STOCKTON, Calif. – The Stockton Heat (25-24-1-2; 0.510) earned a much needed win on Friday night against the Texas Stars (34-21-5-3; 0.603) in a 2-1 victory. Stockton has been sitting in the sixth place seat for some time now, while Texas is in second.
While this season is coming down to the finish, Stockton only has sixteen more games to play to work their way into that coveted top four. Currently there are three teams that could potentially earn it. San Jose (26-19-6-3; 0.565), currently fourth, followed by Bakersfield (25-22-5-2; 0.528), San Diego (30-20-2-2; 0.593), in third place might be too hard to overtake, but each of these teams other than Stockton have only 14 additional games to make something happen. Ontario Reign holds on to the first place seed after only 52 games (34-14-3-1; 0.692). In the pacific division, it’s the win percentage that will make the playoff determination, not the points.
Heat forward Freddie Hamilton (11) clears the rebound away from goalie Kevin Poulin (39) – Photo by Jack Lima
Stockton worked hard in their match against the Stars, driving the puck to the net with nearly every opportunity.
“We have skilled players, but we have to generate offense by going to the net hard. We have to throw pucks at the net as much as possible. And the way we scored our two goals tonight, that’s what we have to do.” said Stockton’s Coach Ryan Huska, adding, “Sometimes it’s a hard sale for the players, because they like to be a little fancier at times. But it’s the way we have to work to win games. We have to be prepared to play that style. We were happy with the way the guys went tonight.”
Heat defenseman Gabriel Verpaelst breaks his stick on a slap shot attempt – Photo by Jack Lima
Mitchell Heard scored at 7:54 into the first period, when he caught a rebound and slipped the puck past Maxime Lagace in the net. His goal was assisted by Blair Riley and Pat Sieloff.
“We were quick on the forecheck off a turnover. [Pat Sieloff] put a good, quick shot on net and it was just sitting there on the rebound. I just tried to crash the net and get the gritty goal and I was able to bang it home,” Heard said of his goal after the match.
Stars’ Matej Stransky collides with Heat players Ryan Culkin (3) and Kevin Poulin (39) – Photo by Jack Lima
In the second period, Mason Raymond scored his fifth goal in the Heat sweater when his power play shot beat Lagace in the net after sprawling to stop the previous shot. His goal was assisted by Emile Poirier and Drew Shore.
“It was a good screen and I think it was actually tipped a couple times. I was just able to get the rebound and chip it up over his pad,” said Raymond.
Stars’ goalie Maxime Lagace (33) makes a spectacular save without his stick on a shot by Drew Shore (23) – Photo by Jack Lima
Just after hitting the ice for the third period, Texas’ Curtis McKenzie scored his 17 goal of the season when goaltender Kevin Poulin failed to hold onto a blocked shot. The deflected puck went right to McKenzies stick for the goal only 49 seconds into the period. Despite the goal, Poulin held on, making several tremendous saves in his effort.
“I think you have to tip your hat to [Kevin] Poulin tonight – he made some fantastic stops and more tonight. [Texas] is a team that likes to jump in on the rush and tonight was a little more open ice, but I thought we played it well. It was a tight-checking game and we were able to squeak out a much-needed win,” said Raymond.
Mitchell Heard (22) opens the scoring with a first period goal, slipped past Stars goalie Maxime Lagace – Photo by Jack Lima
Stockton finished the game with 37 shots, and one for three power play opportunities. Texas went zero for three on the power play with 36 shots on goal.
Stockton’s Coach Huska remarked after the game, “It was a good game, I thought, both ways. We worked hard. I was happy with the way we played. But, I thought they were solid as well tonight. They are a fast team, and they are missing some players from their lineup. They play with a lot of pace, and if you’re not ready to play it, then it’s going to be a long night. I was happy with the way the guys played tonight.”
Heat goalie Kevin Poulin blocks the shot from Justin Dowling (10) on a 3 on 1 breakaway – Photo by Jack Lima
“Anytime [Kevin Poulin] has a night that he’s not necessarily happy with, he always comes back with a great game. He was that way tonight. I think he wasn’t quite as busy tonight as he has been over the last little while, but when there were saves for him to make he made them. Towards the end of the game he made an especially good stop that allowed us to get this win. You need your goaltender to be your best player and tonight you can definitely put him in that category.”
Stockton gets another opportunity on Saturday night as they play a second match against the Stars. Texas will be looking for their first ever win in the Stockton Arena.
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