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.
Hall of Fame Maple Leaf alumnus Darryl Sittler dropped the ceremonial puck at the beginning of the game in front of an announced crowd of 6,503. There seemed to be equal numbers of jerseys from the Heat, the Canucks and Maple Leafs in the building this night — no matter, it was the Heat faithful rewarded 8:11 into the game. (Don’t mind the inaccurate graphic in the highlights; Mike Testwuide would get his fourth of the year later on in the game. The opening marker was Ruegsegger’s tenth, a Messier-like wrister to the far post on Drew MacIntyre.)
Testwuide jammed home a puck on a slow whistle in the second period, a power play conversion for the Heat. It wasn’t pretty, let’s be honest. MacIntyre argued (probably rightly) that he had it covered, but it counted and the Heat were up 2-0 after two periods. Krys Kolanos topped off the scoring in the third period, taking a Ben Walter pass at the blue line and making pretty with the dipsy and the doodle around Marlie defenseman Paul Ranger before chipping it over MacIntyre’s left shoulder. The goal was his team-leading 17th of the season, and gives him a three-game scoring streak.
“Krys is a goal-scorer,” said Heat Troy Ward of Kolanos. “There are other players who do other things on the ice better than he does, but Kolanos is here to put the puck in the net. He did that again tonight.”
It’s amateur tryout season in the AHL, where pro clubs get a first look at some of their higher profile prospects whose years with junior and college clubs have ended. Defenseman Brett Kulak (Vancouver Giants) was in his second professional game, and looked comfortable puck handling and jumping into the rush. He’s at a disadvantage in front of his own net, as he weighs in at just 170 pounds, but hey, he’s just 19 — he’ll fill out as he gets older. Another blueliner, 22-year-old Steven Seigo (Michigan State Huskies) looked strong in his sixth AHL game. Forward Carter Rowney (U of North Dakota Fighting Sioux) and 22-year-old D-man Connor Hardowa (U of New Hampshire Wildcats) appeared in their first career professional game in limited roles.
The most obvious addition to the Heat lineup, however, was Mark Cundari, a defenseman who came over from the St Louis Blues in the Jay Bouwmeester deal at the NHL trading deadline. Cundari was a force, standing up Marlie forwards at the blue line and forcing them to keep their heads up as they skated through the neutral zone. He got his first point as a member of the Heat on Kolanos’ third period power play goal, but it was his flurry of hits on blue jerseys (and yes, multiple trips to the penalty box) that had fans cheering his debut. That kind of emotional play has been lacking at the AESC for the home team through much of the season. There’s little doubt that both Abbotsford and the parent club Calgary Flames are in desperate need of the grit Cundari brings to the table.
The final home game of the Abbotsford Heat’s season goes Sunday afternoon against these same Marlies. Tickets & info.