<p>The Stockton Heat won again on Thursday, defeating the Manitoba Moose by a 2-1 score to extend their winning streak to eight games.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Luke Philp and Martin Pospisil scored for Stockton, which improves to 8-2-0 on the season. The Moose entered Thursday&#8217;s contest on a (now snapped) four-game points streak but have fallen to 6-7-2 with the regulation loss.</p>
<p>Garret Sparks made 24 saves for the Heat, allowing just one goal—to Cole Maier, in the second period—on his way to earning a fourth consecutive win. The Heat solved Moose goaltender Mikhail Berdin twice on 20 shots.</p>
<p>Thursday&#8217;s game was the first of the post-Connor Zary era for the Heat. The 19-year-old forward was assigned to the Kamloops Blazers earlier in the day to begin quarantining in advance of the 2020-21 Western Hockey League season.</p>
<p>Giorgio Estephan was promoted into the top-six in Zary&#8217;s absence and immediately made an impact, setting up Philp&#8217;s goal 13:04 into the first period.</p>
<p>Rory Kerins entered the lineup for the Heat for his first professional game; the 18-year-old winger was drafted by the Flames in the sixth round of the 2020 Draft and has been skating with the Heat on a try-out basis while waiting for his OHL team, the Soo Greyhounds, to resume play.</p>
<p>The Heat have now scored the first goal in seven consecutive contests and boast the AHL&#8217;s second-best points percentage (.800, second only to the .909 Henderson Silver Knights).</p>
<h2><strong>The rundown</strong></h2>
<p>Stockton out-shot the Moose by an 18-5 margin in the first period on Wednesday. Thursday&#8217;s opening frame was far less eventful, with the shots ultimately favouring Manitoba 8-6.</p>
<p>The Moose had two power play opportunities in the first period; the Heat had none. The flow of play at even strength slightly favoured Stockton in the opening 20 minutes, and Glenn Gawdin had a good chance to give his team a one-goal lead just before Connor Mackey took the game&#8217;s first penalty.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Broken play leads to a good chance for Gawdin. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AHLHeat?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AHLHeat</a> <a href="https://t.co/nX1EIDJepd">pic.twitter.com/nX1EIDJepd</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Mike Gould (@miketgould) <a href="https://twitter.com/miketgould/status/1370167614018744322?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 12, 2021</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Shortly after successfully killing the Mackey tripping minor, Stockton&#8217;s newly-minted second line opened the scoring. Estephan took a pass from Alexander Yelesin in the neutral zone and barreled over Manitoba&#8217;s blue line with the puck, driving towards the left circle and leaving the puck for Luke Philp.</p>
<p>Philp moved the puck to his right and slid the puck past Berdin to give the Heat a 1-0 lead at the 13:04 mark of the first period. Estephan and Yelesin received the assists on Philp&#8217;s third goal of the season.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Philp scores after a nice driving effort from Estephan and it&#39;s 1-0 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AHLHeat?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AHLHeat</a>. </p>
<p>Alex Yelesin picks up the other assist. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CofRed?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CofRed</a> <a href="https://t.co/PHmankp0ZL">pic.twitter.com/PHmankp0ZL</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Mike Gould (@miketgould) <a href="https://twitter.com/miketgould/status/1370170461384974336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 12, 2021</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Heat defenseman Zac Leslie took a high-sticking minor with 5:45 to play in the first period; after this infraction was called, the Moose out-shot Stockton by a 4-0 count to finish the opening frame.</p>
<p>Manitoba&#8217;s best chance in that span came off the stick of Ville Heinola, the Winnipeg Jets&#8217; first round selection in the 2019 Draft. The defenseman took advantage of open space to skate right in on Sparks and put forth a backhand shot that caught nothing but glove.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Heinola walks in for a great chance in the final minute of the first period. Sparks makes a great save and then&#8230; *checks notes* Glenn Gawdin gets into a fight? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AHLHeat?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AHLHeat</a> lead 1-0 after one. Moose have an 8-6 edge in shots. <a href="https://t.co/twF1qABdZJ">pic.twitter.com/twF1qABdZJ</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Mike Gould (@miketgould) <a href="https://twitter.com/miketgould/status/1370173708703129600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 12, 2021</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>The Heat did a good job of controlling the play in the second period and started with energy from the opening face-off. Philp helped set the tone for the middle frame, making numerous good plays with the puck on his first shift and eventually getting a breakaway opportunity against Berdin.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Luke Philp is playing with some good jump tonight. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AHLHeat?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AHLHeat</a> <a href="https://t.co/OQjtZwTvCw">pic.twitter.com/OQjtZwTvCw</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Mike Gould (@miketgould) <a href="https://twitter.com/miketgould/status/1370179219167186947?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 12, 2021</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Martin Pospisil took a two-minute interference penalty 3:34 into the second period; 10 seconds after Pospisil exited the box, Mackey was dinged for a hold. Despite being down a man for four minutes out of 4:10, the Heat managed to entirely stifle the Moose and prevent them from getting a single shot on Sparks.</p>
