AHL Stockton Heat

Weekly News and Notes of the Stockton Heat

Published on December 21, 2015 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Stockton Heat News Release


News and Notes

- Derek Grant recorded his fourth and fifth multi-point games this season on Wednesday (2 goals) and on Sunday (2 assists). Grant leads the team with four multi-goal games and Sunday's two assists were his first multi-point game this season that wasn't 2 goals

- The Heat played in front of a season-high 9,357 fans at Raley Field on Saturday. The previous high was opening night on October 10 at Stockton Arena with 6,543 in attendance

- The outdoor game played on Saturday took place 719 days after the previous outdoor contest in Detroit, Michigan

- Of the eight outdoor games in AHL history, the home team has won five of those

- Derek Grant has points in his last three-games (3-2-5), tying him with Drew Shore (who's done this twice) and Bill Arnold for the highest point streak by a Heat player this season

Approaching Milestones

- Colton Orr is 2 PIMS away from 600 in his AHL career. The forward has 1186 PIMS in the NHL

- Garnet Hathaway is 2 games away from 100 career AHL games

- Bill Arnold is just 2 points shy of 50 career AHL points

- Head Coach Ryan Huska is 2 games away from coaching in his 100th AHL game

- Turner Elson is 5 points away from 50 career AHL points

- Heat captain Aaron Johnson is just 6 points away from 200 career AHL points

- Joni Ortio is 7 games away from playing in his 100th career AHL contest

- Kenny Agostino is 12 games away from playing in his 100th AHL game

Recently Accomplished Milestones

- Morgan Klimchuk scored his first pro point, a goal, on Troy Grosenick of the San Jose Barracuda on Sunday. He then added an assist earning himself his first multi-point game of his pro career

- While we're on the subject of first multi-point games of pro careers, Austin Carroll accomplished the exact same thing on Sunday in San Jose, scoring a goal and adding an assist in the game

- Coach Huska coached in his 600th career game as a head coach on Wednesday vs. Bakersfield. He coached the WHL's Kelowna Rockets for 504 games and earned his 96th appearance as a head coach with the Heat on Wednesday. He will coach in his 100th game in the AHL this Sunday in San Jose

Big Night for Klimchuk

Rookie forward Morgan Klimchuk had a big night Sunday in San Jose at the SAP Center, as he scored his first pro goal and earned his first pro assist all in the same night. That of course earned him his first multi-point game of his pro career.

It took Klimchuk 18 games (14 with the Heat this season and 4 with the Abbotsford Heat in 2013-14) to notch his first point and he was by his own admission frustrated with the way things had gone for him to that point in his pro career, but that all disappeared when he lit the lamp during the second period on Sunday.

Klimchuk was selected in the first round of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft by the Flames and expectations for the offensive winger are high. Perhaps a game like Sunday's can build momentum for the talented 20-year-old and allow him to have more games like it moving forward.

Tight Race in Pacific

As it stands today, the Heat are only three games out of the fifth spot in the Pacific Division and only five games out of a playoff spot, but the kicker for the Heat is that they've only played 22 games - the least amount in the entire league, let alone the division.

Wins and losses have recently come down to the play of Stockton's special teams units, which have not been overly fantastic.

As Coach Huska said following last Wednesday's loss to Bakersfield, the one-goal games that the Heat have won or lost this season have been won or lost by either a converted chance or a missed opportunity by either unit.

For Stockton to rise in the ranks, they will have to clean up the details on both the power play and penalty kill and get back to the way they were playing in October.

The Heat have plenty of time and plenty of games to climb the standings after the holiday break and that will be their focus when they return to face the Bakersfield Condors on the 26th.

Grant Pacing for Another Career Year

Derek Grant leads the Stockton Heat this season with 10 goals and is fourth on the team in points with 13 and the big centerman is pacing just as he was last year while with the Binghamton Senators for another career year.

