Tucson outlasts Stockton Heat in shootout

The Stockton Heat has no problem getting into long shootouts. It’s winning that has proven to be difficult.

The Tucson Roadrunners beat the Heat 3-2 on Friday evening after a nine-round shootout in front of a crowd of 3,202 at Tucson Convention Center Arena. Earlier this season, Stockton (7-1-3) lost an 11-round shootout to Bakersfield at Stockton Arena.

Tucson (9-3-0) won the shootout 2-1. Justin Kirkland scored for the Heat in the first, but it couldn’t find the net again. Lane Pederson scored in the third round for Tucson, and Beau Bennett provided the game winner.

Stockton had a 2-0 lead early in the game. Dillon Dube scored 15:52 into the game and Glenn Gawdin scored 5:38 into the second…