Ritchie two goals, Nilstorp 26 saves as Stars hand Heat fourth straight loss

CEDAR PARK, Texas - Brett Ritchie scored twice and Christopher Nilstorp made 26 saves as the Texas Stars blanked the visiting Abbotsford Heat 5-0 on Friday in American Hockey League action.

Justin Dowling, Travis Morin and Francis Wathier also scored for the Stars (22-10-5), who bypassed Abbotsford for top spot in the West Division, and Mike Hedden tacked on two assists.

Defenceman John Ramage was a team-worst minus-4 for the Heat (23-13-2), who dropped their fourth game in a row.

Joey MacDonald turned away 38-of-43 shots for Abbotsford.

Texas went 2 for 7 on the power play while the Heat failed to score on three chances with the man advantage.