5 Things: Heat at San Jose
January 2, 2022 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Stockton Heat News Release
STOCKTON HEAT (18-3-2-1) at SAN JOSE BARRACUDA (11-13-1-0)
1:00 p.m. PST | Broadcast: AHLTV, Spreaker
Leading Scorers
Heat:
Goals - Adam Ruzicka/Jakob Pelletier (10)
Points - Jakob Pelletier (27)
Barracuda:
Goals - Scott Reedy (13)
Points - Scott Reedy (22)
Special Teams
Heat:
PP - 20-for-97, 20.6% (10th)/PK - 88-for-97, 90.7% (1st)
Barracuda:
PP - 24-for-115, 20.9% (t-7th)/PK - 73-for-105, 69.5% (31st)
1. HEAT INDEX
It was not the effort Stockton was hoping for coming out of the holiday break on Friday, a 4-0 loss on home ice against San Jose. The Heat fired 30 pucks on San Jose goalie Sam Harvey, but couldn't find the back of the net in the team's first home regulation loss of the season. Sunday offers a shot at redemption, a 1 p.m. showdown at the Shark Tank.
2. THIS, THAT, THE OTHER
THIS... When Stockton needs to bounce back, look to the youth. Six times, the Heat have lost. Five times, looking for a sixth today, they've responded with a win. In each of the previous five, Dustin Wolf provided stellar goaltending, a .947 Save Percentage and 1.59 Goals Against Average. Rookie forwards Jakob Pelletier and Connor Zary have also played a big part, one of the two lighting the lamp in each of the five games. THAT... The Heat have enjoyed trips to the bay, winning each of the last six matchups with the Barracuda at the SAP Center. Most recently it was a 4-1 win, with Stockton outscoring San Jose by a 23-8 margin in the winning streak which dates back to the start of the 2019-20 season. THE OTHER... When it comes to starting off the new year on the right foot, Stockton has found success - the Heat are 3-1-0-1 all-time to start January, winning the last year-opening matchup by a 6-3 tally over Ontario on January 3, 2020. This will be the first time ever that Stockton and San Jose clash to start the calendar year.
3. PLAYERS TO WATCH
Heat - Connor Zary
Zary has found the back of the net in each of the last two times the Heat rebounded from losses, and he peppered the San Jose net with a season-high six shots on goal in Friday's contest.
Barracuda - Joachim Blichfeld
After being held off the score sheet in each of the first two meetings between the clubs this season, Blichfeld notched a pair of goals on Friday. The forward has three goals and six points in his last four games played.
4. MILESTONES WITHIN REACH
Kevin Gravel is one goal shy of 20 in his AHL career.
Eetu Tuulola is two goals shy of 20 in his AHL career.
Emilio Pettersen is one appearance shy of his 50th AHL game.
5. QUOTABLE
"Our group wasn't at the mindset to come here and really dig in and commit and put forth the right effort to win a hockey game. That's what it boiled down to today. San Jose had purpose and we wanted an easy game. In order to be good and in order to win hockey games in this league you've got to have purpose. You've got to have the right mindset to dig in and win battles. We just weren't prepared to do that today. That's disappointing, but the sun will come up tomorrow, we'll reset ourselves and get back to work on what Stockton Heat hockey should look like." - Mitch Love on Friday's game
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