AHL Stockton Heat

Heat Go for Eighth-Straight Win at Stockton Arena Tonight at 7:30 p.m.

Published on February 13, 2016 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Stockton Heat News Release


TONIGHT

The Stockton Heat look for their eighth-straight victory at home, as the Ontario Reign come to town for a Saturday night tilt at Stockton Arena.

Stockton enters the contest with wins in seven-straight games inside Stockton Arena, but have suffered three-straight losses, all coming on the road, in their last three games.

Ontario is also in the middle of a rough stretch of hockey, eating defeats in their last two contests against San Jose and Bakersfield respectively.

As far as the off-ice is concerned, it's Race For Autism Night, Faith Night, and of course Emile Poirier Bobblehead Night! Doors open early for a pregame concert for Faith Night along with a couple race cars out front of the building (and inside), including Kyle Busch's M&M's NASCAR!

There will be a silent auction on the concourse benefiting the Carlos Vieira Foundation and after the game, there will be a post-game concert as well as a symposium featuring a few Heat players talking about Faith in their lives while playing pro hockey.

All that and more on a fun, Saturday night at Stockton Arena!

LAST TIME VS. ONTARIO

Back on January 27th, the Heat hosted the Reign in what would turn out to be one of the best games between the two teams we've seen all season.

After goals from Derek Grant and Valentin Zykov, the two teams entered the overtime period after 60 minutes of regulation was not enough. However, it'd start 4-on-3 as a late, third period penalty was taken by the Reign, giving the Heat a chance to win the game on the power play.

Stockton would need just 30 seconds of the scheduled five minute overtime frame, as Derek Grant buried his second of the night at the tail-end of a textbook tic-tac-toe play with Aaron Johnson and Kenny Agostino to give Stockton the 2-1 OT victory.

WHO TO WATCH

It's been a rough couple of weeks up and down the Calgary Flames organization with injuries. The Heat have undoubtedly bore the brunt of those, losing their top scorer Derek Grant to a fractured jaw last week.

But all that means is that the next man has to step up and fill the void.

Enter Mason Raymond.

Raymond has only played three games in the AHL since the 2007-08 season, spending roughly eight-straight seasons exclusively in the NHL. With Grant and his offensive production on the shelf with the injury, Raymond is certainly a guy to look at to pick up the slack.

So far in just three games with Stockton, Raymond has scored three points and is coming off of a game that saw him earn his first multi-point game with the Heat.

If Raymond can continue to build momentum, especially off of his two-point performance in their last game, he will certainly be a fit to fill the scoring void left by Grant's injury.

RAMO INJURY BRINGS MOVEMENT THROUGHOUT ORGANIZATION

As expected, once Karri Ramo suffered his lower body injury in San Jose Thursday night, Calgary recalled Joni Ortio from Stockton. The Heat in turn recalled Kent Simpson from Adirondack to pair with Kevin Poulin in the Heat net.

It is fair to expect Poulin to take over as the number one starter, seeing as his 2.72 goals-against-average and 0.913 save-percentage lead Stockton amongst goaltenders with at least 10 games played.

Simpson returns to Stockton after posting impressive numbers in Adirondack. His 0.926 save-percentage is an ECHL career-high and his seven wins tie his total from last season in half as many appearances.

With Poulin between the pipes on a regular basis and Simpson providing relief when necessary, the Heat are not overtly affected by Ortio's call-up to Calgary.

TALE OF TWO STREAKS

After rattling off five-straight W's for their longest winning streak of the season, the Heat have fallen in three straight.

During the winning streak, Stockton netted 18 goals and only allowed 10 goals - a far cry from their eight goals for and 15 goals allowed during their current three-game losing streak.

However, a pair of back-to-back games at home could not have come at a better time for Stockton, as they now get to attempt to right the ship in a building where they've won their last seven games.

INTERESTING FACT

Today could mark the second time a Heat player has played a game on his birthday! That's right, tonight, Kenney Morrison, who turns 24, could find himself in the lineup with an opportunity to build his 2 assists that have come in back-to-back games, into a point streak with a goal or assist tonight.

The first time a Heat player played a game on his birthday was on January 6 in San Jose when Brett Kulak turned 22. Kulak was held without a point in that game so a point tonight would not only build his first point streak of the season (and be a nice birthday gift to boost), but it'd also be the first time a player registered a point on his birthday in a Heat sweater.

Saturday, February 13, 2016

Arena: Stockton Arena

Date: February 13, 2016

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

Broadcast: AHL Live, Spreaker & iHeartRadio beginning at 7:15 p.m. PST

Leading Scorer: STOCKTON: F Derek Grant (30GP, 23-15-38)

ONTARIO: F Sean Backman (43GP, 11-24-35)

Giveaway: First 500 kids age 12 & under receive an Emile Poirier bobblehead

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 Emile Poirier puck.

Check out the Stockton Heat Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from February 13, 2016


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