SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Barracuda (9–5–1–1) used a three-goal third period to power past the Abbotsford Canucks (3–12–0–2) in a 5–3 win on Friday night at Tech CU Arena. With the victory, the Barracuda have now collected points in their last nine (7-1-1-1) and have wins in their last three.
San Jose got off to a strong start, striking twice on the power play in the opening period. At 10:23, Oliver Wahlstrom (3) ripped in shot from the right side, and at 14:18, Jimmy Huntington (2) doubled the lead, finishing off a goal-mouth setup from Vincent Iorio to make it 2–0 after twenty minutes.
In the second, Abbotsford flipped the momentum. The Canucks capitalized on consecutive power plays, with Ben Berard (4) scoring at 2:13 and Ty Mueller (5) tying the game at 8:52. At 12:57, Chase Wouters (3) gave Abbotsford its first lead of the night, beating Jakub Skarek on a breakaway.
But the Barracuda roared back in the final frame. Pavol Regenda (3) tied the game at 6:18, directing in a back-post past from Kasper Halttunen. After sustained pressure late in the frame, rookie Igor Chernyshov (7) delivered the eventual game-winner at 16:35, poking in a loose puck from just outside the crease. Regenda (4) then sealed the victory with an empty-net goal at 18:39, capping off his fifth career two-goal night.
Skarek earned the win with 19 saves, improving to 6–2 on the season and has now won four in a row. Nikita Tolopilo turned aside 28 shots for the Canucks in his first action since October 24. San Jose outshot Abbotsford 33–22, and went 2-for-3 on the power play.
The Barracuda and Canucks close out their weekend set on Saturday night at Tech CU Arena (6 p.m.) for Star Wars Night. For tickets, visit sjbarracuda.com.