ABBOTSFORD CANUCKS VS ONTARIO REIGN SERIES PREVIEW
Ontario, CA – The Abbotsford Canucks are finishing up their last California tour of the regular season with a two-game series against the Ontario Reign on Friday and Sunday. After their 3-1 loss to the Bakersfield Condors, Abbotsford sits tied for third with the Colorado Eagles in the Pacific Division with a 35-22-2-4 record. Ontario is nine points behind sitting fifth in the Pacific Division with a record of 31-26-4-1.
Abbotsford’s most recent matchup saw Arshdeep Bains scoring the lone goal against the Bakersfield Condors, with his fellow rookie Linus Karlsson with the assist. Karlsson leads the team in scoring (45 pts) and goals (20). He also currently holds the franchise record for most points scored by an Abbotsford rookie, previously held by Jack Rathbone. Arshdeep Bains sits fourth in scoring for the Abbotsford Canucks with 10 goals and 24 assists, good for third in the helper category.
In between the two rookies are Justin Dowling and Tristen Nielsen. Dowling, who just saw his 500th career AHL game has 42 points, leading the team in assists (31) and Nielsen has registered 38 points (14G, 24A).
Ontario’s most recent matchups were a split series with the Tucson Roadrunners, losing the first game 4-1, and completing a comeback the next night with a 4-0 shutout. Swedish blueliner Tobias Bjornfot score Ontario’s lone goal of the first matchup against Tucson, with leading AHL scorer T.J. Tynan getting the primary assist.
Tynan not only leads the league in scoring, but he also leads in assists with 64 of his 72 total points being helpers.
The next night Ontario shut Tucson out 4-0 with 10 different members of the roster registering at least one point. Tyler Madden and Aidan Dudas both tallied a goal that night, keeping near the top of Ontario’s leaderboard alongside Lias Andersson and rookie Martin Chromiak.
The last time Abbotsford and Ontario met Abbotsford swept the two-game series at home.
Abbotsford goalie Spencer Martin registered his first shutout of the season with their 4-0 victory, denying all 22 shots by Ontario. Rookie Marc Gatcomb nabbed his second goal of his AHL career, with seven other Canucks registering a point.
The next night Abbotsford beat Ontario 5-2, with Matt Alfaro having a career-high multi-point night, scoring two goals and one assist. Linus Karlsson saw his 20th goal of the season and Marc Gatcomb, Aatu Raty, and Arshdeep Bains each tallied two points apiece. Ontario’s Lias Andersson scored both Reign goals, with T.J. Tynan collecting a helper on both goals. Ontario outshot Abbotsford 44 to 24, with Arturs Silovs making 42 saves.
Special Teams:
Power Play %
ABB: 19.3%, ONT: 26.3%
Power Play Goals For
ABB: 26, ONT: 32
Penalty Kill %
ABB: 81.4%, ONT: 86.2%
Fast Facts:
The Abbotsford Canucks are just 1 point away from clinching a playoff berth. They can clinch this weekend with either:
A regulation win or OT/SO loss to the Ontario Reign on Friday or Sunday, OR
A San Jose Barracuda loss in any fashion to the Bakersfield Condors on Saturday or Sunday
Abbotsford’s Arshdeep Bains is currently on a nine-game point streak, averaging a point per game (2G, 7A).
Abbotsford blueline Brady Keeper is set to skate his 100th career AHL game on Sunday, with almost a third of those games being played with Abbotsford.
Abbotsford’s Matt Alfaro was named Abbotsford’s first star of the night last Saturday with his two goal one assist performance, and the AHL’s third star of the night for the same game.
Ontario recently signed NCAA free agent Cole Krygier to an Amateur Tryout Agreement. He could see his first career AHL game this weekend.
Ontario’s Samuel Fagemo leads the league in shootout winners, winning three out of Ontario’s four shootout wins.
Ontario and Abbotsford will meet again two more times after this weekend’s games, with back-to-back matchups at the Abbotsford Centre.