GAMEDAY: BARRACUDA VS CHECKERS
Nov 10, 2023
SAN JOSE BARRACUDA (2-4-3-0) vs. CHARLOTTE CHECKERS (6-3-0-0)
FRI, NOV. 10 | 7:00 P.M. | Tech CU Arena | Calgary, AB
LISTEN | WATCH | GAME NOTES | MEDIA KIT
Checkmate: On Friday, for the first time since Dec. 30, 2015, the San Jose Barracuda and Charlotte Checkers (Florida Panthers) will square off. Friday marks the first of four games on the season series and the first of two over the next three days at Tech CU Arena. The Barracuda are 2-2 lifetime against the Checkers and 1-1 at home. San Jose and Charlotte were both members of the AHL’s Pacific Division in its inaugural season back in 2015-16. The Checkers will be the first opponent from the Eastern Conference that the Barracuda have ever faced.
Sunday Funday: The Barracuda (2-4-3-0) got 34 saves from rookie goaltender Georgi Romanov en route to a 4-1 win over the Calgary Wranglers (6-1-1-0) on Sunday afternoon at the Scotiabank Saddledome. With the victory, the Barracuda snapped a six-game skid (0-3-3-0) and ended Calgary’s five-game winning streak. The win was also the Barracuda’s first on the road (1-1-1) and the Wranglers’ first loss in regulation and at home. Romanov (2-0-2-0) has been in the nets for both Barracuda wins and has managed to earn his team at least a point in each of his four starts. The loss for Gilroy native Dustin Wolf (5-1-0-0) was his first of the year and first in 13 career games against San Jose.
Checking in on Charlotte: The Checkers enter Friday having won four in a row after back-to-back overtime wins against the San Diego Gulls at home this past weekend, but have dropped their last two on the road. Veteran forward Gerry Mayhew, who’s in his second season with the Checkers, potted both OT winners. If you remove the 2019-20 (Covid), the Checkers have reached the Calder Cup playoffs in five consecutive years, capturing a championship in 2018-19. In 2021-22 after 10 seasons as the top affiliate of its in-state NHL club, the Carolina Hurricanes, the Checkers shared an affiliation with the Seattle Kraken and Florida Panthers in 2021-22 and were solely affiliated with the Panthers last season. The Checkers boast a top-five penalty kill entering Friday (36/40=90/6%) and have killed 13 off in a row.
Trade Winds: The Sharks dealt Adam Raska and a fifth rounder in 2026 to the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday for defenseman Calen Addison. Before the deal, Raska had skated in seven games with the Barracuda this season, notching zero point and four penalty minutes.
Gush Goin’: Danil Gushchin buried the game-winner on Sunday in the Barracuda’s 4-1 win over the Calgary Wranglers. The sophomore forward now has points in six of seven games (4+8=12) and now leads the team in shots (43), points (13) and assists (9) and is T-first in goals (4), game-winners (1). Among league leaders, he is third in shots, and T-fourth in points and assists. A year ago, as a rookie, he ranked first among freshmen in shots (203), T-11th in goals (22), T-13th in points (45), T-10th in power-play goals (7), and 16th in shootout percentage (4/7=57.1%).