The Stockton Heat started their quest for the Calder Cup with a 3-1 win over Bakersfield in the opener of their Pacific Division semifinal series on Tuesday night.
Game 2 of the best-of-five is set for Wednesday.
Jakob Pelletier and Emilio Pettersen scored 1:23 apart in the first period to stake the host Heat to a 2-0 lead and Dustin Wolf, the AHL’s outstanding goaltender in 2021-22, finished with 27 saves in his pro playoff debut.
Walker Duehr also scored for Stockton, which was playing its first postseason game since 2017.
Dino Kambeitz had the goal for the Condors, who were coming off a two-game sweep of Abbotsford in their first-round series last week.
Stuart Skinner (2-1) made 26 saves.
Pacific Division Semifinals – Series “N” (best-of-5)
P1-Stockton Heat vs. P4-Bakersfield Condors
Game 1 – Tue., May 10 – STOCKTON 3, Bakersfield 1
Game 2 – Wed., May 11 – Bakersfield at Stockton, 9:30
Game 3 – Fri., May 13 – Stockton at Bakersfield, 10:00
*Game 4 – Sun., May 15 – Stockton at Bakersfield, 8:00
*Game 5 – Tue., May 17 – Bakersfield at Stockton, 9:30
*if necessary… All times Eastern
