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
- 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
- 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