<p>Pospisil continued to get good looks as the game progressed. For example, in the clip below, he got a nice, up-close look at the back of the net.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Martin Pospisil finds the back of the net after a chance for Justin Kirkland.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AHLHeat?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AHLHeat</a> still lead 1-0. 12:02 to play in the second. <a href="https://t.co/9xOPR7O6PK">pic.twitter.com/9xOPR7O6PK</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Mike Gould (@miketgould) <a href="https://twitter.com/miketgould/status/1370181340386131968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 12, 2021</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>The visitors continued to push for an insurance goal. As the game approached its mid-way mark, the Heat occupied Manitoba&#8217;s defensive zone for an extended shift full of scoring chances. Most notably, Estephan had an opportunity to score on an empty cage after the puck took an unusual bounce off a stanchion. Berdin had wandered behind his net in an effort to corral the puck but, nonetheless, Estephan was foiled by a good defensive stick.</p>
<p>Stockton&#8217;s relentless pressure led to Moose defenseman Jimmy Oligny taking a cross-checking penalty.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">This might have been the shift of the year for the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AHLHeat?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AHLHeat</a>.</p>
<p>Great chances for Estephan, Gawdin, and Philp, the latter of whom hit the post on his one-time chance. All this pressure led to Stockton&#39;s first PP.</p>
<p>Heat still lead 1-0. <a href="https://t.co/Boshh0Q4Oi">pic.twitter.com/Boshh0Q4Oi</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Mike Gould (@miketgould) <a href="https://twitter.com/miketgould/status/1370183150379233280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 12, 2021</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>The Heat wasted no time in converting on their first power play opportunity. Undoubtedly drawing from his previous experience with the back of the net, Pospisil tickled the twine on the man-advantage by deflecting an Adam Ruzicka attempt through Berdin to give Stockton a 2-0 lead.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Martin Pospisil finds the back of the net for the second time this period. This time, it counts as a goal.</p>
<p>2-0 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AHLHeat?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AHLHeat</a>. Pospisil now has 10 points (5+5) in 10 games. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CofRed?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CofRed</a> <a href="https://t.co/7IvYbuf3v7">pic.twitter.com/7IvYbuf3v7</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Mike Gould (@miketgould) <a href="https://twitter.com/miketgould/status/1370184085616742402?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 12, 2021</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>The Moose managed to muster a response in the final minutes of the second period. After a giveaway by Heat defenseman Colton Poolman, Moose forward Nick Jones located Cole Maier with a pass that led to a quick one-timed goal.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Colton Poolman coughs up the puck and Maier scores. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AHLHeat?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AHLHeat</a> now lead 2-1 late in the second. <a href="https://t.co/hN2xoAbOgQ">pic.twitter.com/hN2xoAbOgQ</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Mike Gould (@miketgould) <a href="https://twitter.com/miketgould/status/1370186170471124993?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 12, 2021</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Estephan found himself right in the middle of the action once again to begin the third period. After receiving a crafty pass by Philp, Estephan came within inches of solving Berdin with a wrist shot from the left side just 15 seconds into the final 20.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Giorgio Estephan comes very close to giving the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AHLHeat?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AHLHeat</a> a 3-1 lead. Looked like Berdin got a piece of it. <a href="https://t.co/tFUc2h8qL4">pic.twitter.com/tFUc2h8qL4</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Mike Gould (@miketgould) <a href="https://twitter.com/miketgould/status/1370192657536851969?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 12, 2021</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>From there, the Heat basically had to hold on. The Moose out-shot Stockton by a 10-2 margin in the final frame before Marko Dano took a cross-checking penalty with just 3:14 to play.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Wow. Marko Dano misses a wide-open net and then takes a penalty.</p>
