Heat Return from the Holidays with Showdown in Bakersfield
December 26, 2015 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Stockton Heat News Release
Saturday, December 26, 2015
Arena: Rabobank Arena
Date: December 26, 2015
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Broadcast: AHL Live, Spreaker & iHeartRadio beginning at 6:45 p.m. PST
Leading Scorer: STOCKTON: Two tied with 15 points (Freddie Hamilton and Drew Shore)
BAKERSFIELD: D Brad Hunt (26GP, 4-17-21)
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 Austin Carroll puck.
TONIGHT
After returning for the holidays, the Stockton Heat are back at it as their three-game road trip continues through central California in Bakersfield.
The Heat are looking to make it two in-a-row against Bakersfield and two in-a-row at Rabobank Arena in just their second game visiting Bakersfield this season.
LAST TIME VS. BAKERSFIELD
The Stockton Heat and Bakersfield Condors battled outdoors at Raley Field in West Sacramento, California, but needed an extra day to do it as rain forced the postponement of the game at Raley Field from Friday to Saturday.
Kyle Platzer scored the first goal against the Heat just moments into the contest but Derek Grant tied the game up in the second.
In the third Oliver Kylington and Drew Shore took and extended the lead for the Heat before Platzer scored his second of the night. That was as close as the game got however as the Heat came away with the 3-2 victory.
WHO TO WATCH
If you haven't been watching him already, it's time to pay close attention to the tall centerman of the Stockton Heat, Derek Grant.
Grant has been a real catalyst for offense this season and is posting some numbers so early on this season that could certainly see him eclipse the career numbers he posted last year of 21 goals, 17 assists and 38 points.
This year in just 15 games played for the Heat, Grant has picked up 10 goals and 3 assists for 13 points. He has picked up a (tied) team leading five multi-point efforts with four of those coming as multi-goal efforts.
In his first 15 games during last year's campaign in Binghamton, Grant only had 3 goals and 2 assists. In fact, when you compare Grant's stats from Opening Night to December 20, Grant is just 3 points back of where he was last year despite playing 13 fewer games.
He's averaging 4.27 shots per game this season and has scored on 15.6% of his shots so far.
He most recently has joined the company of Bill Arnold and Drew Shore (who's done it twice) with the Heat's longest point streak in team history, a 3-game streak (3-2-5).
He'll look to extend that to four games tonight in Bakersfield.
THE MAPLE LEAF FOREVER
For the first time in his long and illustrious career, defenseman and team captain Aaron Johnson will wear the red and white maple leaf on his chest!
The 32-year-old will represent Team Canada in the 89th Spengler Cup held in Davos, Switzerland from December 26 through December 31. Johnson is one of six players out of the 23-man roster to play in the AHL.
He's played 14 games for the Heat this season and leads the defenseman in points with nine (1-8-9).
Team Canada has won the Spengler Cup 12 times but haven't won since 2012. Johnson will return to the Heat in the new year.
KLIMCHUK IS ON THE BOARD
Morgan Klimchuk's struggle to find the back of the net came to an end on Sunday in San Jose as the rookie forward who also was a first round pick of the Calgary Flames in 2013 scored his first goal and then added an assist for his first multipoint game.
It was his 14th game for the Heat and 18th as a pro. Klimchuk played 4 games for the other Heat...the Abbotsford Heat in 2013-14.
INTERESTING FACT
This is the 11th of 24 total games this season for the Stockton Heat on a Saturday. The Heat are 6-4-0 on Saturdays overall but on the road the team is just 2-3-0.
American Hockey League Stories from December 26, 2015
- Griffins Extend Win Streak to 15, Defeat Lake Erie Monsters 7-3 - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Rampage Drop Stars in Final Seconds, 5-4 - Texas Stars
- Wolves Can't Catch Wild - Chicago Wolves
- Goalie Duel at PPL Center as Phantoms Return from AHL's Holiday Break - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
- Wild Outlast Wolves 2-1 - Iowa Wild
- Rampage Outduel Stars 5-4 - San Antonio Rampage
- Admirals Top Hogs in Shoot-Out - Milwaukee Admirals
- Amerks Drop 3-1 Decision to Comets - Rochester Americans
- Crunch Roll Past Falcons, 3-1 - Syracuse Crunch
- B-Sens Tame Wolf Pack 4-2 - Binghamton Senators
- Griffins Stay Hot with 7-3 Win over Monsters - Cleveland Monsters
- Wolf Pack Stopped by Binghamton 4-2 - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Downed at Hershey, 5-0 - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Bridgeport snaps winless streak against Lehigh Valley - Bridgeport Islanders
- Bears Roll over Penguins - Hershey Bears
- Three Unanswered Goals Give Comets Fans a Late Christmas Present - Utica Comets
- Albany Devils Extend Home Winning Streak to Seven Games - Albany Devils
- Falcons Surrender Three Unanswered Goals in Loss - Springfield Falcons
- Devils Tame P-Bruins, 4-1 - Providence Bruins
- Syracuse Crunch Sign Forward Luke Pither to PTO - Syracuse Crunch
- Toronto Marlies Post Game Notes - Toronto Marlies
- IceCaps Fall to Marlies on Boxing Day - St. John's IceCaps
- Condors Game Preview: HP Tablet Giveaway Tonight - Bakersfield Condors
- Forward Michael Mersch Returns to the Ontario Reign - Ontario Reign
- Heat Return from the Holidays with Showdown in Bakersfield - Stockton Heat
- Hockey for the Holidays - Binghamton Senators
- Avalanche Recalls Calvin Pickard - San Antonio Rampage
- Ontario Reign Game Preview: Reign and Gulls Clash in Holiday Season Hoedown Tonight - Ontario Reign
- Rematch with Admirals Awaits IceHogs - Rockford IceHogs
- Jesper Pettersson Reassigned to Phantoms - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
- Gelinas Recalled from Quad City - Iowa Wild
- Ambroz Recalled, Monsters Sign Devin to PTO - Cleveland Monsters
- Game Day: Albany Devils vs. Providence Bruins - Albany Devils
- Amerks Recall Colin Jacobs from Elmira - Rochester Americans
- Comets Recall Clay Witt - Utica Comets
- Capitals Recall Connor Carrick from Hershey - Hershey Bears
- Admirals Recall Noonan from Cincinnati - Milwaukee Admirals
- Bears Recall Goaltender Mark Dekanich - Hershey Bears
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