Hartzell Perfect in Relief Appearance but Reign Win
Stockton, Calif. – The Stockton Heat played a tight, physical game that saw them outshoot the Ontario Reign 38-29, but the Heat just couldn’t solve Peter Budaj and the Reign, as they fall to Ontario 4-0 Saturday night at Stockton Arena. The night was more than just a hockey game, as the Heat were raising money for charity and raising awareness for breast cancer health services. Still, a win is always the goal and despite winning the battle of chances, the Heat could not come away with a win. Peter Budaj stops all 38 shots he faced for the shutout victory, his fourth of the season, while Jordan Samuels-Thomas records the hat-trick in the Reign win. Goalie Eric Hartzell who was signed to a tryout contract earlier in the evening stopped all 17 shots he faced in relief of Kent Simpson. The Stockton Heat will hit the practice ice hard this upcoming week as they prepare for their second trip to Texas beginning next Friday night.
OFFICIAL BOX SCORE
HIGHLIGHTS
POSTGAME REACTION
SCORING SUMMARY
1st Period
Ontario goal: F Sean Backman (1) one-timer from just inside the near side faceoff dot sneaks past the goaltender (Dowd, Gravel assists), 12:02 (PP)
Ontario goal: D Jordan Samuels-Thomas (1) shot from just below the near side faceoff dot goes shortside past the goaltender (Auger, Crescenzi assists), 16:41
Ontario goal: D Jordan Samuels-Thomas (2) shot from above the near side faceoff dot goes through a screen and deflected past the goaltender (Sabourin, Horvat assists), 17:04
Ontario penalty shot: F Michael Mersch – missed
Shots: STK – 12 | ONT – 11
2nd Period
Ontario goal: D Jordan Samuels-Thomas (3) catch-and-shoot from the top of the slot is snapped to the back of the net (Horvat, LoVerde assists), 2:06
Shots: STK – 18 | ONT – 12
3rd Period
No goals
Shots: STK – 8 | ONT – 6
GOALIES
W: Peter Budaj (38 shots, 38 saves)
L: Kent Simpson (12 shots, 8 saves)
Eric Hartzell (17 shots, 17 saves) replaced Simpson in the second period
NOTABLE STATISTICS
Three Stars: 1- Jordan Samuels-Thomas (hat trick) 2- Peter Budaj (38-save shutout) 3- Ryan Horvat (2 assists)
Final Shots: STK – 38 | ONT – 29
Power Plays: STK – 0/6 | ONT – 1/5
Eric Hartzell made 17 saves in relief after arriving early in the morning when he was signed to a PTO
QUOTES
“It can be frustrating but we’re just trying to build good things here. We’re going to build off of this and build off the chances that we had and take the positives out of tonight. We just have to turn the page.” – Captain Aaron Johnson on losing despite having more chances.
“I thought we really played a pretty solid game. We had more scoring chances than we’ve had in the last few games. Unfortunately a couple goals against hurt us and we had to battle uphill from there.” – Johnson on his overall view of tonight’s game.
“I was preparing myself to play from the beginning of the game. You obviously never want something bad to happen to the other goalie, but just in case something does happen you have to be prepared.” – Goaltender Eric Hartzell who entered the game in the second period after being signed to a PTO earlier this morning.
“I made sure I was prepared for the game regardless of what happened. I felt good out there. At the end there when it got a little chaotic I just tried to control the middle of the net. The defense did a great job of clearing out rebounds and they definitely helped me out.” – Hartzell on how he felt his game went after coming in cold and stopping all 17 shots he faced.
“We didn’t get a save early on tonight. It might sound strange when you lose a game 4-0 but we played well tonight. We really did. I thought we did a lot of good things in regards to putting pucks to the net. I thought we were physical. It’s tough when you get yourself behind the 8-ball to a very good hockey club , but we competed and battled and played the way we want our guys to play.” – Head Coach Ryan Huska on his feelings of tonight’s game.
“5-on-3’s are a challenge. I thought we were really doing a good job with that. You’re looking for something good there to build off the penalty kill, but they scored. I thought we finished the kill well and we kept going which was a nice thing. A lot of the time when you give up some goals early or you’re down like we were it’s easy for guys to just cave a little. We didn’t see that at all tonight.” – Coach Huska on the first period 5-on-3 penalty kill that couldn’t quite keep the puck out of the net.
NEXT HOME GAME
STOCKTON HEAT vs. San Diego Gulls
November 18 @ Stockton Arena
First 1,000 fans receive a Markus Granlund oversized trading card
Doors @ 6:00 p.m., Puck drop @ 7:00 p.m.
