From The Heat – The Abbotsford Heat lost to the Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings) 5-2 on Saturday night at the Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre (AESC). The Heat remains in second place in the West Division with a 33-18-4-2 record and 72 points.
Photo by Clint Trahan/Abbotsford Heat
Max Reinhart continued his strong play, scoring two goals for a second straight game against the Griffins. However, Grand Rapids outshot the heat 33-14 in the last forty minutes and scored five unanswered goals, including four in the third to earn their second straight win over the Heat.
Max Reinhart opened the scoring for the Heat at 1:23 in the first period, assisted by Dean Arsene and Sven Baertschi. Reinhart closed out the period delivering his second goal of the night, from Corey Locke and Sven Baertschi at 19:48.
In the second period at 13:20, Grand Rapids forward, Andrej Nestrasil, put the Griffins on the scoreboard, cutting Abbotsford’s lead to one goal. The Griffins outshot the Heat 29 to 16 through two periods of play.
Jeff Hoggan tied the game at the 4:34 mark of the third period. Just over four minutes later, David McIntrye gave the Griffins their first lead of the game with his sixth goal of the season at 8:39. The Griffins were not done there, as Jordan Tootoo scored the Griffins third goal of the period during four on four play at 15:51. Teemu Pulkkinen sealed the victory for the Griffins scoring an empty net goal at 18:19.
Abbotsford was zero for three on the power play and killed off all four Griffins man advantages.
Joey MacDonald made 37 of 41 saves in net for the Heat and was charged with the loss.Tom McCollum stopped 8 out of 10 shots he faced in the first period, before being replaced by Petr Mrazek at the start of the second period. Mrazek stopped all 14 shots he faced.
The Heat will host the Texas Stars (AHL affiliate of the Dallas Stars) on Tuesday, March 4th and Wednesday, March 5th. Tuesday’s game is the annual school day game, featuring $10 tickets and an early puck drop at 10:30 AM. For tickets please call 1-877-452-HEAT (4328) or visit us online at www.abbotsfordheat.com.