<p>Nursing a one-goal lead, the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AHLHeat?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AHLHeat</a> are off to the PP with 3:19 to play. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CofRed?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CofRed</a> <a href="https://t.co/oZVYZk8xv0">pic.twitter.com/oZVYZk8xv0</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Mike Gould (@miketgould) <a href="https://twitter.com/miketgould/status/1370199650284670985?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 12, 2021</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Despite his team&#8217;s opportunity on the man-advantage, Sparks had to stay sharp. The usually reliable Matthew Phillips turned the puck over at his offensive blue line, setting the stage for a shorthanded two-on-one heading the other way; lucky for the uber-skilled winger, Sparks was able to make a terrific lateral save to deny David Gustafsson of a game-tying goal.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Phillips with a not-good turnover — Sparks bails him out. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AHLHeat?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AHLHeat</a> still lead 2-1. <a href="https://t.co/bcpai5RM3L">pic.twitter.com/bcpai5RM3L</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Mike Gould (@miketgould) <a href="https://twitter.com/miketgould/status/1370200172836188163?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 12, 2021</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Manitoba ended up taking 12 of the 15 total shots in the final 20 minutes but neither team managed to score. The Moose failed to convert on any of their five power play opportunities; the Heat went one-for-three with the extra man.</p>
<h2><strong>Line combinations</strong></h2>
<p><strong>Stockton</strong></p>
<p>Emilio Pettersen – Adam Ruzicka – Matthew Phillips<br />
Giorgio Estephan – Glenn Gawdin – Luke Philp<br />
Justin Kirkland – Martin Pospisil – Dmitry Zavgorodniy<br />
Colton Beck – Mark Simpson – Rory Kerins</p>
<p><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'segoe ui', Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'helvetica neue', sans-serif">Connor Mackey – Alex Petrovic<br />
</span>Colton Poolman – Alexander Yelesin<br />
Rob Hamilton – Zac Leslie</p>
<p>Garret Sparks<br />
Artyom Zagidulin</p>
<p><strong>Manitoba</strong></p>
<p>Jeff Malott – David Gustafsson – Nathan Todd<br />
Kristian Vesalainen – CJ Suess – Kristian Reichel<br />
Marko Dano – Cole Perfetti – Haralds Egle<br />
Skyler MacKenzie &#8211; Wes Michaud &#8211; Nick Jones</p>
<p>Ville Heinola – Jimmy Oligny<br />
Dylan Samberg – Jonathan Kovacevic<br />
Hayden Shaw – Declan Chisholm</p>
<p>Mikhail Berdin<br />
Arturs Silovs</p>
<h2><strong>Why the Heat won<br />
</strong></h2>
<p>They scored first and managed to get the all-important insurance goal. Manitoba had little answer for Stockton&#8217;s attack in the second period and generated just two total shots (and zero goals) on its five power play opportunities.</p>
<p>The Heat played a pretty solid defensive game and Sparks was able to cover up for any deficiencies. Despite losing Zary, the Heat managed to make up for his departure by finding contributions from some comparably unheralded players.</p>
<h2><strong>The hottest Heat</strong></h2>
<p>Giorgio Estephan deserves a lot of credit for being able to step into the lineup in Zary&#8217;s absence and contribute right away. He looked like a natural fit alongside Glenn Gawdin and Luke Philp and generated his fair share of offense.</p>
<p>The 24-year-old Estephan has spent the majority of his professional career in the ECHL and has produced incredible offense at that level, scoring 44 goals and 127 points in 135 games. With only 19 AHL games to his credit thus far, Estephan remains something of an unknown quantity in the league but already has two points (both assists) in two games this year with the Heat.</p>
<h2><strong>Post-game assessments</strong></h2>
<div class="jetpack-video-wrapper"><iframe loading="lazy" title="Stockton Heat Postgame Quotes: Cail MacLean, March 11, 2021" width="1424" height="801" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wUvuILTk1_0?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<div class="jetpack-video-wrapper"><iframe loading="lazy" title="Stockton Heat Postgame Quotes: Rory Kerins, March 11, 2021" width="1424" height="801" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0KXByndIjt8?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<div class="jetpack-video-wrapper"><iframe loading="lazy" title="Stockton Heat Postgame Quotes: Giorgio Estephan, March 11, 2021" width="1424" height="801" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YYGqIDHQNeU?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<h2><strong>Up next</strong></h2>
<p>The Heat and Moose will finish up their four-game set with a 1 p.m. MT matinee on Saturday. Nursing an eight-game winning streak, Stockton will be aiming to sweep this series and build an even bigger cushion atop the AHL&#8217;s Canadian Division. You can catch the game on AHL TV; I&#8217;ll be posting updates on Twitter at @miketgould.</p>

