The top-of-the-league Abbotsford Heat were back in action on Friday night to take on the decidedly not-the-top-of-the-league Hamilton Bulldogs. With hundreds of Canadiens fans in the building to watch les petits Habitants, Abbotsford arranged to have Habs legend Yvan Cournoyer – he of the TEN Stanley Cup rings – in the building to drop the puck for the ceremonial faceoff. Pucked in the Head absolutely did not intentionally delay our arrival so that we could share the elevator with him and get a picture. Mr. Cournoyer, who I’m happy to report is a very nice man who appeared not at all perturbed by two fanboys asking for his photograph in an elevator, cheerfully commented that he hoped it would be a good game. It was not. Well, not for the Bulldogs, it wasn’t.
When playing against Abbotsford, a team whose home powerplay is ranked second in the AHL, it is generally advisable not to give that powerplay too many opportunities to work. Hamilton, not privy to this particular strategy, took 11 minor penalties. They were soundly thumped 5-1 by the home side in front of 5,145 fans.
While it was the Abbotsford powerplay that stole the show on the night, Barry Brust needs to get some love. Not only did the man save 15 of 16 shots on the night, but this spectacular Movember effort… this Brustache, if you will… is no doubt responsible for an entire generation of young Heat fans growing up thinking it’s OK to look like a much bigger, much badder John Garrett.
A long two-man advantage only six minutes into the game set the tone. It took only 39 seconds for the 5-on-3 powerplay to connect, with Ben Street directing home leading scorer Sven Baertschi’s slap pass from the point. Before that goal had even been announced, Ben Walter was left all alone in the slot. He snapped TJ Brodie’s feed past Hamilton netminder Robert Mayer to put the Heat up 2-0 and surpass Jon Rheault as the leading scorer in the club’s 4-year AHL history.
The second period started much as the first had ended: all Abbotsford. By the 5-minute mark Quintin Laing had put the home side up 3-0, Dustin Sylvester had hit the post and the Bulldogs had barely gotten a sniff of the net. Hamilton got a chance to start a comeback on the powerplay a few minutes later, but Steve Quailer took a dumb interference penalty to take his team off the man-advantage. The deadly Abbotsford powerplay – which went 4-for-9 on the night – connected for a third time when Roman Horak banged home a rebound from close range, and the rout was officially on.
It appeared that the game would degenerate at the start of the third period when a flurry of penalties led to a 4-on-3 powerplay for the Heat. Nathan Beaulieu took an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty to cancel out what would have been a Hamilton powerplay, then Mike Commodore was assessed a double-minor for chirping the ref after a soft hooking call. The Bulldogs did manage to break up Barry Brust’s shutout bid, courtesy of a shorthanded goal by the wonderfully named Louis Leblanc. Seriously, if I hadn’t seen him play with my own two eyes, I’d have told you there was no possibility that Louis Leblanc wasn’t a made-up name in some CBC history of hockey dramedy.
Hamilton’s momentum was short-lived, however, as the Abbotsford powerplay connected yet again, Steve McCarthy capping off the night’s scoring by beating Mayer from the point.
Habs fans can take some comfort in the fact that 2010 first-round draft pick Jarred Tinordi looks to be fitting in well at the AHL level. No points on the night for the big Yank, but some solid defensive plays and a couple of nice, smooth-skating rushes where he looked very composed on the puck. Coming from a 6’6″ d-man who’s getting plenty of ice time, that bodes well for les Habitants.
For those seeking a hockey fix, Abbotsford is back in action tomorrow evening against these same Hamilton Bulldogs. Be forewarned, though, that if you have an aversion to barking animals you should probably sit this one out. It is actually Bring Your Dog to the Game Night at the Abbotsford Entertainment & Sports Centre. Pay an extra five bucks and you can bring your canine to the arena. See what they did there? Bull… dogs!
Scoring
ABB 6:50 – Street (Baertschi, Byron) PP
ABB 7:22 – Walter (Brodie) PP (all-time leading scorer)
ABB 4:03 – Laing (Olson, Street)
ABB 8:12 – Horak (Brodie, Walter) PP
HAM 3:42 – Dumont SH
ABB 6:34 – McCarthy (Sylvester) PP
Penalties
HAM 5:38 – Stortini (High-Sticking)
HAM 6:11 – Commodore (Boarding)
HAM 9:29 – Stejskal (Crosscheck)
ABB 12:19 – Piskula (Interference)
ABB 17:32 – Olson (Tripping)
HAM 18:26 – Chaput (Cross Checking)
ABB 5:35 – Walter (Hooking)
HAM 6:58 – Quailer (Interference)
HAM 9:36 – Hagel (Slashing)
ABB 16:49 – Brodie (High-Sticking)
ABB 19:42 – Boyce (Roughing)
HAM 19:42 – Commodore (Roughing)
HAM 19:42 – Olson(Roughing)
ABB 2:14 – Chaput(Hooking)
HAM 2:14 – Callahan (Unsportsmanlike)
HAM 3:13 – Commodore (Hooking + Unsportsmanlike)
ABB 19:25 – Dumont (Roughing)
HAM 19:25 – Brust (Slashing)
Shots
1st – ABB 8-3 HAM
2nd – ABB 9-5 (17-8) HAM
3rd – ABB 11-8 (28-16) HAM
3 Stars
1 – Ben Walter
2 – Ben Street
3 – TJ Brodie