on Facebook and follow the game on Twitter by following @SJBarracuda.
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