Back and forth periods, the physicality was intense, and both teams were putting up a fight. Ethan Cardwell’s fist just grazed Rem Pitlick’s face. It didn’t matter that Pitlick used to be among the ‘Cuda; it was the home opener, and the Barracuda was doing everything to win.
Starting for the Barracuda on defense was Luca Cagnini, Cole Clayton, and on the front line, there were forwards Quentin Musty, Kasper Halttunen, and Colin White. Starting in goal was Jakub Skarek.
First period
The pace started fast and heated, the ‘Cuda picked up right where it left off with Bakersfield, tense. Bakersfield and San Jose are somewhat of a match. Last year, of the 7 games the two teams played against each other, the ‘Cuda won 3 and the Condors 4. Former ‘Cuda forward Rem Pitlick found his opportunity and got one past Skarek 39 seconds in.
But San Jose answered back, at seven minutes, with a setup by Cam Lund to Filip Bystedt, and the game was tied 1-1.
And that’s when the aggression picked up. Skarek had to recover a few shots from Bakersfield, and the guys were making big hits. Pavol Regenda got in a few shoves, standing on business.
And that kind of physicality matters in a game like this, a home opener with undertones of a rivalry. The ‘Cuda responded to it again with a quick goal by Zack Ostapchuck from Regenda and Jake Furlong.
The Barracuda were doing Barracuda things, responding to pressure and holding their own. But in that, John Gormley was sent to the box with five minutes left for high-sticking, putting Bakersfield on the team’s first power play.
The Consors capitalized fast, Seth Griffith drew Skarek to the left post, and sniped one into the top right corner.
To make things a bit more challenging, Riley Stillman, assisted by Pitlick, slid another one in.
And to add on to it, Cam Lund took 2 minutes for slashing, and San Jose had another penalty kill to handle, which it did. The Condors did not score this time.
The period was dying down in the last minute, but Patrick Giles saw his opportunity with 13 seconds left to tie the game again, 3-3.
Second period
In the first two minutes, Josh Brown took an interference penalty for the Condors, putting the ‘Cuda on its first power play of the game. And San Jose sure did make something of it. Musty was waiting by the post, and Igor Chernyshov sent it right to him for a gentle tap-in, making the scoreboard read 4-3 in favor of the Barracuda.
And then Max Jones took another Bakersfield penalty for slashing, but San Jose didn’t capitalize in those two minutes.
And if you thought two power plays weren’t enough in the first seven minutes of the frame, you are mistaken. Rhett Pitlick made his appearance in the box for tripping.
Luca Cagnoni took his chance from the top of the faceoff circle and got it past Matt Tomkins with help from Lund (his third point) and Musty (his second).
With ten minutes left, Cagnoni took a big hit, and that was something Clayton could not stand for. He got into it with Connor Clattenburg, and they both got five minutes for fighting.
Jimmy Huntington went off the draw 13 minutes in from Giles and got another one past Tomkins, making it 6-3.
The pace slowed down for a little bit with some back and forth, but Bakersfield was able to put another point on the board when Max Jones slid one past Skarek.
That wasn’t the only one in those two minutes; Roby Jarventie and Pitlick added another goal to make the score 6-5, still in favor of San Jose.
With 20 seconds left, the ‘Cuda then got a power play after a hooking penalty called on Quinn Hutson, and it carried over into the third.
Third period
The crowd was roaring, the players surrounded center ice, and the puck dropped.
The ‘Cuda started on the power play, but it couldn’t produce anything from it. Three minutes in, Pitlick had three shots in 30 seconds, but San Jose pushed back. There was a bit of a scuffle by the ‘Cuda bench, which put two Condors, Josh Samanski and Max Jones, and ‘Cudas Huntington in the penalty box, making it a 4v5.
The period continued with the same push and pull, with nothing being produced.
The ‘Cuda went on another power play after a Bakersfield hooking, but you know, same old story. However, Bakersfield pulled Tomkins with a minute thirty left, but having an extra man just didn’t work out in the Condors’ case. The game ended 7-6, Barracuda.
The game was very eventful, lots going on, but Head Coach John McCarthy had his thoughts organized:
“I didn’t think we took great care of the puck through the neutral zone or on breakouts, which led to scoring chances against, goals against. And I think that’s where we got to make our biggest change—taking care of the puck, making sure it gets into the offensive zone,” he said.
The game was chaotic and the ‘Cuda did win, but this does not mean things can not be cleaned up.
“We gave up way too much off the rush, mostly due to puck management and then lack of forwards above the puck. We were kind of just playing too run-and-gun, which is not going to be our game,” McCarthy added.
He gives a glimpse into the future: The San Jose Barracuda is back and ready to play.
