GAMEDAY: BARRACUDA AT STARS
Feb 19, 2022
SAN JOSE BARRACUDA (14-26-1-0) vs TEXAS STARS (14-18-5-3)
SAT., FEB. 19 | 5:00 P.M. | SAP CENTER | SAN JOSE, CA
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Off to Texas: The San Jose Barracuda hit the road for a pair of games beginning on Saturday night in Texas against the Stars. The former Pacific Division rivals have not seen each other since November, combining for 22 goals, and splitting the two games at the SAP Center. The Barracuda are 14-7-1-2 lifetime against the Dallas’ affiliate and 5-5-1-1 at H-E-B Center. The Barracuda enter Saturday having dropped seven consecutive games and 10 of its last 11. The Stars are coming off a 3-1 win on Wednesday but had gone 0-4-1-1 over its prior six.
Falling Stars: The Texas Stars find themselves at the bottom of the Central Division and 13th in the Western Conference overall. Their power-play ranks near the middle of the league at 13th (19.6) while their power-play percentage ranks 24th (78.6%). Curtis McKenzie is first on the team in scoring (29) and leads the team in games played this season for the Stars (40). Joel L’esperance leads the team with 15 goals and has 27 points in 31 games played.
Sommer Time: On Jan. 8, 2022, head coach Roy Sommer picked up AHL victory #800 with a 6-3 win over the Henderson Silver Knights. The Oakland, Calif., native has been behind the bench for 1,716 games in the AHL, going 803-705-48-160 (W-L-T-OTL/SOL) over that span. During the 2015-16 season, the Barracuda’s first in San Jose, Sommer surpassed Fred “Bun” Cook (636 wins) for the most wins in AHL history, notching a 4-2 victory on Feb. 10, 2016, over Ontario. Sommer collected his 700th win on Dec. 3, 2017, at Bakersfield (2-1 W).
Reeds Rolling: Scott Reedy has been held off the scoresheet in his last four outings but still ranks t-seventh in the AHL in goals (18), t-first in power-play goals (10), and first in shooting percentage (29.5%). In addition, Reedy has skated in his first five games in the NHL this season with the Sharks.
Halbs Heatin': Fourth-year pro Jayden Halbgewachs potted a goal in four in his last five matchups. Overall, he has 13 points (6+7=13) in his last 17 games played. Halbgewachs is t-first on the Barracuda in points (27), third in goals (12), second in assists (15), fourth in power-play goals (4), t-first in power-play assists (9), and fourth in shots (84). Halbgewachs has also appeared in his first three NHL games this season, collecting an assist in an 8-7 win over the Coyotes on Dec. 29.
Minuteman: After collecting just four goals over his first 21 games this season, John Leonard has scored seven times over his last 15 games. Leonard has points in seven of his last 10 games (5+3=8) and is fourth on the team in goals (10), t-fourth in power-play goals (4), second in shots (109), and t-first in shorthanded goals (2). Two years ago, Leonard led all NCAA skaters in goals scored (25) as a member of the UMass Minutemen.
Wein Time: Barracuda forward Evan Weinger had his career-best five-game point streak snapped against the San Diego Gulls on Wednesday but is only now three goals shy of his career-high of 11 goals which he set in his rookie season in 2018-19. The El Segundo, Calif. native ranks t-first on the team in shorthanded goals (2) and fourth in shooting percentage (13.1%).