Grant's Four Point Night, Poirier's Three Point Night Leads Heat over Iowa 7-4
January 17, 2016 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Stockton Heat News Release
Des Moines, IA - The Stockton Heat returned to action less than 24-hours after their loss to Rockford in triumphant fashion, defeating the Iowa Wild by a score of 7-4 Sunday evening at Wells Fargo Arena. Heat forward Derek Grant had a career night, haunting the Wild with his four-point performance, while Emile Poirier had himself a solid game as well, earning three points of his own. For Grant, the game extends his point streak to seven games and he has an outstanding 12 points during that stretch. The Stockton Heat will now look to a week of practice back home in Stockton before a Friday-Saturday double-header against the Manitoba Moose at Stockton Arena including the fun Teddy Bear Toss game on Saturday.
SCORING SUMMARY
1st Period
Iowa goal: F Jordan Schroeder (10) pass from below the goal line leads to a shot being tapped in past the goaltender from the top of the crease (Bertschy, Downing assists), 4:16
HEAT GOAL: D Brett Kulak (2) shot from the point deflects off a defender and goes high over the goaltender and into the net (Poirier assist), 19:05 (PP)
Shots: STK - 13 | IA - 7
2nd Period
HEAT GOAL: D Dustin Stevenson (1) backdoor tap-in off a cross-ice pass through the slot during delayed penalty call (Grant, Poirier assists), 1:12
HEAT GOAL: F Kenny Agostino (9) rebound kicks out into a scramble in front and is buried past the goaltender (unassisted), 3:39 (PP)
HEAT GOAL: F Derek Grant (17) partial breakaway leads to a forehand-backhand move and the puck is tucked through the five-hole and into the net (Smith, Van Brabant assists), 15:40
Shots: STK - 13 | IA - 8
3rd Period
Iowa goal: F Marc Hagel (1) shot from the slot gets through traffic and goes past the goaltender and into the net (Schroeder assist), 1:44
HEAT GOAL: F Austin Carroll (4) shot from a bad angle ricochets off the goaltender and into the net (unassisted), 2:44
Iowa goal: F Zack Mitchell (13) shot from the half-wall beats the goaltender on the short side and gets into the net (Schroeder, Downing assists), 6:07 (PP)
HEAT GOAL: F Emile Poirier (6) shot comes from a scramble in the slot and gets past the goaltender and into the net (Klimchuk, Grant assists), 17:41
Iowa goal: F Grayson Downing (11) shot from the slot gets past the goaltender and into the net (Mitchell, Folin assists), 18:06 (PP)
HEAT GOAL: F Turner Elson (5) shot is tipped into the empty net from the slot (Grant assist), 19:39 (EN)
Shots: STK - 9 | IA - 12
GOALIES
W: Joni Ortio (28 shots, 24 saves)
L: Leland Irving (33 shots, 27 saves)
NOTABLE STATISTICS
Three Stars: 1- Derek Grant (1 goal, 3 assists) 2- Jordan Schroeder (1 goal, 2 assists) 3- Emile Poirier (1 goal, 2 assists)
Final Shots: STK - 34 | IA - 28
Power Plays: STK - 2/4 | IA - 2/4
Derek Grant (1 goal, 3 assists) extends his point streak to seven games (6 goals, 7 assists)
Emile Poirier (1 goal, 2 assists) earns his fifth multi-point game of the year and his first three-point game of the season
Joni Ortio pulls within one win of seventh on the All-Time Top Calgary affiliate list in wins behind Dwayne Roloson
The Heat scored seven goals for the third time this season, October 10 vs. Rockford and January 2 vs. Texas
QUOTES
"I rang one off the post there and [Derek Grant] was screening the goalie. That shot had eyes, but it hit the post and came out. I saw they had a delayed penalty, so I just went to the net and Grant made a nice play to find me backdoor and I just had to tap it in." - Dustin Stevenson on the play that led to his first goal of the season.
"I thought our forwards had a really good game tonight. They were outworking the opposing defense down low and winning all the battles. Any time you can get offensive zone pressure going like that, it usually turns out in your favor." - Stevenson on what he thought the key was in tonight's victory.
"I was fortunate tonight. Three assists means the guys are putting the puck in the net and making my job easy, so I really thought we played pretty well as a team for 60 minutes." - Derek Grant on his four-point night and the team's win.
"I felt pretty good all day today - maybe a little dehydrated from yesterday, but overall I didn't feel too bad. Fortunately I was able to get into the lineup and get some points and help us win a game." - Grant on how he was feeling after missing Saturday's game due to illness.
"The goalie rimmed it around the boards and the defenseman couldn't get a good handle on it. You have to put pucks to the net, so that's what I did. It was kind of a lucky one, but I'll take it and this was definitely a big game for the boys." - Austin Carroll on his bad-angle goal.
"For our group as a whole we played really well tonight. We gave up a couple goals that we shouldn't have, but I thought our guys did a pretty good job of playing with some energy tonight and sticking to the game plan." - Head Coach Ryan Huska on how he saw tonight's game from the bench.
"[Derek Grant] led us the way we need him to tonight. He was hard on the puck and tough on his faceoffs. We asked him this morning how he was feeling and he said much better after a night's sleep. We were happy to have him back in the lineup for sure. Derek's an important player for our team and I thought he did an excellent job tonight." - Coach Huska on Derek Grant's game and how he was feeling leading up to puck drop.
"Hunter [Smith] did a lot of things away from the puck and other than his assist tonight that were good. Austin [Carroll] was very good during the inner portion of the game. I thought he had a tough first shift, but he was very good after that. Morgan [Klimchuk] is kind of coming into his own right now. He's comfortable making plays and he's handling the puck really well lately. We've been happy with the way all three of those guys have come along over the last little while. They're good, young players that need a little ice time and confidence, and with those things come their development." - Coach Huska on rookies Hunter Smith, Austin Carroll and Morgan Klimchuk all having good games.
"We have a big weekend coming up with a team coming into our building that's going to be hungry for some points. Our goal is to establish ourselves at home and make Stockton Arena a tough place to play. That's the biggest thing for us - ready ourselves for this weekend and be excited for the challenge against a team we haven't faced yet." - Coach Huska on moving forward after splitting this Midwest road trip.
NEXT HOME GAME
STOCKTON HEAT vs. Manitoba Moose
January 22 @ Stockton Arena
First 1,000 adults 18 & over receive a Heat cap
Doors @ 6:30 p.m., Puck drop @ 7:30 p.m.
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