The San Jose Barracuda managed to improve on their play in November, going 4-6-1-0, but there’s still work to be done, as they sit 8th in the Pacific Division. Let’s take a look at the month as a whole, and find the good, the bad and the ugly.
RECORD
Nov 3 vs Calgary Wranglers: 1-0 L
Nov 5 vs Calgary Wranglers: 4-1 W
Nov 10 vs Charlotte Checkers: 5-3 L
Nov 12 vs Charlotte Checkers: 5-1 W
Nov 17 vs Colorado Eagles: 5-2 L
Nov 18 vs Colorado Eagles: 3-2 OTL
Nov 21 vs San Diego Gulls: 5-4 W
Nov 24 vs Ontario Reign: 3-0 L
Nov 25 vs Ontario Reign: 4-2 L
Nov 29 vs Coachella Valley Firebirds: 5-3 W
THE GOOD
The first good thing is that the Barracuda managed to quadruple the amount of wins they got in November. In the entirety of October, they had one win, and though they’re still looking for back to back wins on the season, things don’t look as grim as they did at the end of October. Notable wins this month come against the Division leading Calgary Wranglers, as Georgi Romanov turned in an excellent 34 save performance, and the Barracuda’s first ever win against the Coachella Valley Firebirds.
They’ve also been a little better defensively, allowing 35 goals in the first 7 games of the season, and another 35 in the last 11 games. This is an improvement from allowing an average of 5 goals a game to 3.1 goals a game. Their high this month was 5 goals allowed, also an improvement after allowing 7 goals in their season opener.
The return of Thom Bordeleau has also been good for the team. He has 10 points in 11 games since returning from the Sharks, and is playing wing rather than centre. He’s well on pace to eclipse last year’s points total if he remains with the Barracuda for the rest of the season. Another bright spot in the offence has been newcomer defenceman Leon Gawanke, who has 8 points in 11 games. This brings him up to second on the team in scoring, with 14 points. As Danil Gushchin seems to have cooled off a little, seeing players like Bordeleau and Gawanke step up is a good sign. All they have to do is get everyone scoring at once, instead of seemingly taking it in turns.
THE BAD
Speaking of scoring, the Barracuda seem to have forgotten how. After scoring 3.5 goals per game in the month of October, they’ve scored 2.6 per game in November, on average almost an entire goal less per game. They scored 29 goals over 11 games, and were shut out twice, once by Calgary and once by Ontario.
The penalty kill remains miserable, sitting at 28th in the league. Despite being 11th in times shorthanded (almost 20 behind first place Lehigh Valley!), they’ve allowed the second most goals in the league on the PK. The only teams worse are Rochester, Providence, Belleville and San Diego. Of the 76 goals the Barracuda have allowed this season, almost a quarter have been on the penalty kill. They have at least managed to stem the bleeding on the power play, not allowing any more shorthanded goals and going from 23rd in the league to 20th, scoring 8 power play goals in the month of November.
THE UGLY
Slumps are inevitable, but it’s unfortunate that all of San Jose’s big scorers seem to have gone cold. After 12 points in 7 games in October for Gushchin, he had only 3 in November, and has fallen well off the league scoring lead. It’s a similar story for Justin Bailey, who had 4 goals in 7 games in October, but only 2 in the 9 games he played before earning a call up to the Sharks, where he has admittedly been quite good. even on a cold streak, he’s a player the Barracuda are missing in a big way. Brandon Coe had 5 points in October, and just a single goal in November. He already matched his career high set last season in goals, but the Barracuda will need more from the young winger.
A curious line-up decision emerged at the end of the month for the Barracuda, as Eetu Makiniemi returned from injury. Rather than carry three goalies, Georgi Romanov was sent to the Wichita Thunder of the ECHL. This is likely a good thing for the young goalie, as he is in his first North American season, but before being sent down, he was the better of the two rookie goalies (the other being Magnus Chrona), and currently has three of the Barracuda’s five wins on the season. He’s been the best goalie for the Barracuda so far this season, but I wonder if this is an attempt to give him starting minutes now that Makiniemi is healthy and ready to go. Definitely something for Barracuda fans to keep an eye on.
WHAT NOW?
The San Jose are currently six points outside of a playoff spot, as seven of the ten teams in the Pacific Division make it into the post season. After the growth they made last season, and the players they added this season, it would be a massive disappointment to players and fans alike to miss the postseason for a third straight year.
The Barracuda started December poorly, with a 5-1 loss to the Tuscon Roadrunners. We can only hope things pick up from here, or it’s going to be another early exit for the Barracuda.
