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Meyer's hat trick highlights blowout win over Bruins

The Abbotsford Heat cringed their way through a horror movie on Saturday morning, and it lit the fuse for their highest offensive output of the season on Saturday evening.
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Ryan Stone and Matt Keith of the Heat break in on Providence goalie Michael Hutchinson.

The Abbotsford Heat cringed their way through a horror movie on Saturday morning, and it lit the fuse for their highest offensive output of the season on Saturday evening.To be clear, Jim Playfair's bunch didn't screen anything starring Freddy Krueger or Chucky. They merely watched game tape from Friday's unsightly 4-0 defeat at the hands of the Providence Bruins, which was at least as disturbing.The Heat, sufficiently chastened, raced out to a 5-0 lead over those same Bruins on Saturday, en route to a 6-2 victory before 2,825 fans at the Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre. "We got a pretty good kick in the butt this morning – Jim was very thorough with the mistakes we made, and rightfully so," said Heat forward Stefan Meyer, who led the offensive onslaught with three goals. "Everybody was pretty embarrassed."After the video, nobody had much to say. We all knew we had to turn it around."Heat defenceman Matt Pelech set the physical tone early, dropping the gloves twice in the first 13 minutes of the first period. Pelech's scraps were emblematic of the Heat's transition to being the hammer rather than the nail – they held a huge territorial edge early, and registered six of the first seven shots of the game."He's one of the heart-and-soul guys of our team," Meyer said of Pelech. "He cares about every one of us on the ice. He didn't back down at all, and it really set the tone for us."Meyer opened the scoring on the power play at 7:53 of the first, sweeping a rebound past Providence goalie Michael Hutchinson. The goal ended a Heat scoreless drought of 115:04, dating back to a 3-2 overtime loss to the Oklahoma City Barons on Feb. 19.Heat captain Quintin Laing, who said his team "played like crap" after Friday's loss, had a huge game, notching a goal and three assists. Ales Kotalik was also outstanding, notching four assists. Matt Keith, with his team-leading 18th of the season, and Joe Piskula also scored for Abbotsford. Piskula's goal was his first in 107 games, dating back to Nov. 22, 2009 when he played for the Manchester Monarchs. Jordan Lavallee-Smotherman and Maxime Sauve were the only Bruins shooters to solve Heat goalie J.P. Lamoureux, who turned aside 23 of 25 Providence shots.One night after an uninspired 0-for-6 showing on the power play, the Heat turned in an efficient 2-for-4 performance with the man advantage Saturday.In the tightly bunched North Division standings, Abbotsford (28-24-3-5, 64 points) sits in fifth place. Only nine points separate the first-place Hamilton Bulldogs and Lake Erie Monsters (70 points) from the seventh-place Grand Rapids Griffins (61 points).ICE CHIPS:• Greg Nemisz was recalled by the Calgary Flames on Saturday afternoon. The rookie forward, whose 27 points in 59 games were second-most on the Heat, is poised to make his NHL debut on Sunday against the St. Louis Blues. • Defenceman John Negrin returned to the Heat lineup after missing 56 games due to knee surgery. He picked up an assist on Keith's goal.• Heat winger Lance Bouma left the game in the second period with a neck injury and did not return.• The Heat begin a five-game road trip on Tuesday against the Texas Stars.