Brian Truong
The Barracuda (6-6-4) dropped back-to-back road games against the AHL’s top team, the Henderson Silver Knights (13-2-0-0) Saturday and Sunday.
Henderson opened the scoring just a minute into Saturday’s game. Letunov tied the game four minutes later for his second goal of the year, assisted by Ivan Chekhovich and Nicolas Meloche. Then, Alexander True jammed in his fifth goal of the season in the final second of the first period for a 2-1 lead.
From there, the Barracuda were held scoreless for the rest of the weekend. Henderson added four more goals for the 5-2 win Saturday.
Alexei Melnichuk suffered a lower-body injury in the second period, and was replaced by Zachary Sawchenko at the start of the third period. Melnichuk’s status is day-to-day and he won’t be playing Wednesday, according to Sommer. Sommer hopes to have Melnichuk back next week.
Rookie defenseman Ryan Merkley was also kept out of Sunday’s game due to an injury.
“[Merkley] had an aggravated wrist, we just thought it would be best to let it settle down for a little bit … it’s been bugging him for a while,” Sommer said. Merkley is expected to return this Wednesday.
Despite outshooting their opponents in every period, the Barracuda suffered their second shutout loss of the season Sunday. Former San Jose Sharks prospect Danny O’Regan recorded three points for Henderson through the weekend.
In his season debut Saturday, Sawchenko stopped eight of nine shots he faced. On Sunday, his first start since Mar. 6, 2020, Sawchenko stopped 17 of 20 shots on goal.
The Barracuda play on the road against the Bakersfield Condors (10-6-0-1) Wednesday evening.
Chekhovich Re-Discovers His Confidence
It didn’t take long for Ivan Chekhovich to make an impact in his return to the Barracuda. Just five minutes into the first period of Saturday’s game, Chekhovich whipped a pass from behind the goal line to set up Maxim Letunov’s game-tying goal.
“Before even getting the puck, I knew where [Letunov] was going to be,” Chekhovich said in an interview Monday, with Letunov translating his answers from Russian to English. “We talked before the game a lot on what we can do in the offensive zone and which spots we’re going to be at.”
“[Chekhovich] knew where I was going to be, and I knew he was going to pass that,” Letunov said.
Mar. 20 was Chekhovich’s season debut with the Barracuda, after playing 43 KHL games for Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod. Chekhovich said he jumped at the opportunity to start playing hockey again, making his KHL debut Oct. 21. The Yekaterinburg, Russia native recorded 17 goals and 17 assists, helping Torpedo earn a No. 8 seed in the playoffs.
The scoring pace was notable after Chekhovich only recorded 12 points in 42 games for the Barracuda in the 2019-20 season.
“I just felt more comfortable, had a big role on the team, and played a lot of minutes,” Chekhovich said. “That brought the confidence back. The skill just took over because that’s what I do best.”
Chekhovich played with Letunov and a rotating winger Saturday, then with Sasha Chmelevski and Jake McGrew Sunday.
“[Chekhovich’s] coming after a really good year over in the KHL, got his confidence going,” head coach Roy Sommer said. “The last two games he played in Henderson, I thought he looked pretty good for a guy that hadn’t skated in a while.”
While goaltender Alexei Melnichuk, who was also on loan to Nizhny Novgorod, returned for San Jose Sharks training camp Dec. 31, 2020, Chekhovich opted to continue his hot streak in Russia.
“The season started off really well and everything was going the right way,” Chekhovich said. “When the NHL and AHL announced they’re going to resume, it still wasn’t clear how the season was going to go, and the infrastructure and everything. So I just decided to stay [in the KHL] and help the team to make the playoffs.”
Chekhovich scored two goals in the playoffs as his team was swept by the No. 1 seed Kazan Ak Bars. While he’s already played almost a full season of hockey, Chekhovich still has to settle back into the North American style of play.
“I think I should be controlling the puck a lot more, instead of maybe dumping it,” Chekhovich said. “Just being creative with it and having confidence in making plays. That’s what I was doing all year in the KHL.”
In addition to finding his confidence on the ice, playing in the KHL allowed Chekhovich some special moments, like spending his 22nd birthday in his home country and the opportunity to meet the longest-reigning UFC Lightweight Champion, Russian Khabib Nurmagomedov.
“No tips about fighting, but every Russian knows how to fight,” Chekhovich said.
Eyes on Korenar
Josef Korenar has put in impressive performances in limited time with the Barracuda this season. Where has Korenar excelled?
“He’s just playing with a lot of confidence,” Sommer said. “He looks big in the net, he’s controlling his rebounds. His push is real good, he’s getting across on pucks … He’s probably the most on top of his game that I’ve seen him.”
With a 3-0-2 record, the third-year goaltender has a 2.75 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage. He and rookie Alexei Melnichuk have been splitting time starting for the Barracuda and sitting on the San Jose Sharks’ taxi squad.
As Devan Dubnyk’s future with the big club is cloudy, Korenar may be the first between he and fellow prospect Melnichuk to get an NHL start this season.