CAVENDISH FARMS REPORT - 17.01.22

The more things change, the more they stay the same.
There was plenty of 'new' for the Stockton Heat on Saturday: the team's first home game after a six-games-in-five-cities-over-11-days sprint through the Pacific Division. Down eight regulars, casualties to injuries and league COVID protocols, it was a fresh lineup for the Heat, who brought the AHL's best home-point percentage and an unblemished, 8-0-0 mark following losses this season into the tilt.
Three players made their season debut with Stockton in the game and Nolan Valleau, a defenceman signed to a PTO out of ECHL Orlando, was penciled in at fourth-line center.

The result? Stockton 4, Tucson 1.
"It's important during these times when you have guys in and out of your lineup that your veteran leadership steps up and provides us with quality minutes, demonstrates what's expected, and that happened on Saturday," said Heat head coach Mitch Love. "You need that when you're going through a situation like we are right now, which is no different than other teams around the league.
"Last time I checked, the games and the points in the standings that are available for each and every night, that doesn't change based on what injuries or protocols were going on."
Up-and-down the lineup, the 'regulars' stepped up. An impressive 10 of 13 skaters to have appeared in at least 10 games this season with Stockton found their way onto the scoresheet, headlined by a two-goal effort from Glenn Gawdin and a two-point night from Matthew Phillips.
Depth forwards Ryan Olsen, who notched his first goal of the season, and Mark Simpson, who claimed his first helper of the campaign, perfectly illustrated the all-hands-on-deck approach that yielded two points for the homeside.
For Phillips, the multi-point effort that earned him first-star honours continues a torrid stretch of hockey on the offensive end. He packs a lot of power into a small frame, at times the engine that makes the offence run. He's on a five-game scoring streak with eight points in that span, goals in four of those contests.
He's peaking, and it couldn't be coming at a better time.
"It goes back to that next-man-up mentality," said Love. "When you have guys out of your lineup, you need guys to step up. That's what Matt does. He's a competitive kid. He wants to win. He wants to be good. He works at his craft each and every day, often the last guy on the ice working on his game. It's no coincidence when you do those things that you get rewarded and you have success. He also provides our team with quiet leadership. Man, he's been fun to watch here and we've needed him to step up for us in these times."
The win over Tucson was an important one, as the Heat began a five-game home stand on Saturday with the goal of building on the gap between Stockton and the remainder of the division. It came against a team that had given Stockton some headaches this year - three two-game sets, three first-game wins for the Roadrunners.
It continued Stockton's perfect run this year following setbacks, with the Heat rebounding from a Wednesday tilt in which they peppered Henderson Silver Knights netminder Logan Thompson with 42 shots, only to be denied 41 times.
It maintained the Heat's dominance at Stockton Arena, with the club an AHL-best 12-1-2 on home ice.

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS:

Wednesday at Henderson - L, 5-2
Saturday vs. Tucson - W, 4-1

QUICK HITS:

THEY SAID IT:

"It was big. We felt the last couple games in Ontario and Henderson, we felt like we were competitive, had the right mind frame and work ethic to find points in those games. We were trending in a direction we felt we were going to be successful. Guys stepped up on Saturday. Tucson was depleted too, and they were playing their third game in four nights, but we knew we needed to have some emotion and desperation in our play to get the two points to get us started in the home stand. We'll get some guys back here, but whoever's in our lineup, the expectation is still the same. The commitment to playing with good structure and good situational play for us, that doesn't change. We want to make sure we're keeping our head above water in the division. It's getting tighter. Teams are playing good hockey. We want to make sure we're doing the same thing on our end."
- Mitch Love on starting the home stand with a win
"He's just been hungry. He hadn't played in a game since December 7 previous to the Ontario game, so I think he was just excited to get back out there and get some game reps in. He's been outstanding for us since his return. He does a lot of things that people don't see, outside the rink in terms of the leadership he provides our hockey team. He plays the game the right way. He's been really good for us the last few nights, helping us."
- Love on the play of Byron Froese since his return from Calgary
"I'm just trying to get my wind back. When you take a month without playing games, you can't replicate that in practice. Every game I've felt better and better, but still lots of room for improvement."
- Byron Froese on his play since re-entering Stockton's lineup
"A lot of guys stepped up. Guys who have had big roles before stepped up and played really well. The guys coming into the lineup and into bigger roles did great too, and (Adam Werner) played great and stopped everything he saw. It was unfortunate we couldn't get the shutout for him, but it was nice to see everyone step up and get a big win against Tucson."
- Froese on the team effort Saturday
"The energy and the vibe around the locker-room is no matter who's in the lineup, no matter what role you're playing, you're expected to do that to the best of your ability and give our team the best chance to win. (Mitch Love) has been phenomenal in setting that mentality since camp. It shows. You've got so many pieces in and out, and everybody's ready to step up and play the role they're asked. Our depth has been phenomenal as well. You've got so many pieces you can move in to take minutes as need be."
- Greg Moro on the team's next-man-up effort