The San Jose Barracuda started their preseason on the road this Friday against the Bakersfield Condors, beginning what will hopefully be a strong season with an overtime win.
THE BARRACUDA
There were a number of players making their debut for the Barracuda this Friday, and many making their professional debut as a whole. Ethan Cardwell, Lleyton Moore, Ethan Frisch, Roman Kinal, Jason Pineo, Georgi Romanov, Matthre Sredl and Brayden Watts are all starting their rookie AHL season. Of note are Ethan Cardwell, Magnus Chrona and Georgi Romanov, who all had big games on Friday night in Bakersfield. Notable names missing are Thomas Bordeleau and William Eklund, both expected to make the Sharks opening night roster.
THE OPPONENT
Last season the Bakersfield Condors finished 5th in the Pacific Division, with 78 points and a 37-31-2-2 record. They were swept in the first round of the Calder Cup playoffs by the Abbotsford Canucks.
GAME ACTION
The San Jose Barracuda started extremely strong, opening the scoring within three minutes of puck drop (Brandon Coe, assisted by Tristen Robins and Shakir Mukhamadullin), before Adam Raska extended the lead to two goals with an unassisted effort.
It took a while for the Condors to claw their way back into the game, not scoring their own opening goal until 10:12 of the second period (Xavier Bourgault, assisted by Ethan De Jong and James Hamblin). Bourgault would score the game tying goal in the third period on the power play, and be the only goalscorer for Bakersfield in this game. The Barracuda struggled on the penalty kill last season, and conceded the only power play goal in the game, the Condors going 1 for 5 on the PP. The Barracuda went 0/4 on their own power play.
The overtime hero was Ethan Cardwell, scoring 3:45 into the extra time, assisted by Ozzy Wiesblatt and Lleyton Moore, scoring in his first professional game. Cardwell was the 4th round pick of the Sharks in 2021, and last year was named the San Jose Sharks prospect of the year, so it seems as it he’s starting as he means to go on for the Cuda this season.
The Barracuda were outshot 39-26, but luckily both their goalies were in good form to start their preseason.
STAT CORNER
Both goalies were excellent for the Barracuda. Magnus Chrona and Georgi Romanov split the game 50/50, with Chrona starting and making 22 of his 23 saves. Romanov took over halfway through the second, and made 15 of 16, including one in overtime. Last season the Barracuda’s best goalie was Eetu Makiniemi, who had a .900 SV% in 22 games. Last season Makiniemi was 51st in save percentage of goalies with more than 10 games played. With the departures of Aaron Dell and Strauss Mann, Romanov and Chrona look up to the task of filling the gap at goal for the Barracuda.
BIG FISH IN A SMALL POND
The star of the game has to be Ethan Cardwell. Starting his pro career with a bang, he scored the overtime winner on his only shot of the game.
An honourable mention goes to Daniil Guschchin, who did not feature on the scoresheet, but who led all Barracuda in shots on goal with 5.
NEXT UP
The San Jose Barracuda are back at home tonight, as they welcome the Condors in for a rematch.
Their first regular season game is on Friday October 13th, against the Rockford Icehogs.
