Abbotsford, BC – The Abbotsford Heat rallied in the third period to beat the Houston Aeros (AHL affiliate of the Minnesota Wild) 4-2 on Friday night at the Abbotsford Entertainment & Sports Centre (AESC).

Ben Walter scored two power play goals in the third period and the Heat penalty kill negated four third period Houston man-advantages as the Heat snapped their seven game winless streak. Andy Bohmbach scored his first career AHL goal and Brett Olson netted Abbotsford’s sixth short-handed goal of the season to secure their league-leading 19th home win.

The Aeros scored the game’s first goal at the 15:47 mark of the first period, but the Heat evened the score less than two minutes later. Max Reinhart centered the puck for Chris Breen, who had his shot tipped in by Andy Bohmbach for his first AHL goal in his third game with Abbotsford. The game was tied 1-1 after 20 minutes.

The Aeros took a 2-1 lead with just 41.8 seconds remaining in the second period on the power play with Justin Fontaine’s 14th goal of the season.

Ben Walter tied the game at two with his eleventh goal of the season just three minutes into the third period. Walter’s power play goal was set up by Roman Horak and Tyler Ruegsegger. Just 78 seconds after tying the game, Ben Walter struck again on the fifth Heat power play of the night to give the Heat their first lead. Brett Carson and Roman Horak drew assists on the game-winning goal.

Brett Olson scored a short-handed goal into an empty net to give the Heat a 4-2 lead at 19:26 of the third period.

Leland Irving made 29 saves on 31 shots to earn his third AHL win of the season. The Heat were outshot 31-25 by the Aeros in the victory.

Abbotsford scored two goals on six power play opportunities. The Heat penalty kill negated six of seven Houston man-advantages.

The Heat and Houston Aeros meet again tomorrow night at 7:00 PM PST. For tickets and more information please call 1-877-452-HEAT(4328) or visit us online at www.AbbotsfordHeat.com.