GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS 2 at Abbotsford Heat 3 SO

April 6, 2013

ABBOTSFORD, British Columbia – Behind Danny Taylor’s 32 saves, the Abbotsford Heat defeated the Grand Rapids Griffins 3-2 in a shootout Saturday at Abbotsford Entertainment & Sports Centre.

Grand Rapids (40-24-3-3) struck first as Chad Billins found the back of the net on a power play goal at 17:04 of the opening period. Brett Skinner fed Billins and the defenseman’s shot from 45 feet away slipped inside the left goal post. Skinner’s assist on the goal was his 200th as a pro and Francis Pare’s assist was his 133rd, tying Kip Miller for 3rd place in franchise history.

The Heat (32-30-4-6) tied the game on a power play goal of their own at 7:31 of the second period. Tyler Ruegsegger beat Tom McCollum with a backhand shot that went over the goaltender’s stick and inside the left goal post. The goal was Ruegsegger’s 9th of the season.

Krys Kolanos gave the Heat a 2-1 lead at 11:27 of the final period. McCollum made the initial stop with a terrific left toe save, but the puck took an Abbotsford bounce to Kolanos on the left side of the net. The right wing dumped the puck into an empty net before McCollum could recover.

Tomas Tatar scored the tying goal at 13:02 of the third period. Pare won a faceoff and quickly fed Tatar, who snapped a shot past Taylor for his 23rd goal of the season.

The game went into overtime after both teams failed to score in the final seven minutes of the third period. The Griffins had an opportunity to finish the game in overtime as Tatar’s shot went inside the goal, but a collision in the goal mouth jarred the net free and the score was waved off by the referee.

After a scoreless overtime period, the Heat defeated the Griffins 3-1 in a sudden death shootout. Ben Walter, Kolanos and Blair Jones scored in the second, fourth and fifth rounds while Billins scored the Griffins’ lone shootout goal in the second. The score was Billins’ fifth shootout goal in five attempts.

McCollum stopped 26 of 28 shots while Taylor earned the victory behind 32 saves, stopping three of the Griffins four shootout attempts.

After playing 10 of their last 11 games on the road, the Griffins will return to Grand Rapids to host the Chicago Wolves Wednesday at 7 p.m. EDT.

Three Stars: 1. ABB Taylor (W, 32 saves); 2. GR McCollum (26 saves); 3. ABB Kolanos (two goals)