Griffins put out the Heat

Captain Jeff Hoggan scored twice during a three-goal second period as the Grand Rapids Griffins moved past the Abbotsford Heat with a 5-3 victory in Game 4 on Friday night.

The Griffins won the best-of-five series, three games to one, their fifth consecutive series victory after winning the Calder Cup in 2013.

After Abbotsford rallied in the third period to stave off elimination in Game 3, the Heat took the lead on Friday when Shane O’Brien scored at 14:21 of the first period.

Teemu Pulkkinen tied the game with a power-play at 7:26 of the second, and after Hoggan and Kane Lafranchise traded goals to make it 2-2, Hoggan’s second goal of the night at 19:26 gave the Griffins a 3-2 lead heading into the second intermission.

Riley Sheahan scored at 4:51 of the third to put Grand Rapids up by two, but Markus Granlund answered 55 seconds later to cut the Heat deficit to 5-3.

Abbotsford continued to press for the equalizer, but Petr Mrazek made 11 of his 24 saves in the third period and Landon Ferraro iced the victory with an empty-net goal in the waning seconds.

Joni Ortio finished with 31 saves for the Heat in what would be the last game in franchise history. The Calgary Flames announced last month that they would be relocating their AHL affiliate from Abbotsford for the 2014-15 season.

Western Conference Quarterfinals – Series “H” (best-of-5)
4-Grand Rapids Griffins vs. 5-Abbotsford Heat
Game 1 – Fri., Apr. 25 – Grand Rapids 2, ABBOTSFORD 1 (2OT)
Game 2 – Sat., Apr. 26 – Grand Rapids 7, ABBOTSFORD 2
Game 3 – Wed., Apr. 30 – Abbotsford 2, GRAND RAPIDS 1
Game 4 – Fri., May 2 – GRAND RAPIDS 5, Abbotsford 3