AGD: Looking for back of the net
By Kent Wilson
11 years agoTime: 8:00pm MST
Location: Abbotsford Sports and Entertainment Centre
Broadcast: SNET
While the Heat have deserved a better fate in some of the games they’ve lost this month, last night wasn’t one of those instances. Abbotsford was being outshot 21-5 at one point in the second and spent a generous portion of the evening in the penalty box. The 3-1 score probably flattered them.
The Heat can get right back on the horse tonight against the Stars, potentially with the return (maybe) if Sven Baertschi. Scoring has continued to be an issue in his absence and there’s no question he is the most creative offensive talent on the club by a wide margin.
The Line-up
- Horak – Reinhart – Walter
- Kolanos – Byron – Sylvester
- Banks – Olson – Aliu
- Ruesegger – Laing – Street
- Brodie – Piskula
- Breen – McCarthy
- McKelvie – Lamb
- Brust
Greg Nemisz wasn’t in the line-up last night. I don’t know if that’s because he’s injured again or Ward just wanted to try something else with Aliu. Either way, it’s bad news for a guy who has yet to mark the scoresheet in this, his third (and pivotal) pro season with the team.
If Baertschi returns, look for him to replace Kolanos in the top 6.
The Opposition
Cody Eakin scored another two points in the Stars win last night, moving his total to 17 points on the year and 10 in December. Apparently Alex Chiasson had a good outing yesterday as well.
- Fraser – Eakin – Sceviour
- Roussel – Morin – Vincour
- Chiasson – Wathier – Smith
- Heddon – Peterson – Gazdic
- Oleksiak – Fortunas
- Benn – Barker
- Nemeth – Dillon
- Nilstorp
Texas may well go with Nilstorp again since he won last night, but this being a B2B it could be Campbell in net instead, which would be good news for Abbotsford.
Sum it Up
The Heat’s offense has completely dried up this month, with just eight goals in their last six games. The defense continues to be relatively strong, but averaging just 1.3 goals/game makes it to tough to win. Here’s hoping Baertschi can come back from IR and spark something sooner rather than later.
Also, remember the game is on SNET tonight, so set your PVR’s if you’re heading out for Christmas festivities. It’s the closest thing we’ll get to Flames hockey for awhile it seems.
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