Barracuda fall to Gulls on Teddy Bear Toss Day

During the frenzy of the 2012 NHL Trade Deadline, the San Jose Sharks traded forward Jamie McGinn and two prospects to the Colorado Avalanche for forwards Daniel Winnik, T.J. Galiardi and a seventh round draft pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

One of the prospects the Sharks traded to the Avalanche with McGinn was forward Mike Sgarbossa, the same Sgarbossa who scored two goals Saturday afternoon to help lead the San Diego Gulls (AHL affiliate of the Anaheim Ducks) to a 3-2 win over the San Jose Barracuda on Teddy Bear Toss Day at SAP Center.

The Barracuda, who are winless in three games against the Gulls this season (0-2-1) got goals from forwards Barclay Goodrow, who made his AHL season debut, and Nikita Jevpalovs while goaltender Troy Grosenick made 25 saves in net.

Sgarbossa put the Gulls ahead 1-0 at 8:55 of the first period when he fired home a rebound from on top of the crease for his first goal of the season after Grosenick had made the initial save on Gulls defenseman Brandon Montour’s shot from inside the left circle on an odd man rush. At 19:27, Sgarbossa found a loose puck inside the right circle near the slot and beat Grosenick glove side with a snap shot to give the Gulls a 2-0 lead.

In the second period, the Barracuda out-shot the Gulls 11-6 and got on the scoreboard at 18:37 when Goodrow reached out at the side of the crease and shuffled a backhanded shot past Gulls goaltender John Gibson while being knocked down to the ice by Montour. The goal, which was Goodrow’s first of the season, was assisted by Timmins, who had his initial shot from the top of the slot turned away, and sent hundreds of Teddy Bears flying onto the ice.

The Barracuda pulled even at 12:19 of the third period when Jevpalovs buried the puck into an open net on the left side of the crease for his second goal of the season after linemate John McCarthy’s shot from the right side hit off the post. Barracuda defenseman Joakim Ryan was credited with the secondary assist.

Just as the Barracuda appeared to have seized momentum following Jevpalovs’ goal, Gulls forward Joseph Cramarossa scored what held up as the winning goal at 14:56 when he beat Grosenick blocker side with a snap shot from on top of the right circle while skating into the Barracuda zone one-on-two.

With Grosenick pulled for the extra attacker, the Barracuda thought they had tied the game with 35-seconds left as the goal light went on after forward Melker Karlsson crashed the net for a rebound but referee Tom Chmielewski, who was right behind the net, immediately waived his arms in the air saying no goal.

NOTES… Shots on goal were 33-28 in favor of the Barracuda… The Barracuda went 0-for-3 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill… Grosenick is now 0-3-1 with a 2.96 goals-against-average and .911 save percentage… Karlsson, who played in his first game since Oct. 23, had a team high five shots on goal… Barracuda forward Frazer McLaren dropped the gloves with Gulls forward Brian McGrattan at 8:40 of the first period… Prior to the game, Barracuda defenseman Mark Cundari was called up to the Sharks, joining Barracuda forwards Bryan Lerg, Micheal Haley and Nikolay Goldobin… Earlier in the week, the Barracuda called up forward Gary Steffes from their ECHL affiliate the Allen Americans… The Barracuda are 1-3-0 at SAP Center and 3-4-1 with seven points overall… The Barracuda are back in action Sunday afternoon as they host the Bakersfield Condors at 3pm/pt.

THREE STARS
1. Mike Sgarbossa – Gulls (2-0-2)
2. Barclay Goodrow – Barracuda (1-0-1)
3. Joseph Cramarossa – Gulls (1-0-1, GWG)

LINES
*In order of appearance*
Goodrow / Timmins / Parkes
Karlsson / Carpenter / Langlois
McCarthy (A) / Steffes / Emanuelsson
McLaren / Crane / Jevpalovs

DEFENSE
*In order of appearance*
Mueller / Ryan
Stollery (A) / Bergman
Young / DeMelo (A)

GOALIES
Grosenick
Dell

SCRATCHES
Arseneau
McNally