ABBOTSFORD CANUCKS AT HENDERSON SILVER KNIGHTS PREVIEW
TV: ahltv.com
MATCH-UP INFO
- The Abbotsford Canucks (9-8-2-1) enter Wednesday’s game 4th in the Pacific Division with 21 points. Henderson (11-7-1-1) is currently in 3rd place in the Pacific with 24 points.
- Saturday marks the third of four meetings between the Canucks and Silver Knights this season: Oct. 22 (3-2 W), Oct. 24 (3-0 W), Dec. 18 (road), Dec. 19 (road).
- The Abbotsford Canucks have a 2-0-0-0 all-time record in two games against Henderson.
- Among active Canucks skaters, Nic Petan and Justin Bailey are tied for the team lead in points against the Silver Knights this season with three. Bailey has one goal and two assists, while Petan has two goals and one assist.
- Michael DiPietro has faced the Silver Knights once this season (1-0-0-0) and has a .917 SV% and a 1.94 GAA.
- Arturs Silovs has faced Henderson once this season, owning a (1-0-0-0) record with a 1.000 SV% and a 0.00 GAA.
QUICK NUMBERS
- Sheldon Dries currently leads the AHL in goals with 13 this season. He also leads the team with 21 points (13-8-21) through 19 games.
- Sheldon Rempal has registered 20 points (8-12-20) through 20 games and leads the Canucks with 13 assists.
- Nic Petan has recorded 14 points (5-9-14) in 12 games this season with the Canucks.
- Justin Bailey has put up nine points (5-4-9) in 14 games with Abbotsford this season.
- Cameron Schilling leads the Canuck defenders with 11 assists this season and 12 points (1-11-12) through 17 games.
- Michael DiPietro has registered a 3.24 goals against average with a .897 save percentage and three wins through his first ten appearances of the season.
LAST MEETING – DEC. 12/21: ABB 3 vs HSK 0
The Abbotsford Canucks shut out the Henderson Silver Knights, 3-0 at Abbotsford Centre to complete the weekend sweep…Nic Petan opened the scoring for the Canucks in the first period on the powerplay…Sheldon Rempal and Justin Bailey had the assists on the play…Sheldon Dries made it a 2-0 game in the second period on the powerplay…Petan added to his goal total with a marker in the final frame to make it 3-0 home side…Silovs turned aside all 36 shots he faced to record the first shutout in franchise history…The clean sheet was also the first of Arturs professional career.
LAST GAME – DEC. 15/21: ABB 4 at SD 0
The Abby Canucks dominated the Gulls on Dec. 15 in San Diego en route to winning 3-0…Sheldon Rempal got the Canucks on the board early, scoring less than five minutes into the game…Nic Petan assisted on the play…Sheldon Dries doubled the Abby lead in the first period…Danila Klimovich and Guillaume Brisebois had the helpers…Klimovich socred in the second period to make it a 3-0 lead…John Stevens had the assist on the play…Rempal socred his second goal of the game to secure victory in the final frame…Will Lockwood and Cameron Schilling had the helpers…Spencer Martin made his 5th start of the season…Martin saved all 20 of San Diego’s shots for the shutout…Martin’s shutout was his first of the season and 10th career AHL clean sheet.
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
• Guillaume Brisebois recalled to Vancouver, Dec. 16
• Phil Di Giuseppe recalled to Vancouver, Dec. 14
• Noah Juulsen recalled to Vancouver, Dec. 9
• Carson Focht reassigned to Abbotsford, Dec. 7
CANUCKS KEEP SCORING
The Abbotsford Canucks have had no trouble filling the back of the net with pucks as of late. Abby registered at least four goals in five of their last seven games. They have also scored at least one goal with the man advantage in each of their last eight games and have converted seven of their last 14 powerplay opportunities into goals.
GOALS | SHELDON DRIES
Sheldon Dries has lit the lamp 13 times this season and is currently the leading goal scorer in the American Hockey League this season. Dries has been the most productive player in the Abby lineup throughout the entire season. The Western Michigan alum enters play 9th in the league with 21 points (13-8-21) through 19 games.
Sheldon has been phenomenal with the man advantage as well, leading the team with four powerplay goals. His 1.11 points per game is second on the Canucks.
PETAN IS THE MAN
Nic Petan has been a true difference maker for the Abbotsford Canucks. The Delta, BC product has put up 14 points through his first 12 games with the Canucks this season. His 1.17 points per game leads the Canucks. Petey’s five goals are tied for third on the team and his nine assists are the fourth highest tally on the team.
Petan enters play on Saturday riding a seven-game point streak and just one assist shy of 100 career helpers in the AHL. The Canucks are 8-4 in games with Petan in the lineup this season.
A REMPAL IN TIME
Sheldon Rempal has been a consistently productive player for the Abbotsford Canucks this season. The former BCHL star has recorded 20 points (8-12-20) through 19 games with the Abby Canucks. Rempal’s 12 assists lead the team.
BAILEY BACK ON TRACK
Justin Bailey was the Abby Canucks’ best player through the first week of the 2021.22 season. The lanky winger registered six points (3-3-6) through five games before earning the call to Vancouver. However, since returning to Abbotsford in late November, points have been hard to come by. Entering last weekend’s games against San Jose, Bailey had just one assist in his previous six contests. That changed in a big way, as Bailey tickled the twine twice against the Barracuda and enters Saturday scoring a goal in two of his last three games.
MAN IN THE CREASE: SPENCER MARTIN
Spencer Martin has been the Abby Canucks’ top goaltender during the month of December. The veteran netminder has won all four of his starts this month, including registering his first shutout of the season on Wednesday in San Diego. Martin has turned aside 98 of the 105 shots he’s faced, good for a .933 save percentage. The Oakville, ON product has won four of his five starts in 2021.22.
RECENT CANUCKS MILESTONES
Nic Petan recorded his 50th career goal, Dec. 5 vs San Jose
Tristen Nielsen recorded first career goal, Dec. 1 vs Ontario
Sheldon Dries recorded his 100th career point, Nov. 27 at Tucson
Chase Wouters recorded first career goal, Nov. 14 vs San Jose
Sheldon Dries recorded his 50th career goal, Oct. 24 vs Henderson
Arturs Silovs recorded his first career shutout, Oct. 24 vs Henderson
THREE STARS – 2021.22
Dries - 20 points
Rempal – 15 Points
Martin – 15 points
DiPietro – 10 points
Petan - 10 points
Di Giuseppe – 10 points
Wouters – 10 points
Silovs - 10 points
Bailey - 10 points
Klimovich - 10 points
Bowey - 5 points
Juulsen – 5 Points
Woo – 5 points
Lukosevicius – 5 points
Lockwood – 5 points
*5 points are awarded for each Three Stars selection