From The Heat. The Abbotsford Heat defeated the Oklahoma City Barons (AHL affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers) 5-1 in front of 2,931 fans on Friday night at the Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre (AESC). The Heat remain in second place in the Western Conference with a 21-9-1-1 record and 46 points.
Photo by Clint Trahan/Abbotsford Heat
Ben Street (4 assists) and Max Reinhart (2 goals, 1 assist) led the way for Abbotsford, combining for seven points on the night. Ben Hanowski and Corban Knight were also central to Abbotsford’s strong outing, each with a goal and an assist.
Hanowski opened the scoring for the Heat at 4:04 in the first period, assisted by Knight. At 9:42, Knight scored on the power play to give the Heat a 2-0 lead. Knight’s goal was assisted by Hanowski and Street. The Heat outshot the Barons 13-11 in the first period.
Reinhart stretched Abbotsford’s lead to 3-0 with a goal at 1:04 in the second period, assisted by Street and Josh Jooris. Reinhart made it 4-0 Abbotsford with his second goal of the night at 12:16, assisted by Street. The second period ended with the Heat leading 4-0, with Joni Ortio stopping all 21 shots he faced through 40 minutes.
C.J. Strech opened up the scoring for the Barons on a power play at 6:10 in the third period, but Jooris regained the four goal Heat lead at 16:33, assisted by Reinhart and Street.
Abbotsford was one for three on the power play, and killed off four of the five Oklahoma City man advantages.
Joni Ortio stopped 32 of 33 shots for the Heat, earning his 14th win of the season. Richard Bachman made 14 saves on 18 shots before being replaced by Chet Pickard at 12:16 in the second period. Pickard stopped 5 of the 6 shots he faced.
The Heat will host the Oklahoma City Barons again tomorrow night, Saturday December 28th at the AESC (7:00pm). For tickets please call 1-877-452-HEAT (4328) or visit us online at www.abbotsfordheat.com.