By Mike Cadarette (Contributor) – Email
Print Edition: October 31, 2012
The Abbotsford Heat are now tied for second place in the AHL after a marathon-like weekend that saw them play three road games in less than 48 hours.
This weekend marked the first road trip for the Heat this season where they played twice in Cleveland against the Lake Erie Monsters (affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche) and once against the Hamilton Bulldogs (affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens).
The Heat, however, had a rather terrestrial set of games collecting three of a possible six points – an understandable outcome given the mental and physical strain for playing back-to-back-to-back games.
Czech-native Roman Horak continues to prove why the nickname “Roman Scorak” is deserved given his astounding offensive production so far this season. Horak currently leads the AHL in goal scoring with seven goals in seven games. He has also maintained a point streak through those seven games as well.
On Friday evening, the Heat were able to pull off a thrilling 5–3 win against the Monsters. Horak collected two goals in the game, including the game winner, and first star honours.
Rookie Brett Olson, who played four seasons with the Michigan Tech Huskies, had a breakout game getting a goal and two assists. Olson has looked particularly impressive lately, showing why he was the captain of his university club, and was able to make the Heat roster after a strong showing at training camp on a tryout basis.
Carter Bancks did what Carter Bancks usually does: blocked shots and got under the skin of the opponent; he also managed to get a short-handed tally for his team.
The following night, on Saturday, the Heat were unable to maintain their lead going into the third period, losing to Lake Erie in a shootout. Leland Irving, having not played a game since the middle of April last season, was given the nod by head coach Troy Ward. However, Irving was not able to get the win despite a solid performance in the shootout.
Monsters forward Mike Sgarbossa capped off a rather successful weekend, getting the game-tying goal against the Heat and scoring the game-winning shootout goal for his team.
While Horak was unable to extend his goal-scoring streak on Saturday night, he was able to pick up an assist on a goal from Heat All-Star Krys Kolanos.
Swiss rookie and first-round pick Sven Baertschi continued a phenomenal start to the season getting two assists in the game. Baertschi now has eight points in seven games.
Smooth skating offensive blueliner TJ Brodie is also having a terrific start to the season. After playing 54 games for the Calgary Flames last season, Brodie continues to put up a point-per-game pace with six points in as many games. Brodie’s game is more effective than the scorecard indicates, however. Brodie’s cool-as-a-cucumber style of play has earned him more than 20-minutes of play per night, which speaks to his ability to play in every conceivable situation the team requires.
On Sunday afternoon, the Heat finished their last game of the three game road trip with a 2–1 loss to the Hamilton Bulldogs. Coming into Sunday, the Heat were the only team in the AHL that had yet to lose a game a regulation.
The only goal of the game for the Heat came from Roman Horak to get his seventh of the season.
Despite numerous scoring chances and a work ethic that wasn’t indicative of a team playing their third game in less than 48 hours, the Heat ultimately lost due to a very good game by Bulldogs’ netminder Robert Mayer.
The Heat will have little rest before their next set of games, which take place on Thursday and Friday night at the AESC against the Toronto Marlies – their fourth and fifth games in eight days. The Heat will likely be seeking revenge on the Marlies who ousted them in game five of the second round of the playoffs last spring.
