CAVENDISH FARMS REPORT - 28.01.19

It wasn't a must-win - but it sure felt like it.
Mathematically, a loss Saturday night would not have been a knockout blow to Stockton, which came into the contest eight points out of a playoff spot.
Morally, though, it would've saw the Heat limp into the all-star break with losses in six of seven, including three in a row.
Oh, and Stockton was facing a San Antonio squad that had won 12 consecutive contests at the AT&T Center, also the home of the NBA's San Antonio Spurs.

It was a clash of teams who were sitting on the outside of the playoff bubble looking in, and it was a battle from start to finish.
Resilience and composure were two characteristics that stuck out for the Flames' AHL affiliate on the night, first with the penalty-kill stepping up in the opening period to the tune of a 4-for-4 performance that featured kills on a pair of 5-on-3 powerplays.
But for the second-straight night with the game tied in the final period, it looked to be slipping away when Ryan Olsen beat Jon Gillies to take a 2-1 lead halfway through the third.
Stockton responded, though, tying the game with 5:47 left as Andrew Mangiapane sent a blistering slap shot from the slot to the glove-side corner, knotting the game again.

San Antonio countered with 2:28 remaining as Samuel Blais scored, a case of déjà vu from Friday's setback at Texas which saw the Heat fight back from a 4-2 deficit to a 4-4 tie, only to concede the winning goal 28 seconds later to the Stars.
However this time, the Heat flipped the script.
The Rampage's Mitch Reinke was whistled for interference with 2:18 left, and the Heat went on the powerplay, the unit jumping over the boards 0-for-3 on the night to that point. Gillies skated to the bench after 30 seconds to gain the extra attacker, and Buddy Robinson cashed in with 74 seconds left to tie the game and send it to overtime.
One point in the bank.
Overtime was largely uneventful through the first stretch, the teams trading possession but no high-danger chances. The clock was ticking down and the trio of Kerby Rychel, Rinat Valiev and Curtis Lazar had the puck in the offensive end as the game appeared headed to a shootout - that is, until Valiev willed a puck across the crease to Rychel, who sent it into a yawning cage.
The knockout punch lifted a weight off the team's shoulders with six days between games as the league's All-Stars headed to Springfield.

QUICK HITS

• Andrew Mangiapane provided a big boost to the Heat after being assigned to Stockton by Calgary prior to this weekend's games in Texas, finishing the road trip with three points (2g,1a) and a plus-2 in two games.
• Juuso Valimaki made his AHL debut on Friday and recorded an assist in Saturday's win.
• Kerby Rychel's game-winner Saturday boosted his team-best goal total to 19, and his marker in OT was his second GWG of the season.
• The Heat are 10-3-3-0 on the year when scoring first.
• Stockton will have a chance to make hay in the playoff race immediately after the All-Star Break with 16-straight divisional games out of the gates. The team will be on the road for the majority of February, with just four home games in the second month of 2019.

QUOTABLES

"It was emotional. I thought the guys stuck with it. We had some breakdowns but at the same time we recovered right away and we got back to playing hockey. Credit to the group for finding a way to get into overtime and obviously a huge goal to win it." - Coach Cail MacLean on Saturday's win.

"Two big goals, he's been doing it all season for us. It was a big game before the break. We wanted momentum going into it and make sure we're finding ways to get points. That performance tonight by Rychel was big, good finish, Valiev made a really nice play on that overtime goal to find (Rychel) on the back side in the dying seconds, so great job." - MacLean on Rychel's game Saturday, which included the winning goal.
"It's obviously good to get two points before the All-Star Break and go in on a winning note. It'll be nice to get to enjoy a couple days before the last few months of the season." - Rychel on the team's win Saturday.

"It was a great play by Valiev, he slid it over and I was fortunate enough to get it off quick and find the back of the net." - Rychel on the game-winning goal.

"I'm just trying to help the team win. That's the big thing. We're climbing out of a little bit of a hole right now so just rally and get some points together." - Mangiapane on his role with Stockton after being assigned to the Heat.