Dominating third earns Flames first win

Published on October 11, 2008 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Abbotsford Heat News Release


A strong closing pushed earned the Flames their first win of 2008-09 on Opening Night at the i wireless Center. The 3-1 win over Rockford featured Hugo Carpentier's first career goal and third period markers from Adam Cracknell and Warren Peters. Matt Keetley earned his first victory of the year as he turned aside 23 of 24 Rockford shots.

For the second consecutive night, the Flames controlled play in the opening period but were unable to beat Rockford's netminder. Antii Niemi stopped all nine Flames shots he saw including a great chance off the stick of Dan Ryder. Flames netminder Matt Keetley responded by stopping all five shots he faced.

The second period featured plenty of specialty teams play as the squads combined for six man advantages in the middle period. Both teams were able to cash in on one of their man advantage opportunities. Hugo Carpentier found a loose puck in the crease and swatted it into the Rockford net at 2:33 of the middle frame during a Flames man advantage. Kyle Greentree earned his first point as a Flame after a nifty move resulted in the rebound that Carpentier buried. Adam Cracknell drew the secondary assist to extend his scoring streak to two games. The Hogs responded less than two minutes later when Michael Blunden scored on the power-play following a feed from Tim Brent. The power-play markers were the only goals of the middle frame as the teams began the third period knotted at one.

The Flames unleashed a third period onslaught to secure the win. Quad City enjoyed five early period power-plays en route to generating a franchise-record tying 19 shots on goal in the closing frame. After being denied by the herois of Niemi during the power-play opportunites, Adam Cracknell broke through with an even strength goal at 12:25 of the closing frame. The tally was Cracknell's first of the season and pushed him past Kris Chucko for the early season team lead in scoring. Warren Peters added an empty netter to secure the victory with 37 seconds left.

The Flames close out Opening Weekend 2008 tomorrow evening at the i wireless Center. Game time is 5:05 p.m. as the Flames host the Peoria Rivermen. The first 5,000 fans will receive Quad City Flames magnetic schedules. Tickets are available at the i wireless Center Box Office, via phone at (563) 326-1111 or on-line at ticketmaster.com. Sunday's face-off will be preceded by a free Fan Fest in the parking lot outside the arena. Live music and activities for kids will be featured. The fun starts at 2:00 p.m.

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American Hockey League Stories from October 11, 2008


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