Canucks Fall 4-2 To The San Jose Barracuda
The Abbotsford Canucks wrapped up their road trip on Sunday with a final meeting against the San Jose Barracuda.
Ty Young got the start in goal for Abbotsford, facing Jakub Skarek at the other end. Sticking with an 11-and-7 formation, Christian Felton slotted in as the 11th forward in place of Cooper Walker, while Guillaume Brisebois replaced Sawyer Mynio on the top defensive pairing to round out the lineup changes.
The Canucks came out with jump, looking for a bounce-back effort after Saturday’s loss and aiming to split the back-to-back. Abbotsford took the game’s first penalty, but handled the kill well. Shortly after, though, former Canuck Jett Woo made them pay, wiring a seeing-eye shot from the blue line through traffic to give the Barracuda a 1-0 lead heading into the second.
Abbotsford kept pressing to get back into the game, and their persistence paid off about six minutes into the middle frame. Kirill Kudryavtsev found the scoresheet again against San Jose, sending a point shot through traffic and past Skarek to even things at 1-1.
Both teams continued to generate chances, with the goaltenders coming up with key stops, but another Canucks penalty proved costly. Oliver Wahlstrom capitalized midway through the power play, restoring San Jose’s one-goal lead.
The Barracuda carried that momentum into the third and continued to pour shots on Young. Just before the midway mark of the period, Quintin Musty created several chances in quick succession and finally converted on his third attempt, slipping the puck through Young’s five-hole to make it 3-1.
The Canucks refused to go quietly. A few minutes later, Jack Thompson blasted home a goal against his former team to pull Abbotsford back within one with 10 minutes to play. Abbotsford pulled Young for the extra attacker with just over two minutes remaining, but San Jose forced a turnover and sealed the 4-2 win with an empty-net goal.
The Canucks now return home for their final four home games of the regular season.