HGD 34: Heat look for weekend sweep of Silver Knights (7:00 p.m. MT)

After taking Friday’s meeting by a 3–1 score, the Stockton Heat will once again drop the puck with the Henderson Silver Knights on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. MT.

The Heat remain atop the AHL’s Pacific Division with a 23–7–3 record on the season. At 16–11–2, Henderson currently ranks fifth.

Stockton and Henderson have met on four previous occasions this year. The Silver Knights won their only game against Stockton on home ice (Jan. 12, 2022) by a 5–2 score; the Heat have won two of its three games against Henderson at Stockton Arena.

@Dustin Wolf was outstanding in goal for Stockton on Friday, snapping a personal two-game slump in which he allowed nine goals on 55 shots. Making his first start since that 5–2 loss in Henderson, Wolf stopped 28 of 29 and improved to a league-best 17–2–2 on the season.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see Wolf again between the pipes on Friday. The 20-year-old goaltender has played both ends of a back-to-back on three previous occasions this season and is 3–0–0 with a .931 save percentage in the second games of those sets.

@Jakob Pelletier – @Glenn Gawdin – @Matthew Phillips
@Martin Pospisil – @Luke Philp – @Walker Duehr
@Justin Kirkland – @Byron Froese – @Eetu Tuulola
@Alex Gallant – @Emilio Pettersen

@Connor Mackey – @Nick DeSimone
@Kevin Gravel – @Colton Poolman
@Ilya Solovyov – @Johannes Kinnvall
@Nolan Valleau

@Dustin Wolf
@Adam Werner

@Ben Jones – @Maxim Marushev – @Paul Cotter
@Jake Leschyshyn – @Pavel Dorofeyev – @Jonas Rondbjerg
@Jack Dugan – @Alan Quine – @Sven Baertschi
@Mason Primeau – @Matt Boudens

@Ian McCoshen – @Brayden Pachal
@Derrick Pouliot – @Daniil Miromanov
@Peter DiLiberatore – @Kaedan Korczak
@Zack Hayes

@Jiri Patera
Logan Flodell

Stockton — @Jakob Pelletier (12 goals, 33 points); @Matthew Phillips (13 goals, 32 points); @Glenn Gawdin (12 goals, 31 points); @Byron Froese (nine goals, 18 points); @Luke Philp (eight goals, 18 points).

Henderson — @Pavel Dorofeyev (14 goals, 26 points); @Daniil Miromanov (three goals, 22 points); @Ben Jones (13 goals, 19 points); @Jake Leschyshyn (nine goals, 16 points); @Jonas Rondbjerg (seven goals, 14 points).

Stockton — After a very unusual 2020–21 season, Heat captain @Byron Froese is back to his usual level of AHL production this year. Froese frequently shifted between the NHL, the taxi squad, and the AHL in 2020–21 and he never quite managed to find a foothold in the minors, scoring just five points in 15 games. The 30-year-old centre now has nine goals and 18 points in 21 games this season.

Henderson — Yes, Jake Leschyshyn is the son of former Quebec Nordiques defenceman Curtis Leschyshyn. Unlike his dad, Jake is a centre who has spent time marinating in the AHL after graduating from the Western Hockey League. The Vegas Golden Knights selected Leschyshyn the younger in the second round of their first NHL Draft (2017); five years later, Leschyshyn has 16 points in 18 AHL games and has also appeared in 20 NHL games with the Golden Knights, scoring a goal and three assists.

Saturday’s game in Stockton will be broadcast on AHL TV (subscription required) and on Spreaker (audio only), with the opening puck-drop set for 7:00 p.m. MT.

FlamesNation contributor Paige Siewert will provide live game updates on her Twitter account. Additionally, you’ll be able to follow along at TheAHL.com.

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