AHL Stockton Heat

5 Things: Heat at Colorado

Published on March 19, 2022 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Stockton Heat News Release


STOCKTON HEAT (35-11-4-1) at COLORADO EAGLES (30-17-4-3)

6:05 p.m. PDT | Broadcast: AHLTV, Fox Sports 1280, Spreaker

Leading Scorers

Heat:

Goals - Jakob Pelletier (23)

Points - Matthew Phillips (52)

Eagles:

Goals - Kiefer Sherwood (27)

Points - Kiefer Sherwood/Dylan Sikura (51)

Special Teams

Heat:

PP - 41-for-212, 19.3% (17th)/PK - 190-for-218, 87.2% (1st)

Eagles:

PP - 42-for-236, 17.8% (26th)/PK - 164-for-209, 78.5% (24th)

1. HEAT INDEX

Third time's the charm. Stockton looks to clinch a playoff spot Saturday, hoping to cash in on its third opportunity to seal a place in the second season. There are two ways this can happen - a Stockton point or a Tucson loss of any kind. The Heat enter the game on a season-long, two-game regulation losing streak, a rematch of Friday's tilt in which Stockton scored the game's first two goals but couldn't hang on on the road.

2. THIS, THAT, THE OTHER

THIS... Despite Friday's setback, the Heat remain the top road. team in the Pacific Division, now at 15-7-0-1 on the year away from Stockton Arena (.674 pct). The Heat have suffered defeats in back-to-back road games only one time all season, November 27 at Colorado in regulation and a shootout loss at Tucson on December 10. The Eagles rank ninth in the AHL and third in the Pacific with an 18-9-1-0 record at home. THAT... Stockton got the start it wanted on Saturday but was unable to hold on, a rare occurrence for the top team in the Pacific Division this season. It was only the Heat's second regulation loss of the season when breaking the ice, now 26-2-3-0, and it was the first time Stockton did not earn at least one point when leading through the first period, now 20-1-2-1. THE OTHER... Finishing off series on a high note has long been a point of emphasis for the Heat, approaching Game Two as a 'clinching' opportunity. That comes to life on Saturday with Stockton having another chance to take its postseason fate into its own hands with even a point doing the trick. The Heat are 13-1-2-0 this year on Saturdays.

3. PLAYERS TO WATCH

Heat - Byron Froese

The captain skates in his 500th professional game in the Saturday tilt, his 384th in the AHL to go with 116 in the NHL. Froese has 234 career points in the American Hockey League with 114 goals and 120 helpers.

Eagles - Andreas Wingerli

Wingerli's shorthanded goal late in the second tied the game at two in Friday's contest, and the forward is clicking at a point-per-game clip with three goals and three assists in six games against Stockton this season.

4. MILESTONES WITHIN REACH

Byron Froese will play in his 500th professional game.

Nick DeSimone will play in his 250th career AHL game.

Justin Kirkland is three goals shy of 50 in his AHL career.

Glenn Gawdin is two assists shy of 100 in his AHL career.

5. QUOTABLE

"I've always felt from right when we played (Colorado) early in the year that it would be a dangerous hockey team in our division. They have some really good offensive players, they have big, heavy defense that make it really difficult to generate anything offensively, and they've got great goaltending. It's a deadly combo... They're a good team. We know that. Every game we play with them is tight. It's back-and-forth, it's highly competitive, physical. In this building, whether you're ready for that or not, it's going to drag you into it. As a group, we want to try to dictate what that looks like, not wait for something to happen to us." - Mitch Love on facing Colorado

Check out the Stockton Heat Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from March 19, 2022


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