Barracuda advance to second round in thrilling fashion

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SAN JOSE – Ryan Carpenter’s shorthanded goal in overtime gave the AHL Barracuda a thrilling 2-1 win on Tuesday night at SAP Center, as the Sharks’ top minor league affiliate advanced to the second round of the Calder Cup Playoffs.

The Barracuda downed Stockton, the primary affiliate of the Calgary Flames, three-games-to-two by capturing the decisive Game 5. San Jose will now face the San Diego Gulls, the Ducks’ top affiliate, beginning on Friday at SAP Center.

Carpenter’s goal, his team-leading fourth of the series, came with Joakim Ryan in the penalty box on a delay of game minor. Barclay Goodrow hustled to a loose puck that was gliding towards the offensive corner, and dished it to a trailing Carpenter who was alone between the circles. Carpenter’s wrist shot cleanly beat goalie Jon Gillies at 8:52 of the extra session, and the home bench erupted.

“[Goodrow] made a heck of a play,” Carpenter said. “It looked like a 50-50 puck and he just beat the guy to it and made a heck of a backhand pass. I was all alone, just tried getting it off quick. Didn’t want to do too much with it. It was just nice it went in.”

The Barracuda registered a whopping 54 shots on goal to just 27 for the Heat, but it took until the third period for them to dent the scoreboard. Timo Meier tied the game at 1-1, taking advantage of an Oliver Kylington turnover and buzzing a wrist shot from the faceoff dot into the top far corner at 9:47.

“Slipped off the Stockton guy’s stick and I was right there,” Meier said. “I was able to put it behind him and go for a two-on-one, and just picked a corner and put it in.”

In four games in the series, Meier finished with two goals and an assist for three points. In Game 5 he registered eight shots on goal, while his linemate, Carpenter, had a game-high nine shots as San Jose enjoyed the territorial advantage for much of the night.

Still, the Barracuda needed goalie Troy Grosenick, especially late. The AHL’s top netminder in the regular season made a pair of late stops to force overtime, denying Hunter Shinkaruk breaking in alone with 5:40 to go, and then robbing Michael Angelidis a few minutes later with a dazzling glove save.

“They didn’t get a ton of shots, but they had some grade A [chances],” Grosenick said.

In overtime, Shinkaruk had a breakaway in the second minute but his attempt caught iron.

How did that sound?

“Some sound good and some sound bad,” Grosenick said. “That one sounded pretty good.”

Coach Roy Sommer said: “The plays [Grosenick] made late in the third – the one on Angelidis – woof. Then, Shankiruk – I thought it was over.”

Instead of it being over, though, Sommer and his club assured that the ice at SAP Center would remain in place at least a little while longer with the Sharks’ already on summer vacation.

“I thought we deserved to win,” Sommer said. “I thought we were the better team tonight.”

Grosenick said: “We had a big series here with probably our biggest rival, and we knew it wasn’t going to be easy. We battled through, so it feels good.”

 

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