Heat Wrap Midweek Series with Bakersfield Wednesday
March 16, 2022 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Stockton Heat News Release
TONIGHT'S MATCHUP: Stockton Heat (35-9-4-1; 1st Pacific) vs. Bakersfield Condors (24-16-4-5; 4th Pacific)
LOCATION: Stockton Arena | Stockton, California
TIME: 6:30 p.m. PDT
TUNE IN: Today's game can be streamed on AHLTV, and the radio call is available on Fox Sports Radio 1280 or online via Spreaker.
HEAT INDEX
A red-hot Heat club looks to keep rolling with a Wednesday contest against Bakersfield, two days after dispatching the same Condors group by a 3-1 final at Stockton Arena. Jakob Pelletier lit the lamp twice, once on the power play and once into an empty net, while Dustin Wolf stopped 30 of 31 shots faced and Eetu Tuulola deposited his 11th of the season in the victory.
PUNCH THE TICKET
The Stockton Heat have a chance to become the first team to punch their ticket to the 2022 Calder Cup Playoffs if a couple of Wednesday results go their way. With a 'Magic Number' of three points, Stockton seals is spot in the second season with either a win and Tucson loss of any kind or with an overtime or shootout loss coupled with a Roadrunners regulation setback. The Heat have one playoff appearance in team history, the 2016-17 season.
PELLETIER POTS A PAIR
With his two goals on Monday, Jakob Pelletier took the lead in the AHL rookie goal-scoring race by netting his 21st and 22nd scores of the season. He surpassed Utica's Alexander Holtz among the first-year group and became the second-ever Stockton rookie to surpass 20 goals in his debut campaign, trailing only Mark Jankowski's 27-goal total. Stockton is 16-0-0-1 on the year when No. 49 lights the lamp.
UNMATCHED
Stockton's win over Bakersfield on Monday was the team's 35th of the season, setting a team record for wins in a campaign with 19 games still to play. The Heat boast an AHL-best 20-3-4-0 record on home ice for a blistering .815 points percentage and look to make it 8-for-8 adding to the season point total against the Condors this season.
BULK IS BEST
Justin Kirkland continued to add to his personal accolades on the year with his 31st point of the season, coming on an assist on Stockton's first goal Monday, to set a new career high. The forward has already enjoyed his best goal-scoring season with 14 tallies, his previous career-best being nine, and now most recently surpassed his previous high-water mark for points of 30 set in the 2018-19 season. He now trails his all-time assist tab by five helpers, claiming 22 in his first season with Stockton in 2019-20.
TUU-GOAL-LA
Eetu Tuulola has set a career-best goal-scoring output with his 11th marker of the season, notching his second game-winner of the campaign with his Monday strike. Tuulola's previous high of 10 goals was set during his rookie season, when he tallied 10 goals and 13 assists in 50 games. Tuulola has goals in back-to-back games entering Wednesday's contest.
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