Barracuda Report: San Jose Picks Up Pair Of Big Wins
The San Jose Barracuda are hanging on in the Calder Cup race with 17 games remaining.
As the calendar turns to March, the San Jose Barracuda find themselves in a dog fight for the Calder Cup playoffs as the stretch run to the postseason begins in earnest.
San Jose took a step in the right direction last night by beginning their three-game home stand with a blowout victory over the Stockton Heat, top affiliate of the Calgary Flames, last night. The Barracuda received contributions up-and-down the lineup as they lit the lamp a season-high seven times, including four with the man advantage, in a 7-1 win over Stockton.
Top prospect Nikolay Goldobin led the way for San Jose with a pair of goals, his 12th and 13th of the season, as the Barracuda improved to 24-18-6-3 for the year with 57 points and a points percentage of .559. Other top performers for San Jose included John McCarthy who extended his points streak to eight games with a goal and two assists and Michael Haley who registered three assists.
Troy Grosenick made 18 saves in recording his 11th victory of the season as the Barracuda look forward to the final month of the season.
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It was a nice bounce back performance from San Jose after falling 5-2 to the San Diego Gulls, the top affiliate of the Anaheim Ducks whom the Barracuda are now tied with in the Pacific Division, to wrap up their four-game road trip.
San Jose fell behind in a 2-0 hole early and could never recover despite goals from McCarthy and Trevor Parkes. The Barracuda dominated stretches of the game, outshooting San Diego by a 43-26 margin, but they couldn’t get the desired result they were looking for.
The Barracuda began their weekend with a nice comeback victory over the Bakersfield Condors, top affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers. McCarthy, Haley, Ryan Carpenter and Ben Smith all scored for San Jose as the Barracuda picked up a critical victory. Aaron Dell made 21 saves in picking up his 11th victory of the season before being called up to the San Jose Sharks to serve as the backup to Martin Jones following the acquisition of James Reimer.
Next: Sharks Close Out February In Fine Fashion
The Barracuda wrap up their three-game home stand with a pair of contests against the Condors in a critical two-game clash as the push to the playoffs continues in San Jose’s inaugural season. Bakersfield is hot on the heels of the Barracuda so this will be an important set of contests to see if San Jose can give themselves a little bit of breathing room.