HEAT BLOW PAST BARRACUDA, 7-1
STOCKTON, Calif. – Behind two-goal efforts from Eetu Tuulola and Matthew Phillips, the Stockton Heat (40-12-4-1) overcame an early deficit by rattling off seven unanswered goals in a 7-1 victory over the visiting San Jose Barracuda (20-35-2-2) Saturday.
Jakob Pelletier pulled into a tie for Stockton’s all-time rookie scoring record with his 56th point of the season while Phillips matched the Heat high-mark for single-season goal scoring with his 26th and 27th markers of the campaign. With the win, Dustin Wolf became the fifth AHL goalie since 2000-01 to reach 30 victories in his rookie season.
The Barracuda took the early edge, Mason Jobst finding the back of the net 1:08 into the contest. The Heat pushed back with a pair in the first, Connor Zary tipping a puck past Zachary Sawchenko and Tuulola potting his first of the night, a short-side, shorthanded snipe to take a 2-1 edge into the first intermission.
Stockton added onto its lead in the second, Tuulola again finding the back of the net and Phillips getting his first of the night for a 4-1 cushion through 40. The home side then tacked on the exclamation point with three goals in the third, Glenn Gawdin, Phillips and Adam Ruzicka lighting the lamp to seal the win.
NOTABLE
- Tyrell Goulbourne made his Heat debut and earned his first point with Stockton, an assist.
- Connor Zary’s power play goal in the first was his 10th marker of the season. He’s the ninth Heat skater to double-digit goals on the year, the second rookie on the club.
- Eetu Tuulola’s shorthanded goal was his second of the year, pulling him into a six-way tie for the team lead. It was Stockton’s AHL-best 14th SHG of the season. He notched his first two-goal game of his career.
- Matthew Phillips became the first player on the Flames’ AHL club to reach 60 points in a season since Max Reinhart (63) and Ben Street (60) of the Abbotsford Heat in 2013-14. He has tied the team record for goals in a season (27) alongside Mark Jankowski (2016-17), Hunter Shinkaruk (2015-16) and Derek Grant (2015-16).
- Jakob Pelletier has tied Mark Jankowski for the Stockton Heat rookie scoring record of 56 points.
- Dustin Wolf is the fifth AHL rookie since 2000-01 to reach 30 wins, joining Dennis Svedberg (37-PRO-2012-13), Alex Stalock (39-WOR-2009-10), Ondrej Pavelec (33-CHI-2007-08) and Pekka Rinne (30-MKE-2005-06).
SPECIAL TEAMS
STK PP – 1-for-2
STK PK – 1-for-1
THREE STARS
First – Eetu Tuulola (2g)
Second – Matthew Phillips (2g)
Third – Justin Kirkland (2a)
GOALIES
W – Dustin Wolf (24 saves on 25 shots faced)
L – Zachary Sawchenko (12 saves on 14 shots faced)
ND – Alex Stalock (22 saves on 27 shots faced)
UP NEXT
The Heat and Barracuda conclude their season series Sunday at the SAP Center, a 3 p.m. puck drop.
