Abbotsford Canucks vs Laval Rocket Game Preview
LAVAL, QC - After a six-game homestand with back-to-back games against San Diego, Coachella Valley, and Henderson, the Abbotsford Canucks are back on the road.
Abbotsford will be starting off their Canadian road trip in Quebec, taking on the Laval Rocket at 3 PM PST. This will be the first time the two teams have met in 227 days.
The Abbotsford Canucks are coming off a 3-2 loss to the Henderson Silver Knights, leaving them 8th in their division at 5-4-0-1. Abbotsford had a season high in shots on goal with 45 shots against Henderson on Saturday.
Jeremy Colliton told the media “Arguably that was the best game of the year… how we played tonight, if we can repeat it over and over again, we’ll get rewarded with goals and points” after Saturday night’s game.
Laval is coming off back-to-back losses against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and Hershey Bears. These losses leave Laval 6th in their division at 3-8-3-0. Abbotsford and Laval haven’t seen each other since April 3rd , when the Canucks wrapped up the four game season series, taking three out of four games.
Linus Karlsson continues to lead the Abbotsford Canucks in total points with 10 across 10 games. The rookie is spending his 23rd birthday on the ice on Wednesday, looking for his first point in three games. Karlsson hasn’t put up a point since his November 4th goal against Coachella Valley.
With Will Lockwood in Vancouver, Justin Dowling takes second for total points on Abbotsford with 7 (3G, 4A), just two goals behind his 5 total goals last season. Laval Rocket lead scorer Anthony Richard has put up 13 points across 14 games (9G, 4A).
Richard scored the OT winner against Utica Comets on November 11th and put up the only Laval goal in their 4-1 loss to Hershey. Rookie Xavier Simoneau sits in second for total points for Laval and leads the team in assists.
FAST FACTS
Wednesday’s game kicks off a 6 game, 14-day road trip across Canada for the Abbotsford Canucks to Laval, Toronto, and Calgary.
Abbotsford will be taking on a familiar face Wednesday in Laval; Madison Bowey. The defenceman played 53 games and put up 28 points with Abbotsford during their inaugural season.
Madison Bowey opened the scoring in his first game with Laval, putting up an unassisted goal for Laval’s first of the season. That tally is Bowey’s only goal with Laval to date.
Defencemen Noah Juulsen and Guillaume Brisebois have both played for Laval Rocket. Juulsen played with Laval for 3 seasons from 2017-2020. Brisebois played for just one season in 2020-2021.
The Vancouver Canucks recalled forward Will Lockwood Tuesday. Lockwood has posted a team leading 5 goals in Abbotsford this season.
Despite leading Laval in goals this season, Anthony Richard only scored his first of nine goals five games into the season.
Linus Karlsson stands 10th in the league for rookie points. Laval’s Xavier Simoneau trails him by two spots, sitting in 12th. They both have 3G, 7A.
So far, Laval has played 4 more games this season than Abbotsford.
After Wednesday, the Canucks are heading to Toronto before returning to Laval for one more game next Wednesday (November 23).