The Abbotsford Heat opened a five-game road trip with a decisive 5-0 victory over the San Antonio Rampage on Tuesday evening.
Heat goalie Danny Taylor stopped all 26 shots he faced for his second shutout of the season, and five different Abbotsford players scored.
The victory boosted the Heat (23-10-3-0, 49 points) to within one point of the Oklahoma City Barons, who lead the West Division and the AHL overall standings with 50 points. Abbotsford has one game in hand.
Heat captain Quintin Laing opened the scoring on Tuesday, finishing off a nice pass from Gaelan Patterson on a shorthanded two-on-one break just past the midway point of the first period.
Late in the frame, Akim Aliu notched his third goal in five games as a member of the Heat, knocking home a loose puck on a goalmouth scramble.
Krys Kolanos, with his team-leading 17th of the year, scored the lone goal of the second period on the power play, and Raitis Ivanans and Jon Rheault rounded out the scoring in the third.
The Heat excelled on the penalty kill, erasing all six of the Rampage’s man-advantage opportunities. For the game, they out-shot San Antonio 42-26.
• The Heat continue the road jaunt against the Texas Stars on Wednesday evening.
Heat forward Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond dropped the gloves with San Antonio’s Eric Selleck.
