The Abbotsford Heat opened their three-game road trip with a 5-3 loss to the Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens) at Copps Coliseum on Wednesday night.
The Heat outshot the Bulldogs by a 45-22 margin, but couldn’t escape a 4-0 deficit in their seventh meeting of the season with the Bulldogs. Steven Seigo recorded his first professional assist in his AHL debut, setting up one of three Abbotsford third period goals as the Heat attempted to rally late.
The Bulldogs scored three even strength goals in the first period and led the game 3-0 through 20 minutes of play. The Bulldogs outshot the Heat 10-9 in the first period, but managed just 12 shots to Abbotsford’s 36 over the final 40 minutes.
The Bulldogs scored the only goal of the second period on the power play at 6:16 on their first shot of the period. Hamilton led by four goals at the second intermission.
The Heat rallied in the third period with goals from Max Reinhart and Roman Horak in the first 6:01 of play, but Joey Tenute’s second of the night put the Bulldogs ahead 5-2 at the 8:36 mark. Ben Street’s 13th goal of the season rounded out the scoring as he snapped a 17 game goalless drought at 15:13. Steven Seigo recorded an assist on Street’s goal to earn his first AHL point in his professional debut.
Danny Taylor played the first period for the Heat making seven saves on 10 shots, while Barry Brust made 10 saves on 12 shots in the final 40 minutes. The Heat outshot the Bulldogs 18-6 in both the second and third period, finishing with a 45-22 edge in the game.
The Heat did not score on three power play opportunities, while the penalty kill surrendered a single goal against on three Hamilton man advantages.
The finale of the season series between the Bulldogs and the Heat will be on Friday night at Copps Coliseum. A Saturday matinee against the Toronto Marlies will close Abbotsford’s three-game divisional road trip.
Next home action for the Heat is against the Grand Rapids Griffins who visit the AESC on April 5th and 6th. For tickets and more information call 1-877-452-HEAT(4328) or visit www.AbbotsfordHeat.com.
Photo by Brandon Taylor/Hamilton Bulldogs