Heat Come From Behind in Dramatic 4-3 Win
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TORONTO, ON – Two goals in the final 2:14 of regulation helped the Stockton Heat (5-2-0-0) earn a 4-3, come-from-behind victory over the Toronto Marlies (6-6-0-0) Saturday afternoon at the Coca-Cola Coliseum.
Trailing by a goal late, Zac Leslie was able to find the back of the net to draw even, and 43 seconds later it was Alex Petrovic lifting Stockton to the 4-3 edge with the game-winning goal.
Connor Zary pushed his scoring streak to five contests with the game’s opening goal 4:35 into action, assisted by Giorgio Estephan and Eetu Tuulola, but the Marlies were able to counter with Rourke Chartier’s tying score three minutes later to knot the game through the first.
Emilio Pettersen netted his second goal of the campaign, the lone tally of the second period, after taking the puck down the wing from the defensive zone before hitting the brakes near the right faceoff dot and firing it past Andrew D’Agostini to take a 2-1 lead through 40 minutes.
The Marlies brought the pressure to start the third, potting a pair of goals from Alex Galchenyuk and Teemu Kivihalme in the first 5:12 to gain the upper hand. The Heat battled back, with the pair of markers from veteran defensemen Leslie and Petrovic to lift Stockton to the double-header sweep of Toronto.
NOTABLE
– Connor Zary extended his scoring streak to five games with the contest’s opening goal, giving the rookie now seven points and three goals in that stretch.
– Eetu Tuulola tallied a point for the second-straight game with an assist on Zary’s goal.
– Giorgio Estephan made his Heat debut in the contest and registered an assist on Zary’s goal.
– Emilio Pettersen netted his second goal in his last three games against the Marlies.
– Justin Kirkland recorded his 100th AHL point with an assist on Zac Leslie’s game-tying goal.
– Alex Petrovic’s marker was his second game-winning goal of the season.
– The fifth-straight win ties the Heat’s longest all-time win streak, accomplished twice previously (2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons).
– Team-record four-game streaks of multi-point efforts for Adam Ruzicka and Matthew Phillips came to a close with today’s game.
SPECIAL TEAMS
STK PP – 0-3
STK PK – 3-3
THREE STARS
First – Alex Petrovic (1 goal)
Second – Alex Galchenyuk (1 goal, 1 assist)
Third – Zac Leslie (1 goal)
GOALIES
W – Garret Sparks (29 saves on 32 shots faced)
L – Andrew D’Agostini (18 saves on 22 shots faced)
UP NEXT
The Heat head to Winnipeg for a four-game series against the Manitoba Moose, starting Monday at 5 p.m. MST, 4 p.m. PST.
