5 THINGS: STK vs. ONT, 1.29.22
STOCKTON HEAT (23-7-3-1) vs ONTARIO REIGN (22-6-3-2)
6:00 p.m. PST | Broadcast: AHLTV, Spreaker
Leading Scorers
Heat:
Goals – Matthew Phillips (13)
Points – Jakob Pelletier (33)
Reign:
Goals – Martin Frk (19)
Points – T.J. Tynan (44)
Special Teams
Heat:
PP – 27-for-139, 19.4% (13th)/PK – 127-for-142, 89.4% (1st)
Reign:
PP – 38-for-132, 28.8% (1st)/PK – 96-for-129, 74.4% (30th)
1. HEAT INDEX
It’s been a while since the Stockton Heat did not carry the top spot in the Pacific Division onto the ice with them, but that’s exactly where they find themselves on Saturday as they welcome top-seeded Ontario to Stockton Arena. The tilt at the top of the Pacific features a pair of teams who have battled to a tight season series thus far, Stockton taking wins and Ontario taking points in two of three. Ontario enters on a four-game heater while Stockton has not played in a week’s time.
2. THIS, THAT, THE OTHER
THIS… Saturday’s game features some fun strength-on-strength matchups, including Ontario’s top-ranked power play and overall offense against Stockton’s AHL-leading penalty kill and second-ranked defense. In three games of the season series, Stockton has outscored the Reign by a slim 12-11 margin, with wins in each of the games started by Dustin Wolf. THAT… One stat to track will be shots on goal, a metric that has averaged out in favor of Stockton this season, but not so much against Ontario. The Heat are near the top of the league in shot volume, ranking third with 33.09 pucks on net per game, while Ontario ranks 17th. Stockton is 16-5-1-1 on the year when putting more rubber on target than opponents, but Ontario has been able to notch more than the Heat in two of three meetings. The Reign are 20th in the league in shots against per game at 30.39. THE OTHER… Stockton enters tonight’s tilt as one of two teams to boast three players in the top 20 in scoring in the AHL, with Jakob Pelletier in 13th with 33 points, Matthew Phillips in 14th with 32 and Glenn Gawdin tied for 15th with 31. Ontario has two among the group, with T.J. Tynan’s 44 points and Martin Frk’s 38-point total.
3. PLAYERS TO WATCH
Heat – Matthew Phillips
Phillips has tuned up Ontario with six points (2g, 4a) in three games and has a chance to tie Andrew Mangiapane for Stockton’s all-time goal-scoring lead with his next marker, his 50th.
Reign – Martin Frk
The Heat have been successful in neutralizing Frk thus far on the year, holding him scoreless in a pair of contests, but the ever-dangerous forward is red hot with five goals and nine points in Ontario’s last four games.
4. MILESTONES WITHIN REACH
- Kevin Gravel is one goal shy of 20 in his AHL career.
- Matthew Phillips is one goal shy of 50 in his AHL career.
- Justin Kirkland will play in his 300th AHL game.
5. QUOTABLE
“We’ve put ourselves in a good position up to this point, but the later it goes into the season, the tougher it is to win as teams get closer to making a playoff push and solidifying your spot in the standings. The team we have here is so close-knit. We have such a good group of guys. I think one of the most exciting things about our team is we all want to play for each other. That’s a key component to having a championship-caliber team. Fortunately, we have that. We have guys who want to sacrifice, are willing to accept different roles and positions than they’ve had in previous years. We have everybody buying in. I think, if we can keep staying on the road we’ve been on, it would be fun to make a little run in the playoffs.” – Justin Kirkland on the root of Stockton’s team success this season