With three of my favorite Sharks - Ryan
Merkley, William Eklund, and Thomas Bordeleau - actually now playing for the
Sharks' AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda, and the 'Cuda now playing in a
brand new arena, I thought I'd take in a 'Cuda game to check things out on
Friday night.
First of all, the 'Cuda lost, 5-1, to the Tucson
Roadrunners. San Jose's minor league team resembled most Sharks games this
season: The 'Cuda scored the first goal in the first period, then fell apart in
the second period, giving up three goals, and did nothing in the third period.
As for the three players, Merkley had an assist on the 'Cuda's only goal but
was -2 for the evening (although pretty much the whole team was a minus), while
Bordeleau and Eklund didn't make the scoresheet but showed some of their high
skill levels.
Some other familiar faces could be seen, like Jeffrey
Viel and Aaron Dell. (Curiously, Sharks 2020 first-round draft pick Ozzy
Weisblatt was dispatched to the ECHL Wichita Thunder recently after not suiting
up for the Barracuda this season. Does this mean he's not now good enough for
the AHL? This move gives off that eyebrow-raising impression. He did apparently
suffer a shoulder injury last season, though. One published report had him
already recalled to the 'Cuda.)
As for the new arena, called Tech CU
Arena, it is first-rate. Nicely done; every seat is the equivalent of an
expensive, lower-bowl seat at a Sharks game, with much-lower prices. Dress
warmly, though - it's cold in there, as it should be. The place looked like a
mini-SAP Center. Maybe we should nickname it the Fish Bowl, with the Sharks'
arena already dubbed the Tank? But the crowd size was disappointing; game
attendance at the 4,200-seat facility was listed at 1,211, although that figure
seemed a bit generous.
If this new arena was supposed to pump up the
'Cuda's usually lagging attendance, it didn't do the job last Friday. Game 1 of
the World Series was on at the time, which could have suppressed attendance,
but I suppose that really didn't make all that much difference.
I've always thought the Sharks' affiliate would be
better off located in Sacramento. That city has a first-class arena and is far
enough to not compete with the Sharks for South Bay hockey dollars but close
enough to get players here within a couple hours when they've been called up to
the Sharks. I've never thought the South Bay was a strong enough hockey market
to support two teams and that has turned out to be true.
Now, with the
Sharks themselves no longer coming close to sellouts most nights, the notion of
having two hockey teams here makes even less sense. But the 'Cuda are here to
stay and we should embrace that. The only drawbacks I saw to the new arena
involved parking and public transit.
The place was built on what used
to be the parking lot of San Jose's ice center near Spartan Stadium. So there's
only a parking garage ($10 to park) across the street and whatever parking
spaces are left onsite at the ice center itself. But no VTA Light Rail access
like the Tank offers, unless you want to walk a couple miles.
Anyway,
I highly recommend everyone go see a 'Cuda game at the new arena. Check it out!
Note: The Friday game I was at was not the one that began with the
slugfest, with both teams having players immediately kicked out of the game.
That was Saturday afternoon.