AHL Stockton Heat

Weekly News and Notes of the Stockton Heat

Published on March 8, 2016 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Stockton Heat News Release


News and Notes

The Stockton Heat ended a streak of road losses on Saturday with the 5-4 win. The Heat lost six-straight road games from February 5 to March 4

It was the first road win for the Heat since January 17 in a 7-4 win in Iowa

Stockton is tied with Manitoba for the fewest road wins in the AHL with 7

Stockton has eight road games remaining including a season-long five-game road trip starting March 19 in Bakersfield

Stockton has been outscored 66-103 on the road (-37 goal diff.)

Stockton is 12-1-0-0 at home since January 2

The Heat have outscored teams 81-58 (23 goal diff.)

Derek Grant and Hunter Shinkaruk are tied for fifth in the AHL with 23 goals

Both players enter the week six goals behind Providence's Frank Vatrano with 29

Grant has been out with a fractured jaw since February 8. He was leading the league in goals at that point in time

Shinkaruk scored 21 goals with the Utica Comets before being acquired by the Calgary Flames in an NHL trade

Stockton has 4 OT Wins to go along with 4 Shootout Wins in 11 overtime games played

The Heat's .727 win percentage ranks them as the sixth best in the AHL and the best OT team in the Pacific Division

Hartford (12OT GP, .833 win-percentage)

Grand Rapids (10 OT GP, .800 win-percentage)

Milwaukee (14 OT GP, .786 win-percentage)

Rochester (12 OT GP, .750 win-percentage)

Toronto (15 OT GP, .733 win-percentage)

Stockton (11 OT GP, .727 win-percentage)

Stockton continues to lead the league in average shots for per game with 34.84

However Stockton has been outshot in their last three games, topping out at 30 shots for in Saturday's OT win over San Diego

Freddie Hamilton is on a five-game goal scoring streak at home (6 goals)

That ranks tied for the second longest streak in the AHL behind only Chicago's Jordan Caron (6GP, 6 goals)

Saturday's one power-play chance was tied the fewest the Heat have had this season

February 14 vs. San Antonio saw the Heat go 1 for 1 on the power play

Unfortunately, Tuesday's loss to San Jose was tied for the most goals given up by the Heat this season (7) and also the biggest defeat of the season (6)

Stockton last gave up 7 goals when they fell to the Condors 3-7 on February 9

Stockton has the following matchup's remaining this season

Four against Ontario (two at Stockton Arena and two on the road)

Four against San Diego (three at Stockton Arena and one on the road)

Three against San Jose (two at Stockton Arena and one on the road)

Two against Bakersfield (both on the road)

Two against Texas (both at Stockton Arena)

Two against Manitoba (both on the road)

One against Iowa (at Stockton Arena)

TOTALS: 18 games remaining (10 at Stockton Arena, eight on the road)

Stockton won for just the third time on the road on Saturday when surrendering the first goal of the game (3-13-0-1)

They also won for just the third time on the road when being outshot (3-13-1-0)

Pat Sieloff recorded his first multi-point game of his AHL career on his 86th career game with 2 assists on March 5 in San Diego

Hunter Shinkaruk recorded his first multi-point game with the Heat on Saturday's win over the Gulls (1-1-2)

It's his ninth multi-point effort of the season which would place him third on the team for most behind Kenny Agostino (14) and Derek Grant (12)

Emile Poirier recorded his third game winner of the year on Saturday in overtime

All three of his game winners have come on the road this season

He's second on the team in the game winning goal department behind Derek Grant (5)

Kent Simpson has won his last two starts, both of which needed overtime (February 20 vs. SJ and March 5 at SD)

Approaching Milestones

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

Bryce Van Brabant is 2 games away from playing his 100th AHL game

Bill Arnold is 3 games away from his 100th AHL game

Yann Sauve is 5 points away from 50 career AHL points

He's also 11 PIMS away from 200 in his AHL career

Drew Shore is 6 assists from his 100th career AHL assist

Shore is also 10 games away from playing his 200th career AHL game

Pat Sieloff is 14 games away from playing his 100th AHL game

Kenny Agostino is 15 points from scoring 100 career AHL poitns

Hathaway makes NHL Debut and Scores First NHL Points

Heat forward Garnet Hathaway got his first NHL call on Leap Year, February 29, to the Calgary Flames and made his NHL debut that night against the Philadelphia Flyers. In the game, Hathaway skated 12:51 and was +1 with 3 hits in his debut.

Two games later, he recorded his first NHL point and his first NHL multi-point effort on March 3 in Buffalo, finishing the game with 2 assists.

Hathaway is just one of two players to make his NHL debut this year with the Calgary Flames, following Jakub Nakladal who made his NHL debut on February 9 for the Calgary Flames.

#NakCity

Speaking of the Czech defenseman of the Stockton Heat and Calgary Flames, Nakladal scored his first NHL goal this past week on March 1 against the Boston Bruins. Nakladal ripped a bomb from the top of the left circle past Tuuka Rask of the Bruins for his first NHL goal.

