AHL Stockton Heat

5 Things: Heat vs. San Jose

March 5, 2022 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Stockton Heat News Release


STOCKTON HEAT (30-9-4-1) vs. SAN JOSE BARRACUDA (16-28-1-0)

6:00 p.m. PST | Broadcast: AHLTV, Fox Sports 1280, Spreaker

Leading Scorers

Heat:

Goals - Matthew Phillips (20)

Points - Matthew Phillips (47)

Barracuda:

Goals - Joachim Blichfeld/Jayden Halbgewachs (30)

Points - Scott Reedy (18)

Special Teams

Heat:

PP - 36-for-187, 19.3% (t-18th)/PK - 172-for-197, 87.3% (1st)

Barracuda:

PP - 40-for-204, 19.6% (17th)/PK - 133-for-178, 74.7% (t-30th)

1. HEAT INDEX

The Stockton Heat look to put an end to their first losing streak of the season on Saturday against San Jose, with the Heat coming into the tilt on the heels of a 2-1 overtime loss at the hands of the Bakersfield Condors on Friday. Juuso Valimaki claimed Stockton's only goal in the Friday tilt, a game that featured 13 power plays between the clubs. Justin Kirkland extended his scoring streak to a career-best seven games with a helper on the marker.

2. THIS, THAT, THE OTHER

THIS... Stopping skids seems to be a strength for Dustin Wolf, who has earned 10 wins in Stockton's 12 wins following setbacks on the year. In those games started by Wolf, the Heat have conceded 20 goals, while Wolf boasts a .935 Save Percentage in those contests. The netminder has been particularly strong against San Jose with a 1.00 GAA and .964 SVP on the year. THAT... Saturday's tilt features a couple of teams who have headed in opposite directions of late, the Heat a strong 7-2-1-0 in the past 10 while San Jose has gone 2-8-0-0 in the same span. Since the calendar flipped to 2022, San Jose has gone just 5-15-0-0 with a 4-1 loss against Stockton to start off the calendar year. THE OTHER... Friday's game presented some anomalies for the Heat, Stockton dropping a game when scoring first and leading after two periods of play. The Heat are now 24-1-3-0 on the year when earning a 1-0 edge and are 22-1-3-0 when taking the lead into the final period of play. Stockton is now 4-4 in games decided in overtime this season.

3. PLAYERS TO WATCH

Heat - Dustin Wolf

Wolf has been lights-out against the Barracuda with a 3-0-0-0 mark, 1.00 GAA and .964 SVP and will look to continue his strong play against Stockton's bay area foe.

Barracuda - John Leonard

Leonard posted a multi-point effort in San Jose's Wednesday tilt against the Bakersfield Condors and has five points in San Jose's last five games. He's been held scoreless in three games against the Heat.

4. MILESTONES WITHIN REACH

Kevin Gravel will play in his 250th AHL game.

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

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

5. QUOTABLE

"We just have to play our game. (Saturday) was very, very sloppy from our group. We took way too many penalties. The power play wasn't good enough. We had our chances to be out there, score, win the game for us and we didn't do that. I think it comes down to the work ethic, the emotional level that we talked about at intermissions, we have to bring that up. It really wasn't there. We just have to play our game, feel the way we do and we'll be fine." - Juuso Valimaki on changes Stockton needs to make Saturday

Check out the Stockton Heat Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from March 5, 2022


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