The Stockton Heat will play their first game of 2021–22 with an “X” beside their team name in the standings when they visit the San Jose Barracuda at 8:00 p.m. MT on Tuesday.
The Heat scored 10 goals against the Colorado Eagles on Saturday to clinch their first playoff berth since 2016–17. Matthew Phillips, Connor Zary, and Jakob Pelletier all scored twice and Dustin Wolf made 28 saves as the Heat won 10–3.
Only two of Stockton’s 18 skaters failed to register a single point in Saturday’s drubbing: centre Glenn Gawdin and defenceman Ilya Solovyov. Phillips led the way with two goals and two assists, moving him to within just a single point of Kenny Agostino for the all-time single-season Stockton Heat scoring record.