STOCKTON, Calif. – The Stockton Heat (17-9-3-1) hosted the Tucson Roadrunners (15-8-4) in a battle that lasted into overtime, when the Heat’s Mark Jankowski scored the winning goal with 1:04 left on the clock. The 3-2 win for the Heat put an end to their five-game winless streak in splendid fashion.
Mark Jankowski (17) scores the game winning goal past Roadrunners’ goalie Adin Hill giving the Heat a 3-2 win in overtime – Photo by Jack Lima
Stockton pounded away at the net during the first period, leading in shots on goal, but both teams working fairly evenly. Jamie Devane scored the first goal at 6:03, when his shot beat Adin Hill in the low corner of the net. Hunter Smith and Mike Angelidis received assists on the goal.
Stocktons’ Mike Angelidis (10) battles Roadrunners’ Brandon Burlon (7) after goalie Adin Hill makes a save – Photo by Jack Lima
Roadrunners Kyle Wood’s shot at 17:08 found the back of the net from over the shoulder of Jon Gillies for the equalizer.
Tucson took the lead, when late in the second period, as Christian Fischer scored his twelfth goal of the season on a backhand shot from a rebound left in front of the net. Chris Mueller had the assist on the shot.
Stefan Fournier (26) collides with Keith Aulie (43) along the boards – Photo by Jack Lima
In the third period, Stockton’s Keith Aulie scored his first goal of the season, when his shot from the circle lit the lamp at 6:04, forcing the teams into overtime. Both teams covered their nets defensively, but offensively, were limited on chances. A single shot on goal for Tucson, while Stockton had two, one ultimately leading to the game winner when Jankowski’s goal beat Hill five-hole.
Heat goalie Jon Gillies makes a save despite a snow shower from Christian Fischer – Photo by Jack Lima
“It’s a huge weight off the shoulders for the whole team,” Jankowski said. “Obviously, we were in a little bit of a losing skid there and we needed a greasy one like that to get us out of it. I think it was just a great play by all three guys [Kenney Morrison, Morgan Klimchuk, and Mark Jankowski]. [Morrison] had the puck and great patience, held on and gave it to [Klimchuk] and I got the chance to beat my guy to the net. [Klimchuk] is a great player with great vision and he saw me and put it to the net. I just tried to tip it. Luckily, it found a hole and went in.”
Roadrunners’ goalie Adin Hill stops a breakaway attempt by Linden Vey (15) – Photo by Jack Lima
Gillies (10-5-3-1) earned the win for the game, with 31 saves. Hill (8-2-3-1) gets the loss with 36 saves in the net.
“It was a great team win with tons of resilience. Being down 2-1 going into the third with the way things have been going for us, it would’ve been easy for us to pack it in,” Gillies said. “But we played one of our best periods of the season [in the third], so credit to our guys.”
Stocktons’ Hunter Smith (34) fights Roadrunners’ Dakota Mermis (43) to get position in front of goalie Adin Hill – Photo by Jack Lima
Keith Aulie spoke following the game on his first goal of the season. “It was nice to get one. If you’re going to choose a goal, you want it to be a timely one like that to get us back in the game. I looked up and saw quite a bit of net and I just wanted to make sure I got it there. It’s nice for us to win. We’ve been on the wrong side of it lately. Some of it has been our game not being quite right, but at the same time, we’ve been on the wrong side of some puck bounces, so it was nice to get the bounces tonight to get the big win.”
Roadrunners’ goalie Adin Hill (33) makes a save on a shot by Stocktons’ Daniel Pribyl (47) – Photo by Jack Lima
The Pacific division remains tight and this Stockton (38 points) overtime win moved them up in the standings, switching places with Tucson (34 points) in the third and fourth place positions. The Ontario Reign leads the pack, with 39 points (17-6-5), followed closely by San Jose Barracuda with 36 points (16-8-1-3).
Mark Jankowski (9 goals, 15 assists) was recently named to the 2017 AHL All-Star Classic team later this month and is tied for points among the Heat with Linden Vey (8 goals, 16 assists). Jankowski is one of 6 rookies to be selected league wide for the All-Star Classic from the Pacific Division and one of 13 players league wide.
Stockton will welcome the Milwaukee Admirals for their first time ever on Saturday, while Tucson will continue their tough road trip, facing the Barracuda for a midday match Saturday. One last note, Milwaukee downed the Barracuda Friday night, 3-1.
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