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Updated 11/7/15
San Diego Gulls @ Ontario Reign (Citizens Business Bank Arena) / Ontario Reign @ Stockton Thunder Heat (Stockton Arena)
Days: Thursday (CBBA)/Saturday (Stockton Arena)
Time: 7 PM Pacific (Friday), 7:30 PM Pacific (Saturday)
Listen: Mixlr
Watch: AHL Live
The Reign and the Gulls last saw each other in the preseason, when the Reign fell twice in the shootout after close overtime periods. It was a chippy affair previously and it wouldn't be a shocker if bad feelings were still hanging around, especially with Ontario suffering their first regulation loss at the hands of the Barracuda on Sunday.
Ontario Reign Projected Lines
39 Auger - 9 Kempe - 16 Backman
27 Mersch - 26 Dowd - 7 Zykov
15 Bissonnette - 24 Horvat - 12 Brodzinski
18 Samuels-Thomas - 21 Crescenzi - 25 Sabourin
20 MacDermid - 5 Loverde
4 Gravel - 33 Raine
55 Schultz - 23 Ebert
31 Budaj
32 Emery
Kempe at center was a short lived experiment that didn't really work so Crescenzi moves from the fourth line to the top line - welcome Top Line Andrew Crescenzi (just doesn't have the same ring at Top Line Trevor Lewis...)- Derek Arnold had some chances up in San Jose and is a natural center, so that improves his chances of staying in the lineup. However, coming off three consecutive losses, Stothers might be in a bit of a tinkering mood.
- Paul Bissonnette confirmed that he will be in the lineup tonight while Joel Lowry will probably make his pro debut, per Lindsay Czarnecki.
- The Kempe to center experiment continues. Following the Gulls game, Head Coach Mike Stothers said it's a work in progress, but thinks with Kempe's skating, he's capable of "eventually" becoming a very good center.
Stockton Heat Projected Lines
25 Riley - 9 Hathaway - 11 Hamilton
15 Agostino - 23 Shore - 26 Granlund
20 Carroll - 46 Arnold - 21 Poirier
48 Van Brabant - 34 Smith - 13 Elson
33 Nakladal - 6 Stevenson
5 Wotherspoon - 2 Kulak
4 Kylington - 10 Sieloff
30 Simpson
36 Gillies
- Prized Flames prospect Jon Gillies left yesterday's game early with an undisclosed lower-body injury. If he can't go, expect Kent Simpson to make his first start of the campaign.
- The Heat are a talented squad that is struggling. Emile Poirier, who notched 19 goals in 55 games last year, hasn't scored yet this season.
San Diego Gulls Projected Lines
20 Ritchie - 18 Sgarbossa - 34 Jackman
9 Zolnierczyk - 15 Mueller - 11 Noesen
17 Kerdiles - 19 Cramarossa - 16 McGrattan
28 Laganiere - 22 Bailey - 29 Ryan
24 Megna - 27 Theodore
7 Piskula - 26 Montour
25 O'Brien - 2 Bickel
36 Gibson
31 Hackett
- Boy Wonder American Jesus goalie John Gibson is 4-0-0-0 this season with 2.04 GAA and a .931 sv%, which is pretty good.
- Nick Ritchie has eight goals in eight games. No word on any lineup changes from the Gulls, who are coming off a 3-2 OT win over San Antonio on Tuesday.
2015-2016 Records
Ontario: 6-1-2-0, 14 points (2nd Pacific Division, 3rd Western Conference)
San Diego: 7-2-0-0, 14 points (3rd Pacific Division, 4th Western Conference)
Stockton: 2-4-0-1, 5 points (7th Pacific Division, 13th Western Conference)
Ontario vs. San Diego, Head-to-Head in 2015-16
1-0-0-0
Ontario vs. Stockton, Head-to-Head in 2015-16
0-0-0-0