Nakladal became the first Heat player to debut in the NHL back in February.

While We're On the Subject of "First Goals"...

As we talk about Jakub Nakladal scoring his first goal for the Flames, another player scored his first goal as a member of the Flames organization!

After being acquired by Calgary on February 22 and assigned to the Heat, it took Hunter Shinkaruk to his third game with the Stockton Heat to score his first goal as a member of the organization, the lone goal in an otherwise forgetful matchup against San Jose. His goal came on the power play and was his 22nd goal of the season.

He followed that up with his first multi-point performance for the Heat on Saturday's win over the San Diego Gulls, scoring off of a beautiful entry into the Gulls zone that chased goaltender Matt Hackett from the San Diego crease.

Shinkaruk now has 23 goals on the year, tying him with Derek Grant for the team lead in goals. The pair are also tied for fifth in the AHL in goals scored. Grant has not played a game since February 6, nursing a jaw injury sustained during practice.

Poirier Snapping the Streak and Starting a New One

First round selection in 2013, Emile Poirier is known for scoring goals. In his QMJHL career that lasted just three seasons, the sharpshooting forward notched 90 career goals and added 107 assists totaling nearly 200 points.

In his first look as a pro on April 18, Poirier scored a goal and in his first full pro season, Poirier finished tied second on the team in goals with 19. With expectations increasing during his sophomore campaign, the winger from Montreal entered the month with just 8 goals on the season.

However that all changed in San Diego as the warm weather ignited the Heat forward who scored the lone goal in Friday's loss to San Diego and added two goals, including the game winner, during Saturday's overtime win over the Gulls.

Poirier turned what was his second longest goalless drought (9-games without a goal) into goals in back-to-back games, which Head Coach Ryan Huska called in his postgame comments on Friday night.

"When you look at his game over the last little bit he's been playing better, just not getting rewarded," Huska said after Friday's game. "He's had shots on net and that's what we want to see. A lot of times with him, he's a streaky scorer so if I was a betting man, there's a pretty good chance he'll get one tomorrow night so hopefully it's a sign of things to come."

Coach Nostradamus...err...Huska, echoed a very similar quote about Poirier on Saturday after the winger had scored two goals, including the game winning goal during the three-on-three overtime session.

"That's the way he is, he's a streaky guy and when he feels good about his game he has the ability to score and we saw that from him tonight," Huska said with a smile. "Again, when he feels good about his game and feels good about what he's doing, he tends to score in bunches so, I don't want to say it again but, hopefully it's a sign of things to come!"

Heat at Home for Four

In January and February the Heat had stretches in their schedule that saw the team play four-straight at Stockton Arena, tied for the season's longest homestand. The third time is not only the charm, but the final time this streak will happen as the Heat take on San Jose on Wednesday, Texas on Friday and Saturday and Iowa next Friday.

Some great promotions occur during this homestand as Wednesday's game against the Barracuda is not only a Family Day, but is also Kenny Agostino oversized trading card giveaway! The first 1,000 fans in the barn will receive a big trading card of the Heat's leading point getter this season!

Then on Friday, March 11, Boy Scouts in attendance will earn their Heat badge and for all fans 12-years-old and younger, they'll receive a Heat metal lunchbox! The following night the adults get into the giveaway action as the first 1,000 fans 13-years-old and over will receive a white Heat replica jersey! In addition, it's Law & Order Night where a portion of event proceeds benefiting the San Joaquin County Peace Officers Memorial Fund.

The homestand wraps up the following week on Friday, March 18 when the Heat host the Iowa Wild for the first and only time this season during Relay for Life Night! In addition, the Heat will be handing out bobbleheads to the first 500 kids 12-years-old and younger featuring Heat captain Aaron Johnson.

After this four-game stand, the Heat head off for a season-long five-game road trip taking the team from Bakersfield, to Winnipeg and then to Ontario before coming home for the majority of the rest of the season. Stockton finishes out the last 19 days of the season playing six home games and three road games with hopes of playing past April 17!

Agostino among Players Nearing Career High in Points

Last year, Kenny Agostino led the Adirondack Flames with 43 points in 67 games played last season but really came on in the second half of his season.

In his first 30 games played last year, Agostino had just 4 goals and 12 points, but finished off the last 37 games of his season with 11 goals and 31 points during his rookie campaign.

Just like in his first season, Agostino seems to be a strong finisher as his first 30 games to the season saw him score 8 goals and 21 points while his last 19 games has seen the Yale graduate record 9 goals and 21 points, just one back of tying his career high established last season.

While there's little doubt in Agostino being able to surpass his mark from last year and put another strong "end of the season" performance in the remaining 18 games.

