ABBOTSFORD, B.
Brandon Kintzler Jersey .C. -- Corban Knight snapped out of his scoring slump in a big way Friday night, with some help from an old friend. Knight scored twice and assisted on another as the Abbotsford Heat blanked the visiting Hamilton Bulldogs 6-0 in American Hockey League action. After recording five points in the final three games of December, Knight had no goals and just two assists in nine games through the month of January. "Id definitely say I was a little snake-bit the last little while here, and things werent coming my way," said Knight. "It was nice to get a couple nice set-ups from the guys, and I was able to put them in. Hopefully Ill kind of put that behind me and move forward here." Knight was matched up with former linemate at the University of North Dakota Evan Trupp. Trupp responded with his first multi-point game since being called up from the ECHLs Alaska Aces. "We played two years together, and were really good friends, too," said Knight. "The fact we were put together, I think we were both pretty excited about it, and we were able to get some chemistry going tonight." Besides recording two second-period goals, Knight picked up the second assist on Markus Granlunds opening goal and was also in the crease for a Heat goal that was waved off in the first period. "Hes going through a learning curve like a lot of our guys," said Heat head coach Troy Ward. "Theyre kind of over that hump of, Im tired now. Some of our college guys that come out, thats really hard for them. Hes got a little bit more energy to his game, and Trupp made a difference." Blair Jones had two goals in his first game since being put on waivers by the Calgary Flames on Wednesday. With the addition of Jones and Shane OBrien, who was also sent down by the Flames, along with Heats signing of Trevor Gillies, the Abbotsford dressing room is beginning to get quite crowded. Derek Smith and Sven Baertschi are also recent Flames demotions. "Our team is at probably one of the most competitive points for ice time," said Ward. "Thats based on health and depth. It might get worse next week when the NHL shuts down and they assign players, creating more of a log jam. Its a healthy situation. It makes coaching decisions a little bit harder but thats part of our job." Josh Jooris also scored, while Max Reinhart had two assists as Abbotsford (27-14-4) got back in the win column after consecutive overtime losses last weekend. Joni Ortio stopped 34 shots for his second shutout of the season, and was a factor despite the lopsided win. "Hes one of the unsung heroes," said Ward. "He made some huge saves at critical times. We gave them a couple good looks and he was there and made it look pretty easy." Dustin Tokarski made 22 saves for Hamilton (20-19-4), which has won just once in its past five outings. After a scoreless opening 20 minutes, Ortio woke up his club with a huge save midway through the second period. "Joni made some big saves in the second period when they had a couple cross-ice plays," said Jones. "Its kind of what Ive been seeing from him all season." Hamilton got a three-on-two rush while at the tail end of a penalty kill, but Ortio made a great save, sliding across to deny Martin St. Pierres one-timer at the side of the net. During a post-whistle scuffle the Heat came away with another power play and this time made it count. Max Reinhart fed Granlund and the Swede beat defender Darren Dietz at the blue-line and skated in on Tokarski, scoring blocker side for his team-high 18th of the season at 10:26. Then, just 1:27 second later the Heat built on their momentum. Brett Olson put a perfect backhanded saucer pass on the tape of Knight in the slot and the High River, Alta. native made no mistake, beating Tokarski glove side. Knight picked up his second with less than a minute to go in the period. Trupp came off the side boards and shovelled the puck to Knight in the high slot. This time he went top corner, blocker side for his 11th of the season. Jooris made it 4-0 with his fifth of the season at 7:20 of the third. He took a feed from Baertschi, cut to the front of the net and swept the puck around Tokarski. Jones completed the onslaught, scoring twice in less than two minutes. First he redirected Reinharts perfect feed at 9:52, then wired a one-timer between Tokarskis pads for his 10th of the season.
Kosuke Fukudome Jersey . Tristan Jackson returned a missed field goal 129 yards early in the fourth quarter as the Roughriders beat the B.C.
Addison Russell Jersey . The Ravens werent about to let it happen again. Carleton picked up its fourth straight national mens basketball title, and 10th in the last 12 years, with a 79-67 victory over its crosstown rival on Sunday.Julian Savea has been omitted from the Hurricanes starting line-up for their Super Rugby quarter-final against the Sharks on Saturday, live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 8.15am. The Hurricanes, the top qualifiers and guaranteed home matches as long as they stay alive in the play-offs, have made three changes for the clash.We had some tough choices, but we believe weve picked the best team to play the Sharks, coach Chris Boyd said. Sean Fitzpatrick picks out the biggest and hardest hits from round 17 of Super Rugby. Centre Matt Proctor has recovered from a hamstring strain which shifts Jason Woodward, a try scorer at centre in a 35-10 thrashing of the Crusaders last week, onto the wing where he replaces Savea.We pick the team on form and what we think is best for the team, Boyd said.Savea was one of five players who breached team protocol in the build-up to the regular season encounter against the Sharks in May, a game which the Sharks won 32-15. The quintet were all banned for the subsequent match against the Reds for the indisccretion.
Mike Montgomery Jersey. TJ Perenara (c) in action against the Sharks in May Their opponents the Sharks, bottom-placed qualifiers this season, come into Saturdays game with little momentum. The Durban-based outfit have a good record against the Hurricanes overall, but after only just managing to beat the Sunwolves in the last match of the regular season, they will be wary of a Hurricanes side riding high after dispatching the Crusaders in Christchurch the same weekend.Springbok full-back Willie le Roux starts following his recovery ahead of schedule from a shoulder injury, while Beast Tendai Mtawarira captains the side in the No 1 jersey after being rested last week.Fly-half Patrick Lambie has been ruled out for not playing a mandated four matches in the regular season, which hands Garth April another start in the pivotal No 10 role. Hurricanes: 15 James Marshall, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Matt Proctor, 12 Willis Halaholo, 11 Jason Woodward, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 TJ Perenara, 1 Loni Uhila, 2 Dane Coles (c), 3 Ben May, 4 Vaea Fifita, 5 Michael Fatialofa, 6 Brad Shields, 7 Ardie Savea, 8 Victor Vito.Replacements: 16 Ricky Riccitelli, 17 Chris Eves, 18 Mike Kainga, 19 Mark Abbott, 20 Callum Gibbins, 21 Jamison Gibson-Park, 22 Vince Aso, 23 Julian Savea.Sharks: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Paul Jordaan, 12 André Esterhuizen, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Garth April, 9 Michael Claassens, 1 Beast Mtawarira (c), 2 Franco Marais, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 5 Stephan Lewies, 6 Keegan Daniel, 7 Jean-Luc du Preez, 8 Philip van der Walt.Replacements: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Dale Chadwick, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Hyron Andrews, 20 Tera Mtembu, 21 Stefan Ungerer, 22 Curwin Bosch, 23 Odwa Ndungane.Watch Hurricanes v Sharks live on Sky Sports 3 HD on Saturday from 8.15am. Catch the match for £6.99 on NOW TV. No contract. ' ' '