The Stockton Heat won again on Thursday, defeating the Manitoba Moose by a 2-1 score to extend their winning streak to eight games.



Luke Philp and Martin Pospisil scored for Stockton, which improves to 8-2-0 on the season. The Moose entered Thursday's contest on a (now snapped) four-game points streak but have fallen to 6-7-2 with the regulation loss.

Garret Sparks made 24 saves for the Heat, allowing just one goal—to Cole Maier, in the second period—on his way to earning a fourth consecutive win. The Heat solved Moose goaltender Mikhail Berdin twice on 20 shots.

Thursday's game was the first of the post-Connor Zary era for the Heat. The 19-year-old forward was assigned to the Kamloops Blazers earlier in the day to begin quarantining in advance of the 2020-21 Western Hockey League season.

Giorgio Estephan was promoted into the top-six in Zary's absence and immediately made an impact, setting up Philp's goal 13:04 into the first period.

Rory Kerins entered the lineup for the Heat for his first professional game; the 18-year-old winger was drafted by the Flames in the sixth round of the 2020 Draft and has been skating with the Heat on a try-out basis while waiting for his OHL team, the Soo Greyhounds, to resume play.

The Heat have now scored the first goal in seven consecutive contests and boast the AHL's second-best points percentage (.800, second only to the .909 Henderson Silver Knights).
<h2><strong>The rundown</strong></h2>
Stockton out-shot the Moose by an 18-5 margin in the first period on Wednesday. Thursday's opening frame was far less eventful, with the shots ultimately favouring Manitoba 8-6.

The Moose had two power play opportunities in the first period; the Heat had none. The flow of play at even strength slightly favoured Stockton in the opening 20 minutes, and Glenn Gawdin had a good chance to give his team a one-goal lead just before Connor Mackey took the game's first penalty.

https://twitter.com/miketgould/status/1370167614018744322

Shortly after successfully killing the Mackey tripping minor, Stockton's newly-minted second line opened the scoring. Estephan took a pass from Alexander Yelesin in the neutral zone and barreled over Manitoba's blue line with the puck, driving towards the left circle and leaving the puck for Luke Philp.

Philp moved the puck to his right and slid the puck past Berdin to give the Heat a 1-0 lead at the 13:04 mark of the first period. Estephan and Yelesin received the assists on Philp's third goal of the season.

https://twitter.com/miketgould/status/1370170461384974336

Heat defenseman Zac Leslie took a high-sticking minor with 5:45 to play in the first period; after this infraction was called, the Moose out-shot Stockton by a 4-0 count to finish the opening frame.

Manitoba's best chance in that span came off the stick of Ville Heinola, the Winnipeg Jets' first round selection in the 2019 Draft. The defenseman took advantage of open space to skate right in on Sparks and put forth a backhand shot that caught nothing but glove.

https://twitter.com/miketgould/status/1370173708703129600

The Heat did a good job of controlling the play in the second period and started with energy from the opening face-off. Philp helped set the tone for the middle frame, making numerous good plays with the puck on his first shift and eventually getting a breakaway opportunity against Berdin.

https://twitter.com/miketgould/status/1370179219167186947

Martin Pospisil took a two-minute interference penalty 3:34 into the second period; 10 seconds after Pospisil exited the box, Mackey was dinged for a hold. Despite being down a man for four minutes out of 4:10, the Heat managed to entirely stifle the Moose and prevent them from getting a single shot on Sparks.

Pospisil continued to get good looks as the game progressed. For example, in the clip below, he got a nice, up-close look at the back of the net.

https://twitter.com/miketgould/status/1370181340386131968

The visitors continued to push for an insurance goal. As the game approached its mid-way mark, the Heat occupied Manitoba's defensive zone for an extended shift full of scoring chances. Most notably, Estephan had an opportunity to score on an empty cage after the puck took an unusual bounce off a stanchion. Berdin had wandered behind his net in an effort to corral the puck but, nonetheless, Estephan was foiled by a good defensive stick.

