Heat roll over Rivermen

Riley Armstrong and Leland Irving led the way as the Abbotsford Heat snapped a three-game losing streak with a 6-2 road victory over the Peoria Rivermen on Wednesday.

Armstrong, in just his second game back in the Heat lineup after missing a month with a high ankle sprain, scored two goals to pace the offence. Goaltender Irving sparkled between the pipes, turning aside 38 shots for his ninth win of the season.

With the victory, the Heat boosted their record to 11-9-2-2 on the season, good for fourth place in the AHL’s North Division.

Carsen Germyn opened the scoring for Abbotsford at the 12:55 mark of the first period, taking a feed from Jason Jaffray and firing a bullet over the shoulder of Peoria keeper Hannu Toivonen. Armstrong doubled the lead before the end of the frame, finishing off a pretty three-way passing play with linemates Garth Murray and Cam Cunning.

In the second period, Peoria captain Yan Stastny got his team to within one on the opening shift of the period, as he capitalized on a Heat turnover. But before the period was over, Keith Aulie restored the two-goal margin, drifting a point shot past a screened Toivonen.

Abbotsford blew the game open in the third, as Kris Chucko, Armstrong and Garth Murray bulged the twine. Cam Paddock was the lone Peoria player to score in the third, despite the fact that the Rivermen fired 19 shots at the Heat goal during the frame.

The Heat continue their road trip on Friday against the Chicago Wolves.