ABBOTSFORD DEFEATED THE CALGARY WRANGLERS 5-1 TO SPLIT THE SERIES

Following last night’s loss, the Abbotsford Canucks looked to flip the switch and split the series as they took on the Calgary Wranglers once again tonight.

Devin Cooley got back-to-back starts for the Wranglers, and Nikita Tolopilo swapped in for the Canucks.

Abbotsford decided to shake things up with the lineup tonight. Aatu Räty slotted back in the centre between Arshdeep Bains and Nils Åman, following his stint with Vancouver. Sammi Blais and Tristen Nielsen bookended Max Sasson, and John Stevens joined Ty Mueller and Danila Klimovich. Chase Wouters became a trio with Carsen Twarynski and Dino Kambeitz rounding out the offense.

On defense, Guillaume Brisebois joined Jett Woo to kick things off. Christian Wolanin paired up with Cole McWard, and Akito Hirose slotted back in next to Kirill Kudryavtsev to close out the lineup.

Hopeful that this game would go better than the last, the Canucks got to work quickly. They took possession of the puck immediately and continuously got pucks on net. Unfortunately, nothing was able to cross the line, despite all the rebounds and bounces. Tolopilo stayed sharp at the other end as well, until 2 minutes and 39 seconds left, when Martin Frk, opened the scoring once again, with a shot from the slot. This time, it didn’t take long to respond, when just 50 seconds later, Aatu Räty got down on one knee and rifled a shot from the slot to tie the game up at 1.

Looking to pull ahead, the Abbotsford Canucks continued to put up shots. The first half of the period saw no results from either team, but the second half saw Abbotsford’s offence explode. Around 13 minutes in, Arshdeep Bains pulled the Canucks ahead when he snuck into the slot and ripped a shot to the back of the Wranglers net. Just a minute later, Carsen Twarynski cashed in, when he tipped a wrist shot from Kirill Kudryavtsev into the next to extend the Canucks lead to 2. They didn’t ease up there, and just 3 minutes later they were rewarded again. Sammy Blais passed to Max Sasson who was ready between the circles, where he was able to put the puck between the legs of Cooley. The Canucks now had a 4-1 lead heading into the final period.

The Canucks had 20 minutes to seal the deal on the game. Calgary, now in a desperate spot to make up some goals, turned on the jets. Nikita Tolopilo stood tall in net stopping everything else that came his way. With about 4 minutes left in the game, the Wranglers pulled Cooley to gain their man advantage on the ice. The Canucks played some great defense, but a shot from Kirill Kudryavtsev deflected off the boards and into the Wranglers' empty net to give them their 5th unanswered goal. The buzzer sounded to call game, and the Canucks completely flipped the switch, defeating the Calgary Wranglers 5-1, splitting the series.

Ty Mueller will head to Coachella Valley to represent Abbotsford in the 2025 All-Star Classic this weekend, before taking some time off. The team will then head to Colorado to take on the Eagles for a quick trip.

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