Grant GRANGER

Abbotsford News

The Heat are hot.

The Abbotsford Heat won their fourth consecutive American Hockey League game defeating the Rockford IceHogs 4-2 Friday. The triumph came after three road wins last week.

The victory vaulted the Heat into second place in the North Division past the Hamilton Bulldogs and Manitoba Moose – both losers Friday – with an 8-4-2-1 record. The IceHogs, a Chicago Blackhawks farm team, fell to 6-8-1-1, fifth in the West Division.

The two teams meet again Saturday, 6 p.m., at the Abbotsford Sports and Entertainment Centre.

"There's a lot of character in that dressing room. The players understand that coming off a six-game road trip the comforts of home can make you mentally casual, but we had a couple of days to work on some stuff and we came out well," said Jim Playfair, Heat head coach, whose troops scored more than two goals for the first time in six games.

"Overall we're doing our fair share of scoring over the course of the season. It's just a matter of making sure we're up and down defensively and we did that tonight."

The Heat jumped out to a 2-0 first-period lead scoring two goals 19 seconds apart. At 14:06, Cam Cunning, who was playing his first game back from an injury and only fifth of the season, got his first point by making a slick move around a Rockford defender and then fired a laser-beam wrist shot from the left faceoff circle over the glove of IceHogs goalie Corey Crawford.

That was immediately followed by Jamie Lundmark deflecting a Gord Baldwin point shot past Crawford.

Although Rockford had a 13-12 shots on goal advantage, Abbotsford had the better quality scoring chances including Mikael Backlund setting up Carsen Germyn for two gilt-edged opportunities from close in. The first he put right into Crawford's crest, and on the second he was just wide.

The second period got off to a fast start with three goals in the first 2:08. Just 47 seconds in, Garth Murray notched his second of the season shorthanded thanks to some nice spade work along the boards and a pinpoint pass from Abbotsford native David Van der Gulik.

"Any time you can go down and put shorthanded one in it really deflates the other team," said Murray, who has spent time in the NHL with the New York Rangers and Phoenix Coyotes. "Vandy made a nice play passing between the guy's legs and we were lucky it went in there."

Rockford's Pete MacArthur got that back on the powerplay just 15 seconds later before former Vancouver Canuck Jason Jaffray restored the three-goal lead making it an offensive explosion by Heat standards.

That prompted Rockford coach Bill Peters to yank Crawford in favour of backup Joe Fallon, who robbed Jaffray twice point-blank on the same play early in the third period.

Rockford's Bracken Kearns, son of former Vancouver Canucks defenceman Dennis Kearns, scored his first of the season in the second period eliciting a cheer from his family and friends at the game. It also earned Kearns, wearing his father's old No. 6, the game's third star.

Irving has been in goal for all four of the wins to improve to 7-3-1 as Abbotsford outshot Rockford 40-35.

"It's a grind. It's not only tough on your legs but it's your mind overall. You reload and focus and that's what travel's going to be especially being this far out here," said Murray.

"I was in Texas last year with the San Antonio Rampage for a while and travel is very similar. It's something you do have to work through, you get used to it after a while. It's just a matter of taking care of your body – hydrating and eating well – and getting ready to play."