ABBOTSFORD - The Hamilton Bulldogs got a measure of revenge against the Abbotsford Heat on Wednesday, downing their Canadian rivals 2-1 in American Hockey League action.
"We know they're a really hard-working team -- they're probably the hardest-working team we've played all year," said Hamilton goaltender Curis Sanford, whose team fell 4-1 to Abbotsford a night earlier.
"We knew that we had to come out better against them than we did last night, and for the most part, we did that."
Hamilton (10-3-4) got goals from J.T. Wyman in the first and David Desharnais in second.
Abbotsford (10-8-3) outshot the Bulldogs 34-31, but only managed to get one past Sanford, with Keith Seabrook cutting the Hamilton lead in half in the second.
Seabrook's point shot deflected off a Hamilton player, beating Sanford for his fourth of the season.
"You never want to go down early and it's tough playing from behind," said Seabrook. "We had a few good chances (late), but we just couldn't sneak it in. If (Sanford) sees the puck, he's going to make the stop."
Abbotsford had a few chances late in the third, including a partial breakaway for Jason Jaffray in the dying seconds, but he couldn't solve his former Vancouver Canucks' teammate.
"It was just one more save to make," said Sanford of Jaffray's chance. "I knew they were running out of time, and I just wanted to get out there and make myself as big as possible because I didn't think he had enough time to make a move.
"I knew he'd have to shoot it."
Sanford (6-2-2) turned aside 33 shots in the win, while Heat goaltender Matt Keetley (0-2-0) made 29 saves in the loss.
