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Street's OT goal, Ortio's 43 saves power Heat past Canucks affiliate

Overtime heroics from Ben Street and a stellar outing from Joni Ortio powered the Heat to a 2-1 victory over Utica.
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Utica Comets goalie Joacim Eriksson got the best of Abbotsford Heat centre Ben Street on this play

Overtime heroics from Ben Street and a stellar outing from goalie Joni Ortio powered the Abbotsford Heat to a 2-1 road victory over the Utica Comets on Friday.

Street scored at 2:19 of the extra frame, firing the rebound off Max Reinhart's initial shot past Comets goalie Joacim Eriksson, and Ortio earned first star honours after turning aside 43 of 44 shots

Alex Friesen opened the scoring for the Vancouver Canucks affiliate at 8:14 of the first period with a shorthanded goal, but Sven Baertschi drew the Heat even with a buzzer-beater at the end of the second period. Street threw the puck to the front of the net and it went in off Baertschi's skate, and the goal stood up after video review.

Utica out-shot Abbotsford 44-30, and both teams went 0-for-2 on the power play.

ICE CHIPS:

• The Heat (36-24-7, 79 points) and Comets (29-28-8, 66 points) renew hostilities on Saturday at Utica Memorial Auditorium.

• Allan McPherson made his AHL debut on behalf of the Heat on Friday. The forward, who led the NCAA's Clarkson Golden Knights in scoring with 13 goals and 19 assists in 42 games this season, signed an AHL contract last week.