As the Calgary Flames continue their preparation for the draft, trades, and free agency, there is one more important matter to secure, at least for Mrs. Finest and me. October will begin the fifth and final year of the contract between the City of Stockton, Stockton Arena, and the Calgary Flames. The City of Stockton…
With the Calgary Flames ending their season prematurely, the speculation on what the lineup will look like next year is about 90% set already. The same cannot be said for the Stockton Heat. With most players’ contracts expiring at the end of June, the Heat’s roster looks to be only about 10% filled.
As the seconds ticked off the clock on Stockton’s season Sunday, Heat fans were left wondering what went askew. The offseason moves brought so much promise and anticipation that gradually faded into yet another disappointing year of missing the playoffs for the Flames’ top affiliate.
On Friday, the Stockton Heat had an opportunity to remain in the Calder Cup playoff hunt, albeit an outside chance. The team directly above them, the Tucson Roadrunners, came into Stockton sporting a 1-6-1 record in their last eight games. After going 6-2-0-1 in their last eight, Stockton had set itself up for a late…
Last week was a good one for the Stockton Heat but it ended on a sour note. They welcomed Michael Stone (on a conditioning stint) for some much-needed defensive help, albeit for what may be only five games. Dating back to last weekend, they took two out of three games against San Diego, a team…
Over the past two weeks, the Heat had won three of their past four games by playing a simple game where all three areas – offense, defense, and goaltending – were clicking, except for a three-minute spurt in Ontario that cost them two valuable points. Although they gave up the first goal in each of…
On Saturday, both the Heat and Mrs. Finest and I returned to Stockton Arena from a road trip. While I went 0-1-0-1 (and Mrs. Finest went 1-0-0-1), the Heat went 1-3-0-0 on their road trip, keeping them in sixth in the division, a whopping 11 points from a playoff spot. The good news is they welcomed…
Stockton played a home and home series with the San Jose Barracuda this weekend, which was bad news for the Heat. Someone asked me who owns the Heat? I said “Owns… Owns…” San Jose owns the Heat, as Stockton had a 0-8 record against their Northern California rivals going into the weekend.
Free The Flame reached out to me and asked if I could rank the forwards group in Stockton to see who would fit the term “Black Ace” for the Flames playoff run. Unless the Heat go on a 10-game winning streak, Stockton will miss the Calder Cup playoffs for the third time in four years.
The Heat returned to the Stockton Arena after a disappointing 0-2-1 road trip that saw Jon Gillies in net for all three. The defense (or what passes as defense) didn’t do him any favors, but still he needed to be better than 0.889 SV% and 3.73 GAA for those three games. At least those numbers…
On Wednesday, the Heat battled the white-hot San Diego Gulls. They were tied at four on the back of Alan Quine’s hat trick, but with 90 seconds left before overtime, a defensive breakdown led to an odd man rush and, with Jon Gillies out of position, the Gulls deposited the puck in an unmanned cage…
Happy New Year from Stockton! This is my first report in eight games; four each on the road and at home. In between, Mrs. Finest and I took in a game in DC to see the reigning Cup Champion Capitals beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-1 at Capital One Arena. A nice place to see a…
