The stingiest defensive team in the American Hockey League snuffed the Abbotsford Heat on Thursday evening.
Playing before 4,652 fans at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, the Oklahoma City Barons blanked the Heat 4-0 behind a flawless 24-save outing from goalie Yann Danis.
Henrik Karlsson, the Calgary Flames' usual backup keeper, made his first start in Abbotsford silks after being sent down for a two-week conditioning stint, and he stopped 21 of 25 shots in the loss.
Following a scoreless first period, Barons forward Mark Arcobello opened the scoring at 12:29 of the middle frame, beating Karlsson with a backhander from the slot. Josh Green made it 2-0 with just 28 seconds left in the period, and Linus Omark and Hunter Tremblay rounded out the scoring in the final frame.
The Barons boosted their league-best record to 31-12-2-3, while the Heat fell to 26-19-3-0.
The two teams lock horns again on Saturday at the Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre (7 p.m. start).
• On Friday morning, the Heat acquired centre Adam Estoclet from the Grand Rapids Griffins, and assigned centre Justin Dowling to the ECHL's Utah Grizzlies. Estoclet posted one goal and one assist in 12 games with the Griffins this season, along with 23 points in 26 ECHL contests with the Toledo Walleye.
Heat goalie Henrik Karlsson steers a puck to the corner during Thursday's loss to the Oklahoma City Barons at the Scotiabank Saddledome.