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AHL Stockton Heat

Heat and Condors Head Outdoors to Raley Field for Eighth-Ever AHL Game in the Elements

December 18, 2015 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Stockton Heat News Release


TONIGHT

Tonight the Stockton Heat have a new home as they head to Raley Field, home of the Sacramento River Cats, the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants.

For the first time, a minor league hockey game will be played in the middle of a baseball diamond in California as the Stockton Heat host the Bakersfield Condors tonight at 7:30 p.m.

The team took to the Raley Field ice for the first time yesterday evening enjoying a skate that looked to test the ice and get a feel for the new home of the Heat (for the day) before switching gears to a more lighthearted skate that saw the families of the Heat strap on the skates and head out on the ice.

Pageantry aside, an important two points is up for grabs against Bakersfield who look to move up the Pacific Division standings with a win. The Heat will try and pull closer to that .500 mark after falling in two straight contests.

LAST TIME VS. BAKERSFIELD

The two squads met up for a mid-week clash at Stockton Arena on Wednesday night with the Condors getting one-up on the Heat in the first period when Kale Kessy picked up a puck the Heat were unable to keep in the offensive zone, skated down the left wing side and snapped a shot past Joni Ortio to put the Condors up by one.

Later in the second period, it'd be Anton Slepyshev who bursted into the offensive zone and wrapped a shot around the net and past the goalie to put the Condors up by two.

Despite outshooting Bakersfield just over 2 to 1 in the first two periods including a number of Grade-A scoring chances, the Heat didn't have anything on the scoreboard to show for their efforts.

However it wouldn't stay that way.

With under five minutes left in the game, Derek Grant scored after finding the loose puck in the crease to put the Heat up on the board and just as Grant has been accustomed to do this season, he put in his second of the night just minutes later on a deflection past goalie Ben Scrivens.

Sadly the comeback effort stalled there though as a late penalty put the Condors on the power play and they too would find a loose puck in the crease and jam it in. Matthew Ford's late goal gave the road team the 3-2 win.

WATCHING THE WEATHER

According to our friends at KCRA in Sacramento, rain is expected in the Central Valley tonight bringing up the question of, 'can the game be played in the rain'?

In fact it can and games have done just that as well. The NHL has dealt with rain at the Winter Classic in Heinz Field and even the NCAA has seen rain at one of their outdoor games.

Our own Ryan Lomberg participated in the Frozen Fenway event that saw rain. He responded with a pair of goals in a University of Maine victory.

Let's hope he still has some magic in that stick if it rains at Raley Field.

The only way that the game will be delayed or pushed back is if safety concerns for spectators or fans and as of now, it doesn't sound like that will be the case so it's game on.

WHO TO WATCH

Certainly the weather is one thing we'll have to be keeping an eye on tonight but we're also playing an important hockey game with some great players going on either side. For the Heat, no player is hotter than forward Derek Grant.

Grant once again has sparked the Heat offense near singlehandedly after scoring two goals in the last game against the Condors on Wednesday. His first may have been a dirty, grind-em-out goal in the blue paint, but his second showcased his hand-eye coordination after he deflected a Dustin Stevenson shot home for the tying goal.

This season the talented centerman has been scoring in bunches, leading the team with four multi-goal games.

INTERESTING FACT

There have been 718 days between the last AHL outdoor game and tonight's contest at Raley Field. The last game occurred at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan on December 30, 2013 between the Grand Rapids Griffins and the Toronto Marlies. Grand Rapids would win that game as the home team with the 4-3 decision.

In the previous seven contests the home team has won four of the contests. In addition, there have been four games that have gone to overtime or the shootout. Most recently it was a December 13, 2013 matchup between the Rochester Americans and Lake Erie Monsters that was decided by the shootout at Frontier Field in Rochester, New York.

Friday, December 18, 2015

Arena: Raley Field - West Sacramento, CA

Date: December 18, 2015

Time: 7:30 p.m. PST (Doors at 6:00 p.m.)

Broadcast: AHL Live, Spreaker & iHeartRadio beginning at 7:10 p.m. PST; Televised on NHL Network beginning at 7:30 p.m. PST

Leading Scorer: STOCKTON: F Freddie Hamilton (20 GP, 6-8-14)

BAKERSFIELD: D Brad Hunt (23GP, 4-16-20)

For the live, in-game tweets, follow @AHLHeatPR. Stay tuned at the end of the game for the Chase Chevrolet Big Moment of the Game with your chance to win an autographed Drew Shore puck.

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American Hockey League Stories from December 18, 2015


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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