2nd Round AHL North Division Finals - Hamilton Bulldogs (1) vs. Abbotsford Heat (3)

[jschick88]

Abby up 1-0, almost the end of the first. Gaelan Patterson from DVG.

[Patrick]

Flames young guns, younger guns are really stepping it up last few games. Great to see.

[sureLoss]

2-0 Heat

Cunning from Jaffray and Backlund on the PP

[Caged Great]

Wow, good job from the heat.

[sureLoss]

Hamilton makes it 2-1

[kirant]

Sounds like a good time for a Sutter goal

(BTW, this isn't an annoucement for Sutter scoring)

[Canada 02]

stifling defence; just 1 shot on goal for the Dogs half way thru the 3rd

[Canada 02]

damn, spoke to soon

2-2

[Save Us Sutter]

Yikes, 5-2 Hamilton final.

2 empty netters though.

The Heat fall to 2-4 at home in the playoffs. Good thing the next two games are in Hamilton.

[VANFLAMESFAN]

Just got back from the game tonight. It was my first Heat game. I had a good time, I won the 50-50 draw, so that made the loss easier to handle.

The Heat played a solid game, it was close till the very end. I can't remember who had the late chance that could have tied it, but man, the game was this close from going to ot. I can't see them winnning two in Hamilton, but I would love to go to another game.

Guys I was watching closely

Backlund-Struggled for much of the game. Very poor first period. He was getting muscled off the puck easily. Had a good chance in the third that I thought he could have done better with. Kinda disappointed in what I saw from him.

Pelech-Man, this guy is ready IMO. He is one piece of mean business and looks a lot bigger than I ever thought. He was a force on the boards and did a great job blocking shots and getting in shooting and passing lanes. I liked his game tonight.

Seabrook-I hope this guy develops fast because he's got some big time game in him. Liked his first pass out of the zone, liked his skating, impressed overall.

[Scooter]

Canucks didn't play last nite, so, what's the excuse for the lousy attendance?

[RyZ]

Originally Posted by Scooter

Canucks didn't play last nite, so, what's the excuse for the lousy attendance?

Maybe hockey fans in BC are a little down since their Canucks have at most 2 games left before they are eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs?

[BruinsFan19]

Originally Posted by Scooter

Canucks didn't play last nite, so, what's the excuse for the lousy attendance?

There is no excuse, that's pathetic. Second round, Saturday night, NO other hockey teams in the area playing... that's not good.

[VANFLAMESFAN]

Originally Posted by BruinsFan19

There is no excuse, that's pathetic. Second round, Saturday night, NO other hockey teams in the area playing... that's not good.

Yeah, it was a shame to see the empty seats last night. Me and my friend were the only ones in our row. Truly unfortunate. It was a beautiful evening last night so Im sure plenty of people wanted to stay outside and enjoy the nice weather.

Wake up Lower Mainland, get your ass out to Abby and support this team!!!

[868904]

I still think it's incredibly stupid to put a team in the heart of Canucks territory...

I know I would NEVER pay money to see the Canucks prospects play let alone cheer them on...

Flames should just move the team to Calgary and get another tenant for their new stadium. I'm sure they could generate better crowds and there would hopefully be good synergies and economies of scale to benefit from.

[jschick88]

Originally Posted by 868904

I still think it's incredibly stupid to put a team in the heart of Canucks territory...

I know I would NEVER pay money to see the Canucks prospects play let alone cheer them on...

Flames should just move the team to Calgary and get another tenant for their new stadium. I'm sure they could generate better crowds and there would hopefully be good synergies and economies of scale to benefit from.

I can't agree enough with your post. I always kind of wondered why the Flames wouldn't put their farm team in Saskatchewan. A city like Saskatoon would be ideal. The only question I would raise about that is the Blades. Not sure if Saskatoon is big enough to support an AHL and a WHL team.

[calgaryrocks]

Originally Posted by jschick88

I can't agree enough with your post. I always kind of wondered why the Flames wouldn't put their farm team in Saskatchewan. A city like Saskatoon would be ideal. The only question I would raise about that is the Blades. Not sure if Saskatoon is big enough to support an AHL and a WHL team.

yea, it would be interesting for sure. heck, with the attendance the heat get in abby, they could play in the corral in Calgary.
saskatoon would be interesting too

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by jschick88

I can't agree enough with your post. I always kind of wondered why the Flames wouldn't put their farm team in Saskatchewan. A city like Saskatoon would be ideal. The only question I would raise about that is the Blades. Not sure if Saskatoon is big enough to support an AHL and a WHL team.

I think it's an unspoken rule that the AHL doesn't move in on CHL junior franchises. (do you remember Burke blubbering because the Heat moved into the next town over?) You'd have to convince the Blades to move to Abbotsford.

To move the Heat to Calgary, I think the Hitmen would have to be moved or otherwise you would over saturate the market. Both the Hitmen and the Blades are pretty profitable concerns, so I don't see anyone trying to upset that applecart but I'd guess Saskatoon is ready for a higher brand of hockey. It would just be very awkward to bring it off.

Maybe if the Jets move back to Winnipeg, the Moose could move to Victoria, giving the Heat a local rival and making the travel costs less.

[D_J]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

Maybe if the Jets move back to Winnipeg, the Moose could move to Victoria, giving the Heat a local rival and making the travel costs less.

There was local talk amongst hockey circles (rumours only, no good sources that I can quote) about the Moose moving to Abbotsford if the NHL gets back into Winnipeg and the Heat going down to Phoenix. No idea if there is validity to this. If the Canucks farm team came to Abby they would be very successful ...

[Muta]

If the Heat move to accomodate NHL / AHL reshuffling, I want our AHL boys in Whitehorse or Yellowknife.

I don't really know why, other than it would be funny.