SAN JOSE, Calif. – With multi-point efforts from Jakob Pelletier, Matthew Phillips and Juuso Valimaki, the Stockton Heat (33-9-4-1) erased a pair of two-goal, third-period deficits en route to a 6-5 shootout win over the San Jose Barracuda (18-28-2-1) Friday at the SAP Center.
A scoreless first period played out before an explosive second that saw the teams trade goals throughout, with the Barracuda taking a 3-2 lead into the second intermission. Joachim Blichfeld lit the lamp 2:07 into the second stanza before Emilio Pettersen responded 27 seconds later to tie the game at one. Evan Weinger then pushed the home team ahead once again at the 4:53 mark, but the lead was short lived as Pelletier found the back of the net 1:12 later.
Artemi Kniazev put San Jose ahead by a pair with his goals late in the second and early in the third, but Mark Simpson responded with a score to put Stockton back within striking distance at the 5:24 mark. The Barracuda added to their lead less than a minute later, John Leonard restoring the two-goal edge before Walker Duehr countered with a lamp-lighter of his own. Phillips then played hero late in regulation, banging home a loose puck with just 1:39 remaining to push the game to overtime.
After a scoreless 3-on-3 set, Stockton stole the extra point with a 4-for-6 performance in the shootout, goals from Justin Kirkland, Glenn Gawdin, Connor Zary and Johannes Kinnvall, respectively, to seal the win in the six-round battle.
Written /by Brandon Weiss