Heat Look to Split Midwest Roadtrip with Sunday Matinee in Des Moines
January 17, 2016 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Stockton Heat News Release
TONIGHT
The Stockton Heat will look to bounce back from their setback last night in Rockford and get their record back to .500 on this Midwest road swing, as they take on the Iowa Wild for the first time this season.
Iowa will be just the second team outside of the Pacific Division to face the Heat - Rockford being the only other team.
WHO TO WATCH
There isn't a ton of history between the Stockton Heat and Iowa Wild - in fact there is none, seeing as they have yet to face each other this season.
However, last year the Wild did face the Adirondack Flames twice, as the two teams split a pair of home-and-home games with each other with the road team winning on both occasions.
In the Flames 2-1 win over Iowa in December of 2014, Emile Poirier was tremendous, netting the game-winner and adding an assist on a Bill Arnold goal en route to the victory.
Poirier was on a five-game scoring drought when that game occurred last season and tonight could be a repeat performance from the 21-year-old forward. His stay with the Stockton Heat has not been quite as fruitful as his year in Adirondack, but the 2013 first-round pick has shown flashes of brilliance that prove his value within the Calgary organization.
He has earned points in two of the six games since the turn of the calendar and tonight against a team he has torched in the past could be the jumpstart Poirier needs to rally down the stretch.
Watch for the crafty, speedy forward to come out buzzing against the Wild tonight.
THE POULIN WALL
Since coming back from his lower body injury on January 6th in San Jose, Kevin Poulin has been rock solid in between the pipes for the Heat.
His record since returning (1-1-1-0) may not show it, but Poulin's play in his three games since returning has been as good as Stockton has seen in net all season and many of the goals that have beaten Poulin have come off freak bounces or through dense traffic.
Last night in Rockford was his first loss in regulation through seven starts in a Stockton sweater and he again made save after save en route to an unfortunate loss.
Poulin has shown absolutely zero adverse effects from what was at one time a frightening-looking lower body injury and the Heat now have two solid netminders to cycle through with Joni Ortio in the lineup as well.
The two have provided stability in the crease on a team where it didn't seem like it was ever going to happen earlier in the season.
As Coach Huska said in the pregame interview before yesterday's game in Rockford, "There is no room for complacency in our net." Moving forward, it will be interesting to see whom Coach Huska gives the nod to night-in and night-out, but Poulin has made a strong case for himself recently.
KEY RETURNS AND ABSENCES IN MIDWEST
After the Heat received reinforcements from Drew Shore, Garnet Hathaway and Aaron Johnson all returning last week, Stockton saw both Bill Arnold (Lower Body) and Derek Grant (Illness) miss last night's tilt in Illinois.
However, forwards Blair Riley (Upper Body) and Ryan Lomberg both were active in the lineup last night and looked good in their return to the lineup.
Riley, who returned on Wednesday vs. San Antonio, brings that veteran presence that every team needs, while Lomberg, a healthy scratch Wednesday against San Antonio, brings a feistiness and a compete level to the Heat lineup of which you can never have enough.
There is no guarantee that Grant shakes his illness enough to get into the lineup tonight, but his availability would be welcomed sight for a team that has been riddled with injuries all season long. Grant is on a career-best and team-best six-game point streak (5-3-8)
INTERESTING FACT
The regulation loss last night in Rockford was the first for Kevin Poulin this season between the pipes for the Heat.
Poulin's last regulation loss came all the way back on April 19th of the 2014-15 season while the goaltender was a member of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.
His six games without a regulation loss is not his longest stretch of success though. Last season in Bridgeport, Poulin went nearly a month without a regulation loss from October 17 - November 14.
That stretch included eight starts for the netminder and saw him go 7-0-1-0 for his best streak of his AHL career.
Sunday, January 17, 2016
Arena: Wells Fargo Arena
Date: January 17, 2016
Time: 3:00 p.m. PST (5:00 p.m. Central)
Broadcast: AHL Live, Spreaker & iHeartRadio beginning at 2:45 p.m. PST (4:45 p.m. Central)
Leading Scorer: STOCKTON: F Derek Grant (23GP, 16-8-24)
IOWA: F Grayson Downing (23GP, 10-12-22)
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.
American Hockey League Stories from January 17, 2016
- Falcons Exact Revenge on Bears, Win in Overtime - Hershey Bears
- Reign Edge Stars 2-1 with Last-Minute Goal - Ontario Reign
- Grant's Four Point Night, Poirier's Three Point Night Leads Heat over Iowa 7-4 - Stockton Heat
- Heat Outlasts Wild 7-4 - Iowa Wild
- Checkers Run over Moose 4-1 - Charlotte Checkers
- Phantoms and LaBarbara Tame Sound Tigers 4-1 - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
- Stars' Win Streak Comes to an End in 2-1 Loss to Ontario - Texas Stars
- Manitoba Moose Post-Game Report - Manitoba at Charlotte - January 17 - Manitoba Moose
- Bridgeport falls to Lehigh Valley - Bridgeport Islanders
- Griffins' Record Home Winning Streak Snapped in Overtime - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Falcons Win in Overtime against Bears - Springfield Falcons
- Wolves Clip Griffins in Overtime - Chicago Wolves
- Schremp Leads Pirates to Overtime Victory - Portland Pirates
- Khudobin Recalled by Anaheim - San Diego Gulls
- Toronto Marlies Post Game Notes - Toronto Marlies
- Overtime Heartbreaker Ends Home Win Streak - Providence Bruins
- IceCaps Exact Revenge against Marlies - St. John's IceCaps
- Blackhawks Reassign Bickell, Monday Is Kids Day - Rockford IceHogs
- Wolves Sign Daniels, Nightingale and Chouinard - Chicago Wolves
- Reign Wrap up Busy Weekend with Kingston Bobblehead Giveaway Today vs. Texas - Ontario Reign
- Reilly Assigned to Iowa - Iowa Wild
- Heat Look to Split Midwest Roadtrip with Sunday Matinee in Des Moines - Stockton Heat
- Gulls Battle Back But Bow to Stars, 5-3 - San Diego Gulls
- Leighton Moves Closer to AHL Record with Shutout - Rockford IceHogs
- Dowd Scores Twice in 4-2 Loss to Condors - Ontario Reign
- Ranford's Hat Trick Leads Stars to Fourth Straight Win - Texas Stars
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