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AHL Stockton Heat

Heat Wrap up Season-Long Five-Game Road Trip in Ontario

March 26, 2016 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Stockton Heat News Release


TONIGHT

The Stockton Heat look to closeout their season-long five-game road swing with a win at Citizens Business Bank Arena against the Ontario Reign.

Stockton comes into tonight's game with losses in their last three contests, but there were plenty of positives from Friday's game against Ontario, as the Heat turned their game around from what was a less than ideal beginning to the week in Winnipeg.

LAST TIME VS. ONTARIO

Just last night, the Heat played the Reign tight all game long and played the physical style that Stockton fans have seen all season, but Ontario got a couple extra bounces and ended up with the 4-2 win Friday night.

Turner Elson and Brett Kulak each scored for the Heat, but that would be all the offense the Heat produced on Reign goaltender Peter Budaj and the Reign skated away victorious.

For Stockton, it was a positive sign that despite their spot in the standings, the fire to work for that final playoff spot is alive and well. It was a character performance from a team looking to bounce back from a rough trip up north.

WHO TO WATCH

He may not have gotten the goal on the play, but Heat forward Hunter Shinkaruk did a good portion of the work on Brett Kulak's rebound goal during the third period Friday night.

Shinkaruk was one of the more noticeable players on the ice with his speed and quickness with the puck, and despite his size holds his own in the physical battle areas when the game gets tough.

Perhaps the best shift of the game last night came from Shinkaruk and habitual corner mucker Bryce Van Brabant in the second period, as the pair cycled near the cage for nearly a minute, outbattling and outworking the Ontario defense. No goal came of the shift, but it set up a solid stretch of offensive-zone time for the Heat, something that is hard to come by against a team like Ontario.

Along with centerman Bill Arnold, the line really sets up Shinkaruk to play a free game and be creative with the puck - just as he was on the play that led to Kulak's third tally of the year.

Watch out for Shinkaruk to potentially have a big game tonight, as he pushes towards 50 points in his sophomore season.

GRANT HELD WITHOUT A POINT IN LAST THREE

Stockton's top goal scorer has been held uncharacteristically quiet in the last three games, something that has only occurred once this season.

From November 25 to December 4, Grant was held pointless in three games (@ ONT, vs. BAK, @ SJ) before scoring two goals against the Gulls on December 5 to snap the slump.

While Grant may not have shown many signs of any rust from his six-week layoff in his first two games back in the lineup (3 goals, 2 assists), it's important to note that he is still recovering from that broken jaw and is only five games into his return.

The points will come for a player like Grant. It's really only a matter of time, but certainly going three games without getting on the scoresheet will have him motivated to break that streak tonight.

JUST NINE REMAIN AFTER TONIGHT

After tonight's game against the Ontario Reign, the Stockton Heat have just nine games remaining, six of which occur at Stockton Arena after tonight with just three road games remaining on the schedule.

Stockton has gone 14-2-1-0 in their last 17 games at home but has won just three of their last 15 games on the road.

A win tonight on the road will go a long way to pushing the Heat down the stretch and not exiting this road trip with just a single win coming from it.

SCHNEIDER JOINS HEAT ON THE ROAD

Rookie goaltender Nick Schneider has joined the Heat on the road in Ontario and will be available for Coach Huska's crew tonight.

The 18-year-old netminder is coming off of his first full season as a starter in the WHL with the Medicine Hat Tigers, in which he made 50 appearances and built a 21-26-1 record to go along with a pair of shutouts.

Schneider entered the 2015 NHL Entry Draft as the ninth-ranked goaltender amongst North Americans by NHL Central Scouting, but went undrafted on draft day.

The Flames, though, invited the Drayton Valley, Alberta native to their training camp and he proceeded to impress Calgary brass with his play, particularly at the Young Stars Classic in Penticton, British Columbia.

He played just one period in the final game against the Vancouver Canucks and stopped 10 of the twelve shots he faced, but he made a game-saving stop during the third period on a breakaway that forced the game into overtime.

Now, Schneider may potentially see his first real action as a pro, as he's available to play in tonight's game.

PLAYOFF PRIMER

With the Heat in the thick of the playoff chase, we take a look at what tonight's game against the Ontario Reign can do for both teams.

Starting the day the Heat are sixth in the Pacific with a .500 win-percentage while Ontario enters Saturday as the top team in the Pacific at .703.

Starting with Stockton, if the Heat can pull the victory in regulation the team can get to .508 with the two-points tonight. In the event the Heat pick up just one point the team will remain at .500 while a regulation loss would send the team back to .492.

As for Ontario, a win would get them to .708 while an extra-time loss would drop the team to .700. A loss would put the Reign at .692, but they would not fall from the top of the Pacific.

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 failed to score a power-play goal in each of their last three games, going 0-for-4 in each game. Their last power-play tally came back on March 19th when Derek Grant scored his 26th goal of the season against Bakersfield.

Saturday, March 26, 2016

Arena: Citizens Business Bank Arena

Date: March 26, 2016

Time: 6:00 p.m. PST

Broadcast: AHL Live, Spreaker & iHeartRadio beginning at 5:45 p.m. PST

Leading Scorer: STOCKTON: F Hunter Shinkaruk (58GP, 25-23-48)

ONTARIO: F Sean Backman (59GP, 21-32-53)

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 Morgan Klimchuk puck.

Check out the Stockton Heat Statistics

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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.

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