SAN JOSE, Calif. – Matthew Phillips pulled into a tie for Stockton’s single-season scoring record and Justin Kirkland netted his first game-winner of the season as the Stockton Heat (37-11-4-1) earned a 3-1 win over the San Jose Barracuda (20-30-2-2) Tuesday night at the SAP Center.
With the win, the Heat have set a club record with 79 standings points on the year.
Brinson Pasichnuk scored 1:32 into the contest, lighting the lamp on the second shot of the game for San Jose to take the early lead. The Heat put the clamps down from there, holding the Barracuda scoreless on four trips to the man-advantage, including a pivotal kill late in the game, and Dustin Wolf stopped the final 24 shots he saw in the win.
On the other end, Phillips’ goal at the 11:18 mark of the first to tie the game was his 25th of the season, bringing his campaign scoring total to 57 points to tie Stockton’s single-season record, previously held solely by Kenny Agostino. The teams then went scoreless until the third, when Kirkland broke the tie 11:22 into the final frame, his 15th goal of the season but first game-winner. Kevin Gravel then sealed the win with an empty-netter with just 1:23 remaining, an assist going to Wolf.
With the victory, the Heat improve to 7-1-0-0 on the year against San Jose and have now won nine consecutive games at the SAP Center.
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