Heat Look to Bounce Back Friday in Ontario
January 17, 2020 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Stockton Heat News Release
Friday, January 17, 2020
Arena: Toyota Arena | Ontario, California
Date: Friday, January 17, 2020
Time: 7:00 p.m. PST
Broadcast: Watch tonight's game on AHLTV or hear Stockton's radio call on Spreaker and iHeartRadio. Listeners in the Stockton area can also hear the game on Fox Sports 1280.
Join The Conversation: For live, in-game tweets, follow the Heat on Twitter. Join the conversation by replying to our updates or using the hashtag #STKvsONT.
Chase Chevrolet Big Moment of the Game Puck: Stay tuned on Twitter following the game for a chance to enter to win a puck signed by Mason Morelli with our Chase Chevrolet Big Moment of the Game selection!
TODAY
The Heat look to find their way back into the win column following a Wednesday night setback as they head south to take on the Ontario Reign Friday at Toyota Arena. Stockton and Ontario have battled in the early running of the season series, the Heat earning three wins in five meetings on the year.
Ontario has dropped three-straight, four of its last five and seven of its last 10 coming into Friday's game while Stockton has won three of the last five and is 6-3-0-1 in its last 10.
ON THE REBOUND
Stockton has been strong this season bouncing back from regulation losses, entering tonight's game 7-0-0-0 on the year in the club's next game after going without a point in the previous contest. The Heat have outscored opponents by a 34-15 margin in those games, including a 16-2 differential in the third period, and boast a team .926 Save Percentage following regulation losses.
AT HOME ON THE ROAD
Stockton is arguably the AHL's best road team, tied with the Belleville Senators with a .789 point percentage away from home ice. The Heat are 14-3-0-2 this season away from Stockton Arena and have a plus-26 goal differential at 79-53 on the year. In two games at Toyota Arena this season, Stockton has a pair of wins with an 8-5 victory in November and a 3-2 overtime victory in December. Conversely, the Reign are just 5-7-3-1 at home this season.
GETTING DEFENSIVE
The Heat have ratcheted up the defensive play of late, Stockton having conceded just 10 goals over the club's last seven games. Since the holiday break in December, the Heat have allowed just 15 goals against in nine games - the team going 6-3-0-0 in that span. The strong play in the Heat's own end can be traced back to the calendar flipping to December, Stockton allowing more than three goals in regulation just twice and limiting teams to two or fewer nine times since the December 4 contest against Ontario.
LONG MAY THEY REIGN
Seeing the Reign has been good news in the point column for both Adam Ruzicka and Corey Schueneman, each player coming into tonight's game at a point-per-game clip with five points in five games against Ontario on the year. Five of Ruzicka's 15 points have come against Ontario, including a three-point outburst on November 27, and five of Schueneman's 11, all assists, have come against the Reign.
FIRST GOAL FIRST
First goals have been important for both Stockton and Ontario this season, the Heat entering tonight's game as the AHL's best team when lighting the lamp first and the Reign going 10-2-1-0 this season when taking a 1-0 lead. Four of the five games between the Heat and Reign this season have gone to the team that scored the game's first goal.
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