Morning Skate: Heat Run It Back Against Toronto Tuesday

Matchup: Stockton Heat (0-1-0-0; 5th Canadian) vs. Toronto Marlies (3-2-0-0; 2nd Canadian)
Arena: Scotiabank Saddledome | Calgary, AB
Time: 6:00 p.m. MST | 5:00 p.m. PST
Broadcast: Tonight’s game will be available on AHLTV.com. The radio call of the action is available free on Spreaker.
Follow Along: For live, in-game updates, follow the Heat on Twitter @AHLHeat.

Media Game Notes: STK | TOR | AHL

TONIGHT
The Heat look to bounce back from an opening night setback with a rematch against the Toronto Marlies, the second game of a four-game set with the AHL affiliate of the Maple Leafs to start the season for Stockton. Tuesday’s contest is the front end of a midweek double-header, with the teams meeting once again Wednesday, same time, same place.

Stockton started strong out of the gates on Sunday, running up an early 7-0 advantage in shots on goal in the game’s opening nine minutes before Toronto took control. Luke Philp was the lone skater to find the back of the net in the contest for the home team, scoring on the power play with 7:22 remaining.

ON THE REBOUND
Stockton’s success in 2019-20 was built largely on the club’s resilience and ability to bounce back from losses. The Heat went 14-6-1-2 last season following losses and were even better following regulation setbacks, finishing at 11-4-1 (.718 point percentage) with a 60-44 score differential in those games.

PHILP HITS 20
Luke Philp lit the lamp in the third period of Sunday’s season-opener, the lone tally for the home team and his 20th-career AHL goal. Philp tied for the team lead in goal scoring as a rookie with 19 in 52 games.

200 FOR 6
Alex Petrovic is slated to skate in his 200th AHL game today. With 71 points entering today’s game, Petrovic previously skated in 54 games with the Providence Bruins, all last season, as well as 144 with the San Antonio Rampage.

PICKING UP WHERE HE LEFT OFF
Martin Pospisil closed out his rookie season in 2019 by stringing together points in three consecutive games, and his assist on Sunday pushed his active scoring streak to four contests with a pair of goals and three assists in that span. It has been 361 days since Pospisil played an AHL game without registering a point.

THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT

Seven players made their AHL debuts in Stockton’s season opener, including goaltender Dustin Wolf, defensemen Connor Mackey, Colton Poolman and C.J. Lerby, and forwards Dmitry Zavgorodniy, Emilio Pettersen and Connor Zary. Mackey had played in three games with the Flames prior to joining the Heat ahead of this week’s action.