Bower hat trick powers Flames to 6-3 win

Published on March 13, 2009 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Abbotsford Heat News Release


The Flames closed their season series with Houston by beating the Aeros 6-3 on Friday night at The Toyota Center. Justin Bowers recorded a hat trick in the win while Brandon Roach, John Armstrong and Brad Farynuk added solo tallies. Leland Irving stopped all 17 shots he faced to earn the win after coming on in relief at the beginning of the second period. With the victory, the Flames have reached the .500 mark with a record of 27-27-6-6.

A wild first period featured a combined five goals on 18 shots. The craziness started when Houston's Benoit Pouliot beat Matt Kettley to a dump-in behind the Quad City net. While Keetley was returning to his crease, Pouliot flipped the puck off the back of the Quad City netminder's skates and into the Flames net. The Flames responded with two goals in a span of 3:01. Brandon Roach scored his first goal as a Flame during a Quad City power play when David Van der Gulik found him at the top of the right wing circle. John Armstrong scored just over three minutes later when he streaked down right wing and into the Houston zone. The Flames center cut behind the Aeros cage before scoring on a wraparound to give the Flames a 2-1 edge. The Aeros bounced back with a pair of power-play goals in the second half of the opening frame. Jesse Schultz deflected a shot by Maxim Noreau into the Flames net for the first of the pair of power-play tallies. With a single second left in the opening frame, Morten Madsen added a second power-play goal for the Aeros. Madsen flipped home a shot after capturing a deflected shot by Brandon Rogers. The Aeros closed the period with a 3-2 lead.

The Flames moved back in front by scoring the only two goals of the second period. Brad Farynuk scored his first goal as a Flame at 14:17 of the second period. Following a feed from Carsen Germyn, Farynuk whistled home a one-timer to tie the game at three. The Flames moved in front again when a Justin Bowers shot snuck up Nolan Schaefer's shoulder and into the back of the Houston net. It was Bowers' third AHL goal of the season and put the Flames ahead 4-3 after two periods.

Justin Bowers insured the Flames win with a pair of third period goal for his first hat trick as a Flame. Bowers scored on a power-play chance after slipping past the Houston defense for a breakaway at 13:31 of the period. He added an empty netter with 36 seconds left to set the final at 6-3 in favor of Quad City.

The Flames return home on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. to face the Iowa Chops. Following the game, the team will host the 14th Annual Genesis Jersey Auction featuring a St. Patrick's Day theme. Proceeds from this year's auction will benefit the Take a Shot 4 the Team Campaign, which provides flu shots for kids in area schools. Tickets for Saturday's game, and all Flames home games, are available now at the i wireless Center Box Office, via phone at 1-800-745-3000 or on-line at ticketmaster.com.

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American Hockey League Stories from March 13, 2009


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