Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on Friday night will be something of a first date for the Stockton Heat and Chicago Wolves.
Despite never having gone head-to-head since Stockton joined the league in 2015, both teams have been well aware of each other throughout the 2021-22 season in their race for the American Hockey League’s top regular-season record. When he had a bit of extra time during the regular season, Heat head coach Mitch Love said that he enjoyed watching additional video to examine what has made Chicago so successful.
Now they finally meet.
“It’ll be a little different playing a team we haven’t played all year,” Heat forward Walker Duehr said yesterday following the team’s practice in Chicago.
“But it’s also going to be a pretty exciting challenge for us being able to see some new faces out there, and it’s going to be really exciting and energizing for our team.”
Heat forward Justin Kirkland does possess some familiarity with Chicago, or at least with Allstate Arena. Before joining the Calgary Flames organization in 2019, Kirkland spent his first three pro seasons with the Milwaukee Admirals, a perennial Wolves rival. The personnel in Chicago have changed since Kirkland’s regular trips there, but the atmosphere will be intense.
“We know that it’s going to be tough,” said Kirkland, who scored all three game-winning goals in Stockton’s division final victory over Colorado. “It’s going to be loud. They play well at home (25-7-3-3). We’re excited for the challenge. They finished in first place, just ahead of us, so we’ve got a little bit of fire in our belly to go after them.”
Defenseman Juuso Valimaki was among a contingent of talent that the Flames assigned to Stockton following the completion of their run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last week. Along with Valimaki, the Flames also sent defenseman Connor Mackey, forward Adam Ruzicka, and goaltender Adam Werner.
By assigning that talented foursome to boost an…
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