Heat Visit San Diego for Afternoon Clash in SoCal
April 3, 2016 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Stockton Heat News Release
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TONIGHT
The Stockton Heat hit the road to SoCal to face the San Diego Gulls this afternoon at the Valley View Casino Center.
Stockton enters tonight's game with wins in two of their last three games, but the one loss did come against San Diego in an evenly played game at Stockton Arena last Wednesday.
San Diego remains one of the hottest teams in the AHL, as they've taken over the second spot in the Pacific Division and have won four of their last five games.
LAST TIME VS. SAN DIEGO
Just this past Wednesday at Stockton Arena, the Heat and the Gulls hit the ice for what would be a special night for 18-year-old Stockton goaltender Nick Schneider, who made his pro debut.
Schneider made 34 saves and looked comfortable between the pipes - despite admittedly feeling anxious prior to opening puck drop.
Unfortunately for Schneider, the Heat could not quite generate enough offense in front of him and fell to San Diego 4-2.
WHO TO WATCH
Of the many things that were impressive about Stockton's win on Friday night over Ontario, one that may have been overlooked was the chemistry that was built almost immediately between Turner Elson, Mark Jankowski and Drew Shore.
As a line, the trio had a solid handful of scoring chances and eventually did contribute to the game winner that came from Tyler Wotherspoon.
The glaring difference between this line and lines before it is that Shore has moved out of his center position to flank Jankowski on the wing. Well, the move worked, as Shore was one of the most active threats offensively for the Heat and was allowed time and space to do what he does best - get the puck to his teammates in scoring positions.
Perhaps the move to wing allowed Shore to get away from the opposing team's top defensive forwards (typically centers), while not losing his effectiveness on draws because Jankowski can fill that role.
Watch out for this line to continue to find success and grow together, but Shore in particular will be set for another big game in the offensive zone.
SCHNEIDER & JANKOWSKI IMPRESS IN DEBUTS
The last two games for Stockton have seen goaltender Nick Schneider and centerman Mark Jankowski make their respective pro debuts and needless to say, they both turned some heads.
Schneider, an undrafted free agent signed by Calgary in the offseason, stopped 34 shots in his debut before turning in an even more impressive performance in his second go around that earned him his first pro win.
Jankowski also had a memorable pro debut, as the Providence College product earned an assist and made a number of plays away from the scoresheet that impressed during his pro debut.
It's too early to tell how these two young prospects will pan out, but it's safe to say that it's been "so far, so good' for the pair.
PLAYOFF PRIMER
With the Heat in the thick of the playoff chase, we take a look at what tonight's game against the San Diego Gulls can do for both teams.
Starting the day the Heat are sixth in the Pacific with a .508 points-percentage while San Diego enters Sunday ranked second in the Pacific at .613.
Starting with Stockton, if the Heat can pull the victory in regulation the team can get to .516, moving the Heat into a virtual tie with the Bakersfield Condors; however, the Condors own the tie breaker. In the event the Heat pick up just one point the team will remain at .508 while a regulation loss would send the team back to .500.
As for San Diego, a win would get them to .619, and clinch a playoff spot, while an extra-time loss would drop the team to .611. A loss would put the Gulls at .603.
Keep an eye on the AHL's Playoff Primer updated every morning with the latest standings and magic numbers.
INTERESTING FACT
The Stockton Heat have now gone 0-for-25 on the power play over their last six games.
Sunday, April 3, 2016
Arena: Valley View Casino Center
Date: April 3, 2016
Time: 3:05 p.m. PST
Broadcast: AHL Live, Spreaker & iHeartRadio beginning at 2:50 p.m. PST
Leading Scorer: STOCKTON: F Kenny Agostino (58GP, 19-29-48)
SAN DIEGO: D Brandon Montour (62GP, 11-41-52)
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 Freddie Hamilton puck.
American Hockey League Stories from April 3, 2016
- Stockton Scores Early in Overtime to Post 2-1 Win - San Diego Gulls
- Griffins Clinch Berth in 2016 Calder Cup Playoffs - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Agostino's Tally 12-Seconds into Overtime Gives Heat 2-1 Win over San Diego - Stockton Heat
- Amerks Close out Weekend with 5-2 Loss to Griffins - Rochester Americans
- Pirates Score Three Unanswered Goals to Defeat Penguins - Portland Pirates
- Quine scores only goal for Bridgeport in loss - Bridgeport Islanders
- Kings Recall Defenseman Kevin Gravel from Ontario - Ontario Reign
- Falcons Win Second Straight - Springfield Falcons
- Guentzel Scores His First in Penguins Loss to Portland - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- IceCaps Sign Addison to ATO - St. John's IceCaps
- Albany Devils Set Two Records in 3-0 Win against Binghamton Senators - Albany Devils
- Audette Reassigned to IceCaps - St. John's IceCaps
- Comets Stumble Late Versus Syracuse - Utica Comets
- Crunch Extinguish Comets, 7-3 - Syracuse Crunch
- Bears Clinch Playoff Berth in Overtime Setback - Hershey Bears
- Providence Exacts Revenge on Hershey, 2-1 - Providence Bruins
- B-Sens Shutout by Devils - Binghamton Senators
- American Hockey League Announces Suspension - AHL
- Falcons Sign Forward Currier - Springfield Falcons
- Flames Assign Poirier to Stockton - Stockton Heat
- Comets Release Michael Pereira from PTO - Utica Comets
- Heat Visit San Diego for Afternoon Clash in SoCal - Stockton Heat
- Game Day: Devils vs. Senators, 3 PM - Albany Devils
- Condors Stifled by Reign - Bakersfield Condors
- Gulls Bounce Barracuda 5-3 - San Diego Gulls
- Hogs Come up Short in Overtime - Rockford IceHogs
- SJ Barracuda Fall in San Diego 5-3 in Season Finale vs. Gulls - San Jose Barracuda
- Budaj Denies Condors; Snaps Ontario's Losing Streak with 2-0 Shutout Win - Ontario Reign
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
