STOCKTON, Calif. – The Heat played a tough game before a sell-out crowd of 9,267 fans at the Stockton Arena. Putting a stop to the San Jose Barracuda’s 15-game winning streak left the Heat feeling even better.
Heat goalie David Rittich makes a kick save on a shot from Julius Bergman (63) – Photo by Jack Lima
Stockton’s goalie David Rittich looked good in the net, stopping 43 shots in the 4-2 win over San Jose, handing Mantas Armalis the loss with 17 saves in the net.
Barracuda’s John McCarthy scored his 15 goal of the season only 3:45 into the first period, only to be answered by Matt Frattin’s unassisted goal at 6:38.
Zack Stortini (29) tries to screen Heat goalie David Rittich as Keith Aulie (43) defends – Photo by Jack Lima
The two teams remained tied until midway through the second period, when Stockton took the lead, never to look back. Andrew Mangiapane scored beating Armalis five-hole at 10:26. Mark Jankowski and Garnet Hathaway each earned an assist on the play.
Linden Vey (15) attempts to stick handle past Barracuda’s defenseman Mirco Mueller – Photo by Jack Lima
Austin Carroll caught a loose puck in the crease for goal number three, giving Shinkaruk the assist. Stockton’s final goal, an empty netter gave Jankowski his 20 goal of the season, while securing the win.
Julius Bergman (61) dives to block a shot from Daniel Pribyl (47) in front of Barracuda’s goalie Mantas Armalis – Photo by Jack Lima
After a late delay of game penalty with less than a minute remaining, Roarke Chartier found a way to beat Rittich at the net when his shot hit the post and bounced in. The final score 4-2 gave the Heat a much needed win.
John McCarthy (17) tips a shot past Heat goalie David Rittich to open the scoring in the first period – Photo by Jack Lima
Rittich commented after the game on the number of shots he faced. “It was a pretty good game. Every goalie likes to see that many shots and took so many so I feel great. The more shots the better as I feel like I stay in the game more.”
Heat Coach Ryan Huska addressed the recent schedule that saw the Heat just returning from a game in Ontario (7 hours south) after 2-1 tough loss.
Dan Kelly (46) makes a pass as Mark Jankowski defends – Photo by Jack Lima
“As lopsided as the shots were, we had quite the travel day and three games in four nights, I thought our guys did a good job here tonight, finding a way to win.”
Huska also commented on how well Rittich was in the net tonight. “When we needed him to make a great save, David was there and he made some really good ones here tonight.” He went on, “We were on our heels a bit, but I think we did a good job of protecting the inside and that’s what we needed to see tonight. You think about situation where you have the travel like we had, often times you have to look to your goaltender to be the best player and I thought he was tonight.”
Austin Carroll (20) attempts to tip a shot past Barracuda’s goalie Mantas Armalis – Photo by Jack Lima
Stockton moves up to sixth in the Pacific Division (23-23-4-1), with a tough road ahead of them. Barracuda sit in first (33-12-1-4), with San Diego close on their heels. Only the top four teams will make it to the post season.
The Heat will host Bakersfield Wednesday night, while the Barracuda will return home host San Diego Sunday.
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