Abbotsford Heat

The Abbotsford Heat were a professional ice hockey team that played five seasons in the American Hockey League (AHL) between 2009 and 2014. The team was based in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, and played its home games at the 7,046-seat Abbotsford Entertainment & Sports Centre. The franchise was the National Hockey League (NHL) affiliate of the Calgary Flames and arrived in Abbotsford in 2009 as a relocated franchise formerly known as the Quad City Flames. The team played five seasons in British Columbia before the Flames' lease agreement with the City of Abbotsford was terminated following the 2013–14 season. On May 5, 2014, the AHL's Board of Governors approved the relocation of the franchise to Glens Falls, New York where the Adirondack Flames replaced the Adirondack Phantoms who had moved to Allentown, Pennsylvania. History The Flames moved their affiliate to the Fraser Valley after playing two seasons in Moline, Illinois as the Quad City Flames. The team's transfer was approved on April 28, 2009, and as a result, Abbotsford became the westernmost city in the AHL. The team closest to the Heat in distance, the Oklahoma City Barons, was away, and the Heat was the only AHL team west of the Central Time Zone. To reduce travel costs, road teams sometimes played two consecutive games in Abbotsford, and in some cases, the Heat played consecutive road games at the same arena. The same scheduling was used for the St. John's IceCaps. The organization held a "name the team" contest, and on May 14, 2009, Heat was announced as the team's new name.