The San Jose Barracuda lost game one of the second round 6-3 to the Colorado Eagles on Friday.
Despite what looked like a strong start and outshooting the Eagles 28-24 in the game, San Jose couldn’t avoid mistakes.
1. Costly mistakes cost Barracuda
Head coach John McCarthy liked his team’s start, but eventual mistakes led to goals against. A veteran team like the Eagles won’t miss its chances after mistakes like slow line changes and neutral zone turnovers.
“We can put pucks behind them more often. I thought there were too many three-quarter ice pucks that they were able to transition fast,” McCarthy said. “That’s the strength of their team.”
San Jose Sharks forward prospect Ethan Cardwell’s failed clear was a perfect example of this mistake. The winger was at the end of his shift and couldn’t get a clear behind the Eagles’ defense. Cardwell and his line were also slow to change, giving the Eagles an odd-man rush.
2. Barracuda offense is slowly waking up
The San Jose Barracuda only scored four goals against the Ontario Reign in round one. Three of the four goals came with a goalie in the net. San Jose put three past Eagles netminder Trent Minor, creating much better scoring opportunities.
“I thought we did a good job of possessing it down low,” Barracuda forward Patrick Giles said. “Getting it from low to high. Then, just getting to the crease and trying to get a dirty one right in front of the net.”
Colin White cut the score to 4-3 late in the third period after Giels fed a great low-to-high pass to the slot.
3. Askarov isn’t losing confidence in the Barracuda
It wasn’t his best game, but top San Jose Sharks goalie prospect Yaroslav Askarov played as well as he could. The Eagles did a good job creating traffic and not allowing him to see shots from the point.
Despite a mistake-ridden game from his team, Askarov didn’t lose confidence.
“We’ll be fine,” Askarov said about the mindset for game two.
On Colorado’s third goal, Askarov initially thought there was contact from an Eagles forward. Upon further look, his defenseman, Braden Hache, bumped the San Jose Barracuda netminder. The 22-year-old goalie admitted after the game that there wasn’t goalie interference.
“There were a couple times they had us hemmed in our zone for a little bit,” McCarthy said about the Barracuda’s overall performance. “I thought it was a pretty evenly played game. Like I said, it’s playoffs, we can’t be having these breakdowns now.”
Game two of the best-of-five series will be at Tech CU Arena on Sunday night. Puck drop is scheduled for 6 p.m. PT.
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