Last year with the B-Sens, Grant notched a career high 21 goals, 17 assists and 38 points, scoring on just under 12% of his 177 shots taken in 28 games up until the holiday break.

This year Grant is pacing well, with 10 goals, 3 assists and 13 points in just 15 games for the Heat this season. He's scored 15.6% of his 64 shots

So if you're a stats person, let's talk about Grants now.

From October 2014 to December 20, 2014:

28GP 11-5-16

Averaged approximately 2.43 shots per game (68 total shots)

Scored on 16.2% of shots taken

Longest goal streak was 2 games (4 goals)

Longest point streak 3 games (4-1-5)

From October 2015 to December 20, 2015:

15GP 10-3-13

Averaged approximately 4.27 shots per game (64 total shots)

Scored on 15.6% of shots taken

Longest goal streak was 2 games (3 goals)

Longest point streak 3 games (3-2-5)

Also played nine games with the Calgary Flames

So while Grant may find himself back in Calgary after once again showcasing a knack for net, he may be pacing himself for another career year. In his first 15 games of the campaign last year, Grant only had 3 goals and 2 assists before coming on stronger. Heading into the break may be the best that Grant has ever played in his career as the points are starting to come a little more consistently and in droves. He'll look to carry that momentum into the rest of December and into the new year.

Records:

Last Week's Record: 1-2-0-0, 2 points

Overall Record: 9-11-0-2, 0.455 Win Percentage, 7th in the Pacific Division

Last Week's Results:

Dec. 16- Stockton Heat 2 at Bakersfield 3

Dec. 18 - Stockton Heat 3 vs. Bakersfield 2

Dec. 20- Stockton Heat 4 vs. San Jose 5

This Week's Schedule:

Sat. Dec. 26- Stockton Heat at Bakersfield Condors - Rabobank Arena (7:00 p.m.)

Sun. Dec. 27 - Stockton Heat at San Jose Barracuda - SAP Center (5:00 p.m.)

Recent Transactions

12/15 - Ryan Lomberg recalled from loan by the Stockton Heat from the Adirondack Thunder (ECHL)

Team Leaders

Goals : Derek Grant with 10

Assists : Drew Shore with 12

Points : Freddie Hamilton and Drew Shore with 15

PIMs : Austin Carroll with 35

Wins : Joni Ortio with 4

Losses : Joni Ortio and Kent Simpson with 4

GAA (Played at least 5 games) : Jon Gillies with 2.31

SV% (Played at least 5 games) : Jon Gillies with 0.920

Team Stats

Goals For: Week: 9 | Overall: 62

Goals Against: Week: 10 | Overall: 66

Power Play: 18-114 (15.8%), 18th in AHL

Penalty Kill: 71-89 (79.8%), 26th in AHL

Records vs. Opponents

Pacific Division:

Bakersfield Condors (2-3-0-0)

Ontario (0-2-0-0)

San Antonio (1-1-0-1)

San Diego (2-1-0-1)

San Jose (1-3-0-0)

Texas (2-1-0-0)

TOTALS vs. PACIFIC: (9-11-0-2)

Central Division:

Rockford (1-0-0-0)

TOTALS vs. CENTRAL: (1-0-0-0)

Calgary Flames (NHL)

Record Last Week: 2-2-0, 4 points

Record Overall: 15-16-2, .485 Win Percentage, 5th in Pacific Division

This Week's Schedule:

Tue. Dec. 27 - Flames vs. Winnipeg (6:00 p.m. PST)

Sun. Dec. 27- Flames vs. Edmonton (6:00 PST)

Adirondack Thunder (ECHL)

Record Last Week: 1-2-0, 2 points

Record Overall: 16-5-2, .739 Win Percentage, 3rd in East Division

This Week's Schedule:

Sat. Dec. 26- Thunder vs. Manchester (4:00 p.m. PST)

Sun. Dec. 27- Thunder at Manchester (Noon PST)

Check out the Stockton Heat Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from December 21, 2015


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