Heat Look to Bounce Back Sunday at San Jose
January 2, 2022 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Stockton Heat News Release
Sunday, January 2, 2022
TODAY'S MATCHUP: Stockton Heat (18-3-2-1; 1st Pacific) vs. San Jose Barracuda (11-13-1-0; 8th Pacific)
LOCATION: SAP Center | San Jose, California
TIME: 1:00 p.m. PST
TUNE IN: Today's game can be streamed on AHLTV, and the radio call is available online via Spreaker.
HEAT INDEX
It's a new year and a new opportunity for the Stockton Heat, who look to avenge a New Year's Eve setback against the San Jose Barracuda. Friday's tilt was the Heat's first home regulation loss of the season and second time this year being blanked at Stockton Arena, with the club falling 4-0 against a Barracuda squad that got on top and never looked back. Netminder Sam Harvey, making his first appearance this season with San Jose, had 30 stops in the shutout.
LONG ROAD AHEAD
Sunday's matinee is the first game of a nearly-two-week road trip for Stockton, with the Heat playing seven games in six cities through January 14. The Heat begin the trip with a strong road record of 7-2-0-1 on the year, owning a 39-29 scoring advantage through the first 10 away games. Sunday will be Stockton's second game of the season at the SAP Center, winning the first meeting by a 4-1 margin on November 3.
POWER OUTAGE
The Heat penalty kill was nearly perfect in the month of December, finishing the nine-game jaunt at an impressive 35 kills in 36 opportunities. Stockton, which went 2-for-2 down a skater against the Barracuda on Friday, outscored opposing power plays by a 3-1 margin in that span, with two shorthanded goals from Connor Mackey and one from Luke Philp. The Heat have killed 30 consecutive opponent power plays entering today's game.
ON THE REBOUND
Stockton is a perfect 5-0-0-0 on the year following losses, with an aggregate score of 19-8. Stockton's 4-1 win over San Jose at the SAP Center was one of those contests, coming on the heels of a 5-1 setback to close the month of October. The Heat last responded to being shut out with a team-record, nine-game win streak to bounce back from an opening night blanking, four of those victories coming on the road.
WOLF BACK TO THE PACK
The Heat welcome back netminder Dustin Wolf, who missed the New Year's Eve game after his first-career NHL call-up, joining the Flames in Seattle. Wolf, who has earned the win in all five of Stockton's games following losses this season, has guided the Heat to at least a point in 18 consecutive starts (16-0-2-0), leads the AHL in wins (14), is second in Save Percentage (.940) and third in Goals Against Average (1.84).
FRONTRUNNERS
The first goal has been important for both the Heat and Barracuda, with Stockton going 13-0-1-0 and San Jose owning a record of 7-1-1-0 on the year when scoring first. When conceding the game's opening score, Stockton is 5-3-1-1 while the Barracuda are 4-12-0-0.
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