The San Jose Barracuda continue to flounder as the Coachella Valley Firebirds pull themselves out of the Pacific Division basement with a weekend sweep. The Barracuda lose 8-2 and 5-4 (OT), and have only one win on the season in seven attempts.
THE BARRACUDA
The San Jose Barracuda continue to be without Tristen Robins, who was fourth in team scoring last season. Though neither player iced for this weekend, forwards Jacob Peterson and Thomas Bordeleau were reassigned to the Barracuda on Sunday morning.
THE OPPONENT
The Coachella Valley Firebirds have struggled to open the season, with only 6 goals for in their first three games, and only one win. No player had more than three points going into this weekend, and no player had more than one goal. Considering the Firebirds were fresh off a trip to the Calder Cup Finals, and the addition of Shane Wright, who was excellent for them in the postseason last year, this lethargic opening was anything but what many AHL fans expected.
SATURDAY
Saturday started poorly for the Barracuda, and then got worse. After goals from Luke Henman, Max McCormick and Ryker Evans (all the first of the season for each player) in the first period alone, as well as being outshot 19-10, the Barracuda needed to battle back in the second. Instead they allowed a further three goals on ten shots, one each from Wright, Jacob Melanson and Marian Studenic.
In the third period, McCormick added his second, and Ryan Winterton added insult to injury by scoring a shorthanded goal, giving the Firebirds eight unanswered tallies before Danil Gushchin scored his first, then second of the season at 16:41 and 17:34 of the third period.
The Firebirds had seven different goalscorers, and twelve different players with at least one point. Goalie Chris Driedger made 33 of 35 saves for the victory.
Magnus Chrona and Georgi Romanov’s start to their pro careers continue to be rocky. Chrona allowed 6 goals on 27 shots before being pulled in the second period, and Romanov allowed 2 goals on the 12 shots he faced in relief.
Quite frankly, the only noticable player for the Barracuda was the goalscorer, Gushchin, who after only 1 point in the first two games of the season, has been quietly racking up the assists. This game would be his fourth straight multipoint game.
SUNDAY
Sunday’s game started in a much better fashion than Saturday’s: with the Barracuda scoring first. Brandon Coe’s fourth of the season came on the power play only 90 seconds into the game, and two minutes later Justin Bailey added his fourth of the campaign. Kole Lind scored for the Firebirds, but the Barracuda would go into the first intermission up 3-1 on the back of a late goal from Leon Gawanke. Of note in this period, Ethan Cardwell added to his lead on the team’s rookie scoring race with his fifth point in seven games.
The Firebirds didn’t go quietly, adding the only goal in the second period, Connor Carrick’s first of the season, giving the Barracuda only a one goal lead to cling to going into the third period. It took just over five minutes for the Firebirds to equalise, with Winterton’s second of the weekend. Radim Simek would score his first of the season, but the Firebirds would once again tie the game with just under two and a half minutes left to send the game into extra time.
The penalty kill was the undoing of the Barracuda once again, as Danil Gushchin took a high sticking penalty, and Wright would score his second of the weekend on the first shot of overtime for either team.
STAT CORNER
The Barracuda continue to bleed goals against. This weekend they allowed a combined total of 68 shots against, and 13 goals. In comparison, they had 66 shots on the Firebirds, and only scored 6 goals. They continue to not have any real trouble scoring, with Gushchin in particular impressing with a five point weekend, but if they don’t figure out the goaltending soon, it could be another early summer for the Barracuda.
BIG FISH IN A SMALL POND
Danil Gushchin has very quietly been racking up the points for the Barracuda. After a six point weekend vs the Silver Knights and a five point one against the Firebirds, he’s currently tied for second in league scoring with 12 points in seven games. He’s also second in the league in shots, with 35, an average of five shots a game. The league leader, Adam Gaudette, has 36 shots in 8 games. Another impressive stat for Gushchin is that he’s +2, one of only seven Barracuda to have a positive plus-minus rating.
NEXT UP
The Barracuda are next in action on Friday November 3rd, as they travel to Calgary to take on the Wranglers for the first time this season.
