The Lake Erie Monsters kept hammering away at the Abbotsford Heat, and the dam finally burst in the third period.

The Monsters opened the two-game set in Cleveland by out-shooting the Heat 34-17 over he first two periods, but had little to show for their dominance on the shot clock – the two teams were deadlocked 1-1 heading to the final frame.

But in the third, Lake Erie broke through with a trio of goals, courtesy Brad Malone, Gabriel Beaupre and Bill Thomas.

Beaupre's goal, at 3:01 of the third, chased Heat starting goalie Danny Taylor, and Thomas rounded out the scoring with a power-play marker against Barry Brust.

Quintin Laing had staked the Heat to a 1-0 lead with 14 seconds left in the first period, but Paul Carey levelled the score for the Monsters with a shorthanded tally in the second.

Abbotsford native David Van der Gulik, a former member of the Heat, picked up an assist for the Monsters, the Colorado Avalanche's affiliate.

The Heat (22-14-7), losers of two straight, will seek revenge when they face the Monsters (24-16-4) on Friday for the second consecutive night on the road.