I Attended a Resurrected Local Pro Hockey Team’s Season Opener

 The latest hockey game I attended as of Friday night did not involve the Sharks or any NHL-affiliated club, but rather my local pro team that made its return after a 17-year absence. The resurrected local team is known as the Falcons, and while they were formerly in the ECHL before disappearing for a bit, they are now in the FPHL, or Federal Prospects Hockey League. This particular game was their season opener against the Shock, and with it being a heavily anticipated event in my local area, it certainly made for a packed house and a lively arena atmosphere. 

Onto the game itself, where the Falcons defeated the Shock 7-2 in a lopsided barn-burner to begin their season. It was a goaltending duel for the first period, while the scoring barrage began in the second period. The Falcons scored five times in the middle frame and twice in the third period, while the Shock scored once in the second and once in the third. There were a few fights, hard hits, skirmishes, and injuries scattered throughout this contest as well. 

Other interesting aspects of this game include the decent amount of folks in attendance repping the Sharks, both past and present, along with cool ice projections featured before the start of the third period and running into a few friends while I was there. I also noticed that the digital scoreboard experienced glitching at times, and it seemingly took longer for the refs to sort out some stoppages compared to those in a typical NHL game. I will also try to better familiarize myself with the Falcons' players as I attend more of their games in the future. Overall, while it is not on the level of the Sharks or the NHL in general, the Falcons' season opener was definitely a fun experience, and I am looking forward to attending their next home game and at least a few more of their games later this season. Stay tuned to CPF Hockey for more of my personal hockey fan experience posts and San Jose Sharks updates. 

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Sharks 2026-27 Game 4 Recap: Sharks 3, Blues 2 (OT) (10/8/26)

 The Sharks earn an improbable third consecutive OT victory by a score of 3-2 over the St. Louis Blues. 

The Blues got the start they were looking for, scoring first via Connor McMichael early in the opening period. In the middle of the second period, the Sharks evened the game at one on Tyler Toffoli’s second goal of the season, in which he scores while getting hit from behind. Michael Misa and Jacob Trouba assisted on the equalizer by Toffoli. Early in the third period, the Blues regained the lead on a shorthanded goal by Dillon Dube. Soon after, Sam Dickinson found Collin Graf, who scored his first goal of the season to tie the game at two. Tyler Toffoli earned an assist on the equalizer by Graf as well for his second point of the night. 

This contest would have to be settled in overtime, where Darnell Nurse scored his first goal as a Shark to win it for San Jose. Ivar Stenberg and Alexander Wennberg earned the assists on the OT game-winner by Nurse. 

Alex Nedeljkovic made his first start in the crease this season tonight in St. Louis and was fantastic, compiling 24 saves on 26 shots against. In addition, Macklin Celebrini is out for a second straight game and currently day-to-day with a lower-body injury. 

This overtime victory in St. Louis has to be the Sharks’ most impressive win of the season so far. The Sharks got off to a less-than-ideal start to this one, and at times throughout this contest, it seemed like the Sharks were not going to overcome their adversity and win. However, the rest of the team stepped up without their captain in the lineup, stayed in it for the entirety of this game, and found another way to prevail. The Sharks return home to host the Edmonton Oilers in their next game on Saturday at 1 pm PT. 

Sources: ESPN+, NHL App 

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Sharks 2026-27 Game 3 Recap: Stars 5, Sharks 0 (10/5/26)

 The Sharks’ first road game of the season was definitely a forgettable one, as they get shut out 5-0 by the Dallas Stars. 

It was all Stars from the get-go, as they scored once in the first period via Miro Heiskanen, three times via Joel Kiviranta, Jamie Benn, and Jason Robertson in the second period, and once via Mikko Rantanen in the third period. 

Yaroslav Askarov made his third consecutive start to begin the new season, and it certainly was not his night, recording 21 saves on 26 shots against. In addition, Sam Dickinson made his season debut tonight in Dallas, replacing Nolan Allan on the Sharks blue line. Macklin Celebrini was scratched from this game, as he is dealing with a lower-body injury. 

If Macklin Celebrini had not gotten hurt during warmups and missed this game, the Sharks may have fared better against the Stars in Dallas, or at least would not have lost as badly as they did tonight. Hope Celebrini’s injury does not keep him out for an extended amount of time, as the Sharks still heavily rely on him for the team to perform its best. On top of that, the Stars were a much more desperate team searching for their first win of the season after getting off to a slow start last week. Team Teal travels to St. Louis to face the Blues in their next game on Thursday at 5 pm PT. 

Sources: San Jose Hockey Now, Sharks Audio Network, NHL App 

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Sharks 2026-27 Game 2 Recap: Sharks 5, Kings 4 (OT) (10/3/26)

 Team Teal resumes its best start to a season in five years by taking down the Los Angeles Kings 5-4 in overtime. 

The Kings struck first late in the opening period on a power play goal by Adrian Kempe. The Sharks responded with a better start to the second period, tying the game at one on a power play tap-in goal by Tyler Toffoli for his first of the season, assisted by Ivar Stenberg and Macklin Celebrini, with Stenberg collecting his ever-important first NHL point. Moments later, the Sharks caught a break after a deflection by Erik Haula hit the crossbar and luckily stayed out of the net. Later in the second period, the Sharks scored twice via Kiefer Sherwood and Nolan Allan to gain a 3-1 lead. The Sherwood go-ahead goal was unassisted, while the Allan goal was assisted by Michael Misa and Igor Chernyshov. With 1.3 seconds remaining in the middle frame, the Kings scored another power play goal, this time from Quinton Byfield, to cut the Sharks’ lead to one. 

Early in the third period, the Sharks regained their two-goal lead on a breakaway goal by Igor Chernyshov for his first of the season, assisted by Tyler Toffoli and Jacob Trouba. Later in the third, LA got one back on a deflection by Erik Haula to make it a one-goal game once more. With five minutes remaining in the third period, a Nolan Allan turnover led to Quinton Byfield feeding Artemi Panarin, who would score to even the game at four. This equalizer by the Kings would force overtime, but fortunately for the Sharks, they would redeem themselves on Igor Chernyshov’s second goal of the night to win their second consecutive overtime contest to begin the new season. Macklin Celebrini earned his second assist of the night and fifth assist in the first two games of the new season on the game-winner by Chernyshov. 

Yaroslav Askarov recorded 31 saves on 35 shots against in his second straight start to begin the 2026-27 season. 

Although the Sharks could clean up their act better and improve their ability to not allow their opponents to come back late in games so easily, the Sharks are finding ways to win games most importantly. Nonetheless, I am very thrilled with how this Sharks team is performing right now, and the sky is the limit for them this season. Next up, the Sharks embark on their first road trip of the new season for their next two games, starting on Monday in Dallas against the Stars at 5 pm PT. 

Sources: NBC Sports California, NHL App 

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