The San Jose Barracuda are going home.
Needing a victory to extend their Pacific Division semi-final with top-seed Colorado Eagles, No. 6 seed Barracuda blew a third period lead, losing 3-1.
San Jose Sharks’ 2024 second-round pick Igor Chernyshov scored his first-ever AHL goal in his league playoff debut, and the Cuda fought the good fight, putting forth arguably their finest effort in this best-of-five 3-1 series defeat.
Chase Bradley ties it up.
1-1 pic.twitter.com/9wOCWba6nI
— JD Young (@MyFryHole) May 8, 2025
Chernyshov deflects one in off his skate, the Cuda have life! 🚨#TealBitesBack pic.twitter.com/hpUhVc751U
— SnipeCity420 (@SnipeCity420) May 8, 2025
“I like the way we played,” head coach John McCarthy asserted. “I actually thought this game might have been our best to the series.”
Yaroslav Askarov turned away 29-of-31 shots, a solid effort after the top San Jose Sharks prospect left Game Three with cramps.
“It’s playoffs. Nobody cares how are you feeling,” he said. “Just need to be you and try to find a way to win the game.”
All said, it was a great season for the Barracuda, who enjoyed their first Calder Cup playoff series win since 2017 and first playoff appearance since 2019.
“I’m proud of the group. I really am, from our leadership on down. I think we took a step as an organization,” McCarthy said. “It’s important to recognize that we got a lot of younger players some playoff experience. That’s a positive.”
Chernyshov was one of them.
“Bigger body, can protect the puck, can go in first [on the forecheck]. Has some skill,” McCarthy said. “Really exciting player to watch.”
Turning Point
The series was truly evenly-played, a testament to the depth of a banged-up Barracuda squad that was missing AHL MVP Andrew Poturalski, scoring winger Thomas Bordeleau, two-way center Colin White, and all-around defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin.
But it was little things that lost the Cuda this series, like Askarov surrendering a bad-angle goal to Chase Bradley and Patrick Giles taking an unnecessary interference penalty that led to the Tye Felhaber game-winner.
Chase Bradley ties it up.
1-1 pic.twitter.com/9wOCWba6nI
— JD Young (@MyFryHole) May 8, 2025
Awful interference penalty by Giles. Eagles power play with under 7 minutes to go. #BarracudaHockey 1, #EaglesCountry 1 pic.twitter.com/ASQ2vjP3dZ
— TEAL TOWN USA – A San Jose Sharks Podcast (@TEALTOWNUSA) May 8, 2025
“Just a late hit,” Giles, who otherwise had an impressive playoffs, said.
Hopefully, these are things that these future San Jose Sharks can learn from. But these little things lost them the game tonight.
Quote of the Night
Captain Jimmy Schuldt would like to be back.
“It’d be really cool to be able to keep helping build this thing. I’ve never been able to sign more than a year contract,” he said.
San Jose is Schuldt’s fifth AHL stop.
“It’s not necessarily the player’s decision, and we’ll see what happens,” he said.
Keep in mind, you can have only a limited number of veterans in your AHL line-up on a nightly basis. Schuldt, about to turn 30, is officially an AHL veteran player.
“But we’ve taken a step in the right direction. There’s something exciting going here,” the captain said. “It’s been really, really fun to be a part of.”
“He’s been a great leader for us,” McCarthy said. “That’s why we put the ‘C’ on him, doing the right things, saying the right things, leading the way for us.”
Key Stats
13-4.
Through the first 17 minutes of the second period, the Cuda had a wide shooting margin over the Eagles. But San Jose couldn’t draw first blood, despite having a double-minor man advantage in that time span.
Overtime
Poturalski, White, and Bordeleau were all “close” to returning for Sunday’s scheduled Game Five, per McCarthy.
No doubt, Poturalski, the AHL’s leading scorer, would’ve been a difference for a league-leading power play, that went just 2-for-16 in this series. The Eagles, on the other hand, went 4-for-14.
A couple more power play goals would’ve gone a long way in a series where every game either went to OT or was a one-goal contest, not counting the empty-netters.
It was not a battle that the San Jose Sharks’ AHL affiliate expected to lose, even without Poturalski.