Heat and Moose Closeout Season Series with Final Game in Winnipeg
March 23, 2016 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Stockton Heat News Release
TONIGHT
The Stockton Heat and the Manitoba Moose closeout their season series against one another in a midweek clash in Winnipeg at the MTS Centre.
Stockton comes in off the heels of their 3-0 loss to the Moose on Monday. It was only the third time this season that the Heat had been shutout and just the second time on the road.
Manitoba obviously comes in off their win over the Heat Monday, but have earned two shutouts in their last three contests - the other being a game in which they were shutout.
LAST TIME VS. MANITOBA
Monday night in Manitoba wasn't a game that the Heat would like to remember. After a primarily back-and-forth first period that saw both Kevin Poulin and Connor Hellebuyck play tough in net, the Heat surrendered three unanswered goals in the second period and could not recover after that.
While Hellebuyck stopped all 23 shots he faced in the shutout effort, Heat Head Coach Ryan Huska pegged the loss more on his team's inability to show up and play the right way, rather than point out any specific thing the Moose did to stymie the Heat attack.
It was the first time this season that Stockton lost to Manitoba.
WHO TO WATCH
After a brief stint with the Calgary Flames and playing well in two games with the big club, Kenny Agostino was reassigned to the Heat last week and returned with a vengeance.
He registered four points in his first two games back in Stockton and made it apparent that not only had he returned with the right attitude, but he had returned with a renewed focus on the ultimate goal - making it back to Calgary.
Agostino earned the call in the first place undoubtedly on the back of his career season, but one thing that has stood out about Agostino lately is his lack of "down" stretches since the calendar turned.
The winger has only once gone back-to-back games without a single point since New Year's Eve. That renewed focus and the threat of a second instance being held without a point in two-straight should push Agostino into a big performance tonight.
BOUNCING BACK AFTER SHUTOUT
The Heat have twice been shutout prior to Monday's game against Manitoba, but what followed those two shutouts is what makes tonight interesting.
Stockton bounced back from their first shutout loss (4-0 vs. Ontario on Nov. 7th) with a four-game point streak and recovered from their second shutout loss (3-0 at Rockford on Jan. 16th) with a season-long five-game winning streak.
Certainly with their current spot in the playoff hunt, the Stockton Heat need their best response to a shutout loss yet and have to rattle off a few big wins to remain in the chase.
We'll see if they can come out with a similar fire tonight as they have in the past and grab two points from the Moose.
PLAYOFF PRIMER
With the Heat in the thick of the playoff chase, we take a look at what tonight's game against the Manitoba Moose can do for both teams.
Starting the day the Heat are sixth in the Pacific with a .518 win-percentage while Manitoba enters Saturday in eighth in the Central at .377.
Starting with Stockton, if the Heat can pull the victory in regulation the team can get to .526 with the two-points tonight. In the event the Heat pick up just one point the team will remain at .518 while a regulation loss would send the team back to .509.
As for Manitoba, a win would get them to .386 while an extra-time loss would raise the team to .379. A loss would put the Moose at .371.
Keep an eye on the AHL's Playoff Primer updated every morning with the latest standings and magic numbers.
INTERESTING FACT
While the Stockton Heat were shutout for the third time Monday by the Moose, the Heat have earned their own shutouts on four separate occasions this season. All four have come with either Jon Gillies (2) or Kevin Poulin (2) in between the pipes. The most recent came on February 13th when Poulin stopped all 36 shots Ontario put on net. Gillies also has a 36-save shutout that came on October 21st in Texas against the Stars.
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Arena: MTS Centre
Date: March 23, 2016
Time: 5:00 p.m. PST
Broadcast: AHL Live, Spreaker & iHeartRadio beginning at 4:45 p.m. PST
Leading Scorer: STOCKTON: F Hunter Shinkaruk (56GP, 25-22-47)
MANITOBA: D Brenden Kichton (61GP, 9-24-33)
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 Dustin Stevenson puck.
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