Hear yee, hear yee! Last night the San Jose Barracuda galloped their way to a victory on renaissance night at the Tech CU arena. They dueled against the Henderson Silver Knights, resulting in a 4-1 win for San Jose. The Silver Knights were on a 2 game win streak, but last night put out that flame.
The first period of last night’s game started with heat. There were a total of 5 penalties, with 4 of them being for fighting. While tensions were high, Andrew Poturalski tucked one in behind Carl Lindbom five minutes before the end of the first.
With this being another very physical game, along with Wednesday’s matchup against the Bakersfield Condors, it was a relief to see that the ‘Cuda didn’t let the energy get to them this time. After the first, San Jose got two more in the second starting with Rem Pitlick, making it his first goal in teal.
Then, 30 seconds later, another puck hit the back of the net off Pavol Regendas’s stick. The ‘Cuda tank was filled with Hazzahs!
The second period ended with 6 penalties, making it the most penalty-heavy period all game.
Going into the third, the action slowed down. While penalties and hits were slow, we were seeing some very organized hockey from the ‘Cuda which resulted in one more goal by Thomas Bordeleau 2 minutes in.
A couple of minutes later, Henderson came in with their first and only goal, by Kai Uchacz. The third period ended up more uneventful, but there were no more goals scored resulting in the ‘Cuda taking the win.
Carriere does it again:
Gabriel Carriere played for the University of Vermont, he stood out during his college career, especially in the 2023-24 season, where he posted a 13-17-3 record, 2.79 GAA, and .906 save percentage, and was nominated for the Hobey Baker Award. Before Vermont, he had a successful junior career, including a standout season with the Waterloo Blackhawks in the USHL, where he earned Rookie of the Year honors. He also played for the Ottawa Jr. Senators in the CCHL, winning a bronze medal with Team Canada at the 2018 Junior Club World Cup. Known for his strong performances, including multiple shutouts and career-high saves, Gabe’s talent has made him a promising goaltender at the professional level, recently signing an ATO with the San Jose Barracuda in March 2024.
In his recent games with the SJ ‘Cuda, he has stood out immensely. On Wednesday’s matchup against the Condors, he had an incredible 37 save game. Last night, he made another 26.
While star goalie Askarov recovers from an injury, we have seen significant progress from Carriere. As he put in work and shows why he is in this league it leaves us to wonder how much play time he will get the rest of this season. But for now, he is looking sharp.
Road to the playoffs
As the season nears an end, it’s crunch time. The ‘Cuda continue to race to the Calder Cup. They currently hold the 6th place spot in the Pacific Division. If the Playoffs started tomorrow, they would have a guaranteed spot. With the improvement seen from the last two consecutive losses, it shows that what they have done in the last week is benefiting them. Will the ‘Cuda be able to keep their place? And if they do, will it be enough to win? We will see more from the Cuda today, at 3pm PST, in San Jose.
Scoring Summary:
Scoring Summary:
1st Period:
15:01 – SJ Goal by Andrew Poturalski from Thomas Bordeleau and Lucas Carlsson
2nd Period:
18:03 – SJ Goal by Rem Pitlick from Danil Gushchin and Jimmy Schuldt
18:32 – SJ Goal by Pavol Regenda from Donavan Houle and Colin White
3rd Period:
2:20 SJ Thomas Bordeleau from Donavon Houle and Colin White
2:20 – HSK Goal by Kai Uchacz from Mitch McLain and Calen Addison