Below is a look of players who've eclipsed their career high, met their career high or are nearing their career high in points

Players Who've Established a New Career High in Points

Kenney Morrison (New Career High: 28GP 2-7-9 | Previous High: 2014-15 - 10GP 2-4-6)

Pat Sieloff (New Career High: 36GP 1-6-7 | Previous High: 2014-15 - 48GP 2-3-5)

Hunter Shinkaruk (New Career High: 50GP 23-19-42 | Previous High: 2014-15 - 74GP 16-15-31)

Players Who've Tied their Career High in Points

Derek Grant (This Season's Stats: 30GP 23-15-38 | Career High: 2014-15 - 73GP 21-17-38)

Players Nearing their Career High in Points

Kenny Agostino (This Season's Stats: 49GP 17-25-42| Career High: 2014-15 - 67GP 15-28-43) - 1 point away

Brett Kulak (This Season's Stats: 44GP 2-9-11| Career High: 2014-15 - 26GP 4-9-13) - 2 points away

Bryce Van Brabant (This Season's Stats: 46GP 7-5-12| Career High: 2014-15 - 52GP 8-7-15) - 3 points away

Turner Elson (This Season's Stats: 48GP 11-15-26| Career High: 2014-15 - 59GP 17-13-30) - 4 points away

Freddie Hamilton (This Season's Stats: 50GP 16-19-35| Career High: 2013-14 - 64GP 22-21-43) - 8 points away

Drew Shore (This Season's Stats: 44GP 6-21-27| Career High: 2014-15 - 47GP 12-25-37) - 10 points away

Records:

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

Overall Record: 24-23-1-2, 0.510 Win Percentage, 6th in the Pacific Division

Last Week's Results:

Mar. 1 - Stockton Heat 1 at San Jose Barracuda 7

Mar. 4 - Stockton Heat 1 at San Diego Gulls 3

Mar. 5 - Stockton Heat 5 at San Diego Gulls 4 (OT)

This Week's Schedule:

Wed. Mar. 9 - Stockton Heat vs. San Jose Barracuda - Stockton Arena (7:00 p.m.)

Fri. Mar. 11 - Stockton Heat vs. Texas Stars - Stockton Arena (7:30 p.m.)

Sat. Mar. 12 - Stockton Heat vs. Texas Stars - Stockton Arena (7:30 p.m.)

Recent Transactions

3/7 - Yann Sauve acquired by the Stockton Heat in an AHL trade with the Portland Pirates

3/7 - Tyler Wotherspoon recalled by Calgary from Stockton on emergency basis

3/5 - Eric Baier released from pro tryout by Stockton

3/3 - Tyler Wotherspoon reassigned to Stockton by Calgary

3/1 - Eric Baier signs pro tryout with Stockton

2/29 - Garnet Hathaway reassigned to Calgary from Stockton by way of Adirondack

Team Leaders

Goals: Derek Grant and Hunter Shinkaruk with 23

Assists: Kenny Agostino with 25

Points: Kenny Agostino and Hunter Shinkaruk with 42

PIMs: Hunter Smith with 62

Wins: Kevin Poulin with 10

Losses: Joni Ortio with 9

GAA (Played at least 10 games): Kevin Poulin with 2.84

SV% (Played at least 10 games): Kevin Poulin with 0.913

Team Stats

Goals For: Week: 7 | Overall: 147

Goals Against: Week: 14 | Overall: 161

Power Play: 40-231 (17.3%), T-14th in AHL

Penalty Kill: 152-188 (80.9%), 23rd in AHL

Records vs. Opponents

Pacific Division:

Bakersfield Condors (4-6-0-0)

Ontario (3-5-0-0)

San Antonio (4-1-0-1) - SEASON SERIES COMPLETED

San Diego (4-3-0-1)

San Jose (2-6-1-0)

Texas (3-1-0-0)

TOTALS vs. PACIFIC: (20-22-1-2)

Central Division:

Iowa (1-0-0-0)

Rockford (1-1-0-0) - SEASON SERIES COMPLETED

Manitoba (2-0-0-0)

TOTALS vs. CENTRAL: (4-1-0-0)

Calgary Flames (NHL)

Record Last Week: 1-3-0, 2 point

Record Overall: 27-34-4, .446 Win Percentage, 7th in Pacific Division

This Week's Schedule:

Mon. Mar. 7 - Flames vs. San Jose (6:00 p.m. PST)

Wed. Mar. 9- Flames at Nashville (6:30 p.m. PST)

Fri. Mar. 11 - Flames at Arizona (6:00 p.m. PST)

Adirondack Thunder (ECHL)

Record Last Week: 2-1-0, 4 points

Record Overall: 33-18-6, .632 Win Percentage, 2nd in East Division

This Week's Schedule:

Tue. Mar. 8 - Thunder at Manchester (4:00 p.m. PST)

Thr. Mar. 10 - Thunder vs. Elmira (4:00 PST)

Fri. Mar. 11 - Thunder at Elmira (4:05 PST)

Sun. Mar. 13 - Thunder vs. Reading (4:00 PST)

Check out the Stockton Heat Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from March 8, 2016


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