ABBOTSFORD DEFEATS THE ONTARIO REIGN 6-3 IN REDEMPTION GAME
The Abbotsford Canucks kicked off their second series of the homestand tonight, taking on the Ontario Reign for their Autism Acceptance night! The Canucks looked to change the outcome from the last time these two teams met and end up back in the win column.
Nikita Tolopilo is back between the pipes tonight with fresh legs after taking the last game off. He will face netminder Phoenix Copley.
After working on Saturday night, the Canucks went with identical offensive lines. Sammy Blais, John Stevens, and Linus Karlsson stuck together, as did Arshdeep Bains, Aatu Räty, and Nate Smith. Nils Åman continued to centre Tristen Nielsen and Danila Klimovich, and Ty Glover and Dino Kambeitz bookended Chase Wouters to round it out tonight.
On the backend, Elias Pettersson and Mark Friedman continued to dominate as a duo. Erik Brännström returned to the Abbotsford lineup following his long stint with the big club, and he slotted in next to Jett Woo. Christian Wolanin lined up with Kirill Kudryavtsev to close out the backend, as well as complete his 200th AHL game!
The game did not kick off in favour of the Canucks, when the Reign dominated the first few minutes of the period. After just four and a half minutes in, Jeff Mallott secured the first goal of the game after a pass from Tyler Madden came his way on the breakaway, and he was able to stick it home to give the Reign an early 1-0 lead. The Canucks would regroup after Dino Kambeitz and Samuel Helenius headed to the box for 5 minutes after a fight broke out. After exchanging a few penalties, the teams would play 2 minutes of 4v4. Linus Karlsson capitalized on the extra space on the ice when he picked up Erik Brännström’s initial shot, which got deflected, and secured the first goal of the backdoor on Copley. The teams would head into the second frame, tied up at 1.
The second period was a big one, ending in favour of the Canucks. Just a few minutes in, Elias Pettersson took a point shot from the blue line, that Aatu Räty got a piece of to give them their first lead of the game and bring them up 2-1. Just a few minutes later, Jett Woo started the play down in Abbotsford’s zone when he spotted Dino Kambeitz up ahead. He sent him the puck down the ice, and Kambeitz found himself on the breakaway, where he went top shelf on Copley to give Abbotsford their 3rd unanswered goal. Abbotsford was up 3-1 for a few minutes until Glenn Gawdin cashed in on the rebound from Charles Hudon, to bring them back within one. With time ticking down on the period, the Canucks looked for some insurance before the final period. With just over 20 seconds left in the period, Abbotsford did just that when Arshdeep Bains found Nate Smith, and with a cross-ice pass, Nate Smith secured the fourth of the game, and Abbotsford was up 4-2 into the final frame.
Looking to seal the deal, the Canucks got to work once again, looking to put their powerplay to work after a hooking call was dealt to the Reign. Abbotsford put the powerplay in motion, but it came down to the rebound from Nate Smith that would ultimately set up Sammy Blais to light the lamp and extend the Canucks lead to 5. Ontario wouldn’t let off the gas, because just a minute and a half later, Charles Hudon found himself on a breakaway where he also went top shelf on Tolopilo to bring the Reign within 2. A few more penalties were dealt to the Reign in the second half of the period, keeping them for pulling the goalie, but with time running out, Copley left the net. Canucks Captain Chase Wouters chased it down the ice to secure the empty net and restored the Canucks 3-goal lead.
Abbotsford defeated the Ontario Reign, 6-3 tonight in their redemption game, and extended their win streak to 3. The two teams will play each other once again tomorrow before taking on the San Jose Barracuda this weekend to close out their homestead.
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