AHL Stockton Heat

5 Things: Heat vs. Colorado

Published on December 18, 2021 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Stockton Heat News Release


STOCKTON HEAT (17-2-2-1) vs COLORADO EAGLES (10-9-2-2)

6:00 p.m. PST | Broadcast: AHLTV, Spreaker

Leading Scorers

Heat:

Goals - Adam Ruzicka (10)

Points - Jakob Pelletier (26)

Eagles:

Goals - Kiefer Sherwood (9)

Points - Kiefer Sherwood/Dylan Sikura/Jordan Gross (18)

Special Teams

Heat:

PP - 20-for-92, 21.7% (6th)/PK - 82-for-91, 90.1% (1st)

Eagles:

PP - 20-for-110, 18.2% (19th)/PK - 76-for-98 (77.6%; 28th)

1. HEAT INDEX

Slow start, fast finish, and the Stockton Heat roll on with a 3-2 overtime win over the Colorado Eagles on Friday. The Heat made it tough - falling behind 2-0 in the game's first 6:09 - but rallied with a goal in the second period, third period and OT to steal the win. Andy Welinski potted the winner while Eetu Tuulola and Ilya Solovyov scored in regulation for the home team, and Dustin Wolf turned away 26 of 28 shots faced on the night.

2. THIS, THAT, THE OTHER

THIS... One of the most memorable nights of the season, every season, the Stockton Heat host Teddy Bear Toss tonight. Typically, that means the team gets off to a fast start on the offensive end - four consecutive tosses with the Heat lighting the lamp in the first period. The fastest-ever score came from Brett Findlay in 2017-18, with the forward finding the back of the net just 19 seconds into the game. THAT... Dustin Wolf just keeps on doing Dustin Wolf things - the netminder seeing his Save Percentage actually drop after his 26-save effort in the win on Friday. The rookie has won eight consecutive starts and has guided the Heat to at least a point in his last 17 appearances (not a typo), with gaudy numbers including a 1.79 GAA and .942 SVP. After the slow start on Friday, with Colorado scoring twice in the team's first nine shots, Wolf was perfect on the last 19 pucks that came his way. THE OTHER... The PK is a weapon. Stockton has now killed 24 consecutive opposing power plays and 39 of of the last 40 in a nearly month-long run of dominance in which Stockton has outscored the opposition when down a skater, 2-1.

3. PLAYERS TO WATCH

Heat - Andy Welinski

Why not make it three in a row? After going 30 AHL games without a score, a stretch that dated back to the 2019-20 season, Welinski has found the back of the net in back-to-back games, including last night's game-winner.

Eagles - Andreas Wingerli

The forward is clicking at a point-per-game against the Heat this season with two goals and two assists through the first four games of the season series. He had an assist in last night's game.

4. MILESTONES WITHIN REACH

Kevin Gravel is one goal shy of 20 in his AHL career.

Matthew Phillips is four goals shy of 50 in his AHL career.

Connor Mackey will play in his 50th AHL game.

5. QUOTABLE

"We just need to get two more points. It doesn't matter who scores and who gets the assists. The whole team should play really well, just win the game - that's it." - Ilya Solovyov on the team's mindset heading into Saturday

Check out the Stockton Heat Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from December 18, 2021


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