By Tim Ubels (Contributor) – Email
Print Edition: March 13, 2013
With Marlies’ goalie Drew Macintyre following the play in his team’s zone, Heat forward Tyler Ruegsegger fired the puck past the screened tender, sending a collective sigh of relief through the Heat bench and fans across Abbotsford and beyond. Ruegsegger’s eighth goal of the season on Saturday afternoon ended the team’s 133:29 goalless drought, which stretched all the way back to their 5-1 home defeat at the hands of the Houston Aeros last Saturday.
Ruegsegger’s first period goal, which tied the two teams up at one goal apiece to end the period, seemed to spark the Abbotsford offence. Although the Heat had outshot their opponents 71-48 since the start of the road trip, they had no goals to show for it, but Ruegsegger’s marker changed all that. Heat forward Blair Jones followed up the effort in the second period by potting a four-on-three power play marker, and Akim Aliu added another after Carter Bancks stole the puck and set up Aliu in the slot to give the Heat a 3-1 lead going into the third period. The new-look line of Bancks, Aliu and Heat captain Quintin Laing impressed, throwing the body and picking up a combined two goals and three assists. The Heat would go on to win the game 4-2 against the Marlies, with Bancks picking up a tally of his own, ending the team’s three game losing streak and offensive power outage.
This win was the first on the Heat’s current seven-game road trip, which is the longest of the year for them; they don’t return to the AESC until March 22, when they face off against the Rockford Icehogs. The critical win against their division rivals, the Toronto Marlies, who currently sit atop the tight North Division, keeps the Heat in the playoff hunt. By defeating the Marlies, they were able to prevent a descent out of playoff contention (a potential first of the season). The Heat sat in 10th place in the Western Conference after Friday night’s loss to the Rochester Americans, but climbed back into sixth place after the Saturday afternoon win. This kind of gridlock in the standings in the last quarter of the season makes for desperate teams, entertaining hockey and critical match-ups between conference rivals.
The team also received word on Saturday that Flames’ prospect Sven Baertschi has been demoted to the Abbotsford Heat, after the injured Mikael Backlund returned to the Flames lineup for the first time since suffering a ligament sprain against the Columbus Blue Jackets on February 7. Baertschi, who recorded six goals and added 12 helpers in the 21 games he spent with the Heat prior to the lockout, will hopefully provide an offensive spark that has been missing from the Heat lineup over the past month of play.
It’s fair to say that the young Baertschi could use this step back into the minors as a launching pad for his NHL career. Not all rookies are successful in their first stint in the NHL, and the Flames organization values this style of grooming their prospects, as opposed to their rivals from Northern Alberta, the Edmonton Oilers, who prefer the sink or swim method when it comes to developing their young players.
Wednesday’s victory over the San Jose Sharks saw the talented Baertschi bench warming in the third period alongside fourth-line energy players Tim Jackman and Brian McGrattan. Baertschi seems to be destined to one day excel at the NHL level, but right now what the Flames management believes is best for the top prospect is a boost of confidence and not a spot on the fourth line. This is a move that should have Heat fans salivating, as the Flames’ 13th overall selection in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft brings a fun, skilled style of hockey that’s rare at the AHL level.
Hopefully this step back for the Flames prospect will result in big minutes for Baertschi and in turn more consistent offence for a Heat team trying to secure their spot in the American Hockey League playoffs, which are closing in fast.
