San Jose / CA
The San Jose Barracuda (31-26-8-3, 73pts) presented by Barracuda Networks clinched the final playoff spot in the Western Conference on the final day of the AHL regular season after a 6-0 victory over the visiting Stockton Heat (32-32-2-2, 68pts) in front 7,664 fans at SAP Center on Sunday afternoon. The Barracuda will host the top seeded Ontario Reign (LA Kings AHL affiliate) in Game 1 of the Pacific Division Semifinals on Friday, Apr 22 at 7:30pm at SAP Center.
Barclay Goodrow, Jeremy Langlois, Trevor Parkes, Nikolay Goldobin, Jeremy Morin, and Alex Gallant all scored for San Jose while Aaron Dell made 41 saves in net for the win. Eleven different players recorded at least a point as the Barracuda finished with an 18-13-2-1 record on home ice this regular season.
The Barracuda broke out to a 2-0 lead in the first period as Barclay Goodrow (20th) snuck one in past netminder Nick Schneider at 5:11 and Jeremy Langlois (12th) fired one home from the left slot at 6:39. Shots were 13-11 San Jose through 20 minutes of play as Aaron Dell stood tall between the pipes for the Barracuda.
San Jose tacked on two more goals in the second period with Trevor Parkes (18th) finishing off a 2-on-1 rush with Bryan Lerg at 12:54 and Nikolay Goldobin (21st) knocking off the water bottle with a wicked snap shot at 18:59 to give the Barracuda a 4-0 lead through 40 minutes. Aaron Dell added 16 more saves in the second period of play.
Jeremy Morin (16th) scored on a breakaway at 3:40 of the third period and Alex Gallant (1st) scored his 1st AHL goal at 19:30 to give the Barracuda the 6-0 win. Aaron Dell made several great saves in the final frame and ended up with 41 saves overall for his 4th shutout of the season.
Notes:
Three Stars: 3rd star Jeremy Morin (1-2-3, +3) 2nd star: Nikolay Goldobin (1-2-3, +3) 1st star: Aaron Dell (41 saves, Win)….Final shots were 41-30 in favor of Stockton… Nick Schneider (4-5-0) made 24 saves on 30 shots for Stockton….Aaron Dell (17-16-6) made 41 saves on 41 shots for San Jose…. Troy Grosenick served as the backup goalie for the Barracuda ….San Jose went 0-for-3 on the power play while Stockton went 0-for-2…. Raffi Torres (IR), Danny Doremus (inj), Scott Timmins (personal), Petter Emanuelsson (inj), Patrick McNally, Michael Brodzinski, and Frazer McLaren did not dress for the Barracuda… Matt Tennyson suited up for the Barracuda on a conditioning assignment from the SJ Sharks….. … John McCarthy (2-5-7) has a six game streak… Trevor Parkes (3-2-5) three games.
