Stockton Sunday: Gillies Returns

The Heat only had two games since the last Stockton Sunday but have a big week coming up with four games before next Sunday, starting with tonight’s game against Tuscon. Top spot in the Pacific Division is on the line in the game.

Last Week’s Games

Wednesday: Stockton Heat 1 @ Ontario Reign (Los Angeles) 3

Jon Gillies returned to the lineup after a thumb injury but backed up David Rittich in this start. Rittich turned in another solid performance despite loss making 25 saves on 27 shots. Brandon Bollig scored the only Heat goal, and the failure to generate offense was the root cause of the loss. The Heat only generated 18 shots despite having 6 powerplays in the game.

A full game recap can be found here

Saturday: Stockton Heat 3 @ Tuscon Roadrunners (Arizona) 2

The Heat scored three unanswered goals to come back from a 2-0 deficit to win the game. The winning goal was scored by Linden Vey with only 1:56 to go in the third. Also scoring for the Heat was Mikkel Aagaard and Rasmus Andersson. Jon Gillies also made his return to the ice in the victory making 25 saves on 27 shots.

A full game recap can be found here

This Week’s Games

Tonight: Stockton Heat @ Tuscon Roadrunners

Wednesday: Charlotte Checkers (Carolina) @ Stockton Heat

Friday: San Diego Gulls (Anaheim) @ Stockton Heat

Saturday: San Diego Gulls @ Stockton Heat

Roster Moves

Leading Scorers

Goals: 5 – Morgan Klimchuk, Andrew Mangiapane 4 – Linden Vey, Matt Frattin, Hunter Shinkaruk, Brandon Bollig

Assists: 9 – Mark Jankowski 8 – Rasmus Andersson

Points: 12 – Morgan Klimchuk, Mark Jankowski, 11 – Andrew Mangipane, Linden Vey

The Heat have won 6 out of their last 8 and sit in second place in the Pacific Division in terms of points % which is how the AHL measures their standings. With a win tonight over the Roadrunners, the Heat can take over 1st in the division.

The Heat have had a very strong start to the season sitting at 9-4-1 and are 6th overall in the AHL. A win tonight and they could climb into the top 3 of the league. It’ll be a busy week for the Heat with four games, so be sure to check back here next Sunday for an update on how they fared.

by Michael MacGillivray