Props to rookie goaltender Reto Berra, who picked up a win in his very first NHL start, in overtime over the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks no less. He made 42 saves on 44 shots — that’s a .955 save percentage, earned against the likes of Marian Hossa, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp and Jonathan Toews.
Not too shabby, Mr Berra. Keep that up, and something tells me this Abbotsford Heat paint job might need a flaming C or two thereupon.
Highlights of his win after the jump.
The Abbotsford Heat took three of a possible four points in their home opening weekend, splitting extra time results with the Milwaukee Admirals on Friday and Saturday nights.
Six-foot four goaltender Reto Berra backed the Heat to a 3–2 decision on Friday, thanking Corban Knight for ending things 1:58 into overtime. In turn, the Admirals rode 6’5″ netminder Magnus Hellberg to a 2–1 shootout win on Saturday.
It was a familiar refrain of sorts of the Heat, who spent much of last season splitting double headers they probably should have taken outright. The Heat came out of the second intermission on a mission, breaking the zero-zero tie just 41 seconds into the third on Roman Horak’s first of the season. They carried the play for most of the period, but squandered consecutive power plays before giving up a late tying goal against the flow of play. It marked the second game in a row the Heat led going into the final six minutes of play but were unable to hold on for a regulation win.
Hockey Hall of Famer Guy Lafleur was in attendance Friday, shaking hands and signing hundreds of autographs; he is the latest in the Heat’s lineup of Hockey Legends to visit the Abbotsford Entertainment & Sports Centre. The Man Who Scored The Goal That Sank Don Cherry’s Coaching Career looked great, and was great with the adoring fans who lined the stairwells for a moment with monsieur Lafleur and his blue Sharpie.
Unfortunately the Flower wasn’t enough to bring more people through the turnstyles. More than half the rink was empty for opening night, and game #2? Well, you can see for yourself:
More pictures and game highlights after the jump.
Hockey fans in Abbotsford were treated to another Hall of Famer at centre ice as the hometown Heat beat the Toronto Marlies 3-1 on Sunday afternoon. Two days after legendary forward Darryl Sittler opened the curtain on a 3-0 Heat win, goaltender Johnny Bower was in attendance to shake hands with Abbotsford goaltender Barry Brust, who earlier this season broke Bower’s AHL record for consecutive shutout minutes. Brust went 268:17 without allowing a goal, eclipsing Bower’s mark of 249:51, set with the 1957 Cleveland Barons.
Brust was called upon to relieve the injured Danny Taylor in the second period, and stopped all but one shot to record the win for Abbotsford.
Mark Cundari was again impressive for the Heat. He earned three assists, two minor penalties and a fight in his second game since being traded to the Calgary Flames organization in the Jay Bouwmeester deal. Cundari has quickly become a fan favourite in Abbotsford, leading many to lament the fact that he was not in the lineup earlier in the season when the team floundered through a series of “must-win” games.
In addition to the Bower / Brust tête-a-tête, fans witnessed the Heat’s franchise-best 23rd home victory in the final game at the Abbotsford Entertainment & Sports Centre this season. Sadly, those 46 points gained at home did not add up to a playoff spot for the Heat, whose road record leaves much to be desired. The team sits in 12th spot in the Western Conference and were mathematically eliminated from the playoffs despite the back-to-back wins this weekend.
More after the jump.
Danny Taylor posted his third shutout of the season, and Tyler Ruegsegger scored the winning goal eight minutes into the game as the Abbotsford Heat blanked the Toronto Marlies 3-0 on Friday night.
All but mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, the Heat played a looser brand of hockey than they have in weeks. The Marlies, sitting five points clear atop the North Division, looked as if they were saving themselves for post-season play in 10 days’ time. The result saw Abbotsford score once in each period, including power play goals in the second and third. By the time Toronto mounted pressure, their main goal seemed to be spoiling Taylor’s shutout.
More after the jump.
The Abbotsford Heat and Grand Rapids Griffins split back-to-back games this weekend, as the Heat avenged a 4-1 Friday night loss with a 3-2 shootout win on Saturday night. The Griffins are running away with the Midwest Division, sitting 10 points up on the second-place Chicago Wolves, while the Heat at this point are a longshot to make the Western Conference playoffs.
Krys Kolanos scored his team-leading 16th goal
More, including game highlights, after the jump.
Continue reading Abbotsford Heat 3, Grand Rapids Griffins 2 (SO)
The Abbotsford Heat came into Friday night’s game desperate for a win, but it was Landon Ferraro and the Grand Rapids Griffins who left with two points. With his father Ray, veteran of over 1,200 NHL games and 10 years of work in the broadcast booth, in attendance, Ferraro scored twice including the game-winner to further ruin any hope of the Abbotsford Heat backing into the playoffs.
The Heat are now three points back of the Chicago Wolves for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, with the Wolves having three games in hand. Abbotsford has won just three games in their last 10. More after the jump.
Huge props to Caleb Henry of the BCIT Broadcasting program for shooting some footage at the most recent Abbotsford Heat home stand, including a brief interview with Sven Bärtschi. (No, I don’t ask him if he’s ever been to Utica.)
Despite playing just 30 games with the AHL team this season — he missed a chunk of the year due to injury, and spent 10 games with the big club in Calgary — he is the fifth leading scorer on the team with 25 points. That includes a goal and an assist in each of the last three Heat wins. That shouldn’t surprise anyone, as he proved himself as an elite threat with the Portland Winterhawks in his last year in the WHL, notching exactly two points per game: 94 points in 47 games. With the departure of Jarome Iginla from the Flames, don’t be surprised to see Bärtschi take a more regular position at the Saddledome next season.
Check out Caleb’s editing handiwork below. It’s our first foray into full-on video coverage, so any and all feedback is much appreciated!
The Abbotsford Heat are on the road this week, with three games of the must-win variety. Wednesday and Friday give the Calgary Flames AHL affiliate a chance at points against the last place Hamilton Bulldogs, while Saturday offers an afternoon tilt against the division-leading Toronto Marlies. The Heat are in tough to make the playoffs, having won just three of their last ten games.
More after the jump.
At the Abbotsford Heat game last night, I got some great shots (and some not so marvellous pictures, too, but that’s the way she goes). Here’s something a little different. Check out this pic of Brad Mills drawing a penalty shot in the second period. Then look below to see a shot by Heat photographer Clint Trahan of the exact same moment in the game — there’s me photobombing the shot behind Danny Taylor in the Abbotsford net.
The Rockford Ice Hogs didn’t just beat the Abbotsford Heat on Friday night. They lined up the nails all neat-like, threw what was left of the Heat’s playoff hopes in the coffin, and started hammering away.
The home side tossed 35 shots at Ice Hogs goaltender Henrik Karlsson, but could only beat him twice. Coming the other way, Abbotsford goaltenders Barry Brust and Danny Taylor combined for just 21 saves on 26 shots. Do the math and you’ve got a 5-2 win for the visitors.
Coming into the game, the Heat sat one spot out of the playoff picture with 11 games remaining. That wouldn’t be so worrying if the teams around them didn’t have five games in hand. At this point in the season, with offensive threats like Sven Bärtschi, Ben Street and Max Reinhart all healthy, they just can’t spend all night making opposing goaltenders look good. Those other teams have a possible 10 extra points up for grabs with those additional games, so the chances of making the post-season start to look very slim indeed unless the Heat run the table. With the Ice Hogs win Friday, these teams swapped positions: the Heat now sit in 11th place in the Western Conference, while Rockford moves up to ninth.
