It’s pretty funny that the San Jose Sharks and San Jose Barracuda are both on their longest road trips of the season as the Sharks are currently on a six-game trek through the Eastern Conference while the Barracuda are on a seven-game road trip, although most of their games are in California before ending with a pair of games in Charlotte.
The Barracuda have found a little rhythm, recording points in three straight games after dropping three consecutive games the week prior. San Jose kicked things off with a pair of 4-3 victories over the San Diego Gulls, the top development affiliate of the Anaheim Ducks. The Barracuda secured their first win over the Gulls on Friday, Nov. 13 in thrilling fashion.
After San Diego raced out to an early 2-0 lead, the Barracuda evened things up behind goals from Bryan Lerg and Barclay Goodrow. It was Goodrow’s second goal with San Jose after being reassigned from the Sharks. The Barracuda would find themselves trailing late in the third period and staring their fourth consecutive loss right in the face. However, Scott Timmins found the back of the net to force overtime with 24 seconds remaining.
Following a disallowed goal in the extra frame, Jeremy Langlois scored the lone goal in the shootout as the Barracuda snapped a three-game losing streak with the 4-3 victory.
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One night later, the two teams were back at it, and the Barracuda would ride solid goaltending from Troy Grosenick for the second straight game. Grosenick, who picked up his first victory of the season the previous night, would make 32 saves in garnering second star honors as San Jose recorded another 4-3 win. The Barracuda gave Grosenick a big cushion to work with, establishing a 4-1 lead after two periods of play.
Langlois extended his point streak to four games with his fourth goal of the season, while defensemen Karl Stollery and Mark Cundari each recorded their first of the year. San Jose would rely on the exploits of Grosenick in the third as he was peppered with 21 shots. While he allowed two to get past him, Grosenick and the Barracuda would leave San Diego with four much-needed points.
Finally, the Barracuda traveled to Bakersfield to take on the Condors and they dropped a hard-fought, 2-1 decision in the shootout yesterday. Lerg scored his team-leading sixth goal of the season to send the game into overtime, but the Condors were the ones to find the back of the net during the shootout. Aaron Dell got the start between the pipes and made 28 saves in a losing effort.
Next: Pacific Division Stock Report: Sharks Shoot Up To Second Place
San Jose wraps up their seven-game road trip by visiting the Stockton Heat this weekend before traveling to the East Coast to take on the Charlotte Checkers next week.