By Tim Ubels (Contributor) – Email
Print Edition: February 5, 2014
The Abbotsford Heat were fresh off a pair of home losses to the Hamilton Bulldogs at the start of January. Goaltending was key in both those games; the Bulldogs got stellar back-to-back performances from Dustin Tokarski. This past weekend, however, it was the Heat’s own Joni Ortio who stole the show, turning away 60 of 61 Bulldog shots for back-to-back victories.
The two clubs remained scoreless after the first period of Friday night’s matchup, but Ortio woke his team up in the second period, making a huge save to give his team the momentum moving forward. On the odd-man rush, Ortio had to slide all the way from his right post to the left in order to rob Bulldogs forward Martin St. Pierre. The puck then made its way onto the stick of Joel Chouinard, who had a wide open net, but Heat forward Drew Mackenzie stood tall in front of the net, making a few saves before the goaltender dove back to his net to stop play. A somewhat nasty scrum followed the play, as Ortio and Bulldogs forward Gabriel Dumont had words and looked poised to drop the gloves, but cooler heads prevailed.
About midway through the second period, the Heat potted their first tally when Max Reinhart spotted Markus Granlund streaking down the left side and fed him the puck for a partial breakaway. Within the next five minutes, Corban Knight (who had struggled in the month of January with only two assists in nine games) scored a pair of even-strength markers to give his team a 3-0 lead heading into the third period.
Despite a valiant effort from the Hamilton Bulldogs, outshooting the Heat 14-9 in the final frame, it was the Heat who added three more goals to seal the victory. Blair Jones, who was recently sent down to the Heat after a short stint with the Calgary Flames, scored an even strength and powerplay goal in the period. Along with Josh Jooris’ other marker, the Heat cruised to a 6-0 win.
Knight talked about his three-point, slump-busting game by crediting linemate and former teammate at the University of North Dakota Evan Trupp.
“We played two years together, and we’re really good friends,” Knight said. “The fact we were put together, I think we were both pretty excited about it. We were able to get some chemistry going tonight, so hopefully we can keep it going as we move forward.”
On Saturday night the Heat completed the weekend sweep with a 4-1 victory. The Bulldogs’ only goal this weekend was a tip by Stefan Fournier. It was a play where Ortio really had no chance, but still joked after the game that he “could have been better.”
Jooris, who scored in both games, had nothing but praise for his net-minder after the game. “He has a competitive edge to him that I think sets him aside from other goalies,” he said. “You see him battling in the crease … [and] that gives our team confidence knowing that we have a real competitive goalie back there. He stood on his head and kept us in games this weekend.”
Ortio, who now has 19 wins on the season as well as a 2.08 goals against average and a .930 save percentage, may get his first shot with the Flames within the next few days. Calgary Flames starter Karri Ramo went down with an undisclosed lower-body injury against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday, meaning that the goaltending tandem of Ortio and Reto Berra that started the year in Abbotsford could make its way to Calgary this week.
Halfway through their eight-game home stand, the Heat are 2-0-0-2, picking up six out of a possible eight points in those games. They return to action at home on Tuesday against the Charlotte Checkers. Puck drops at 7 p.m.