Stockton's relentless pressure led to Moose defenseman Jimmy Oligny taking a cross-checking penalty.

https://twitter.com/miketgould/status/1370183150379233280

The Heat wasted no time in converting on their first power play opportunity. Undoubtedly drawing from his previous experience with the back of the net, Pospisil tickled the twine on the man-advantage by deflecting an Adam Ruzicka attempt through Berdin to give Stockton a 2-0 lead.

https://twitter.com/miketgould/status/1370184085616742402

The Moose managed to muster a response in the final minutes of the second period. After a giveaway by Heat defenseman Colton Poolman, Moose forward Nick Jones located Cole Maier with a pass that led to a quick one-timed goal.

https://twitter.com/miketgould/status/1370186170471124993

Estephan found himself right in the middle of the action once again to begin the third period. After receiving a crafty pass by Philp, Estephan came within inches of solving Berdin with a wrist shot from the left side just 15 seconds into the final 20.

https://twitter.com/miketgould/status/1370192657536851969

From there, the Heat basically had to hold on. The Moose out-shot Stockton by a 10-2 margin in the final frame before Marko Dano took a cross-checking penalty with just 3:14 to play.

https://twitter.com/miketgould/status/1370199650284670985

Despite his team's opportunity on the man-advantage, Sparks had to stay sharp. The usually reliable Matthew Phillips turned the puck over at his offensive blue line, setting the stage for a shorthanded two-on-one heading the other way; lucky for the uber-skilled winger, Sparks was able to make a terrific lateral save to deny David Gustafsson of a game-tying goal.

https://twitter.com/miketgould/status/1370200172836188163

Manitoba ended up taking 12 of the 15 total shots in the final 20 minutes but neither team managed to score. The Moose failed to convert on any of their five power play opportunities; the Heat went one-for-three with the extra man.
<h2><strong>Line combinations</strong></h2>
<strong>Stockton</strong>

Emilio Pettersen – Adam Ruzicka – Matthew Phillips
Giorgio Estephan – Glenn Gawdin – Luke Philp
Justin Kirkland – Martin Pospisil – Dmitry Zavgorodniy
Colton Beck – Mark Simpson – Rory Kerins

<span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'segoe ui', Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'helvetica neue', sans-serif">Connor Mackey – Alex Petrovic
</span>Colton Poolman – Alexander Yelesin
Rob Hamilton – Zac Leslie

Garret Sparks
Artyom Zagidulin

<strong>Manitoba</strong>

Jeff Malott – David Gustafsson – Nathan Todd
Kristian Vesalainen – CJ Suess – Kristian Reichel
Marko Dano – Cole Perfetti – Haralds Egle
Skyler MacKenzie - Wes Michaud - Nick Jones

Ville Heinola – Jimmy Oligny
Dylan Samberg – Jonathan Kovacevic
Hayden Shaw – Declan Chisholm

Mikhail Berdin
Arturs Silovs
<h2><strong>Why the Heat won
</strong></h2>
They scored first and managed to get the all-important insurance goal. Manitoba had little answer for Stockton's attack in the second period and generated just two total shots (and zero goals) on its five power play opportunities.

The Heat played a pretty solid defensive game and Sparks was able to cover up for any deficiencies. Despite losing Zary, the Heat managed to make up for his departure by finding contributions from some comparably unheralded players.
<h2><strong>The hottest Heat</strong></h2>
Giorgio Estephan deserves a lot of credit for being able to step into the lineup in Zary's absence and contribute right away. He looked like a natural fit alongside Glenn Gawdin and Luke Philp and generated his fair share of offense.

The 24-year-old Estephan has spent the majority of his professional career in the ECHL and has produced incredible offense at that level, scoring 44 goals and 127 points in 135 games. With only 19 AHL games to his credit thus far, Estephan remains something of an unknown quantity in the league but already has two points (both assists) in two games this year with the Heat.
<h2><strong>Post-game assessments</strong></h2>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUvuILTk1_0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KXByndIjt8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYGqIDHQNeU
<h2><strong>Up next</strong></h2>
The Heat and Moose will finish up their four-game set with a 1 p.m. MT matinee on Saturday. Nursing an eight-game winning streak, Stockton will be aiming to sweep this series and build an even bigger cushion atop the AHL's Canadian Division. You can catch the game on AHL TV; I'll be posting updates on Twitter at @miketgould.

Post-Game: Philp, Pospisil lead Heat to eighth-straight win

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