CANUCKS GET THEIR 4TH STRAIGHT WIN AFTER A 5-2 VICTORY OVER THE ONTARIO REIGN
The Abbotsford Canucks hosted their 4th annual Hockey Talks night and looked to seize the series against the Ontario Reign. The teams swapped netminders tonight, as Artūrs Šilovs got the start tonight against Erik Portillo for the Reign.
The Canucks went for their third straight night of identical offensive lines. Sammy Blais, John Stevens, and Linus Karlsson stuck together, along with Arshdeep Bains, Aatu Räty, and Nate Smith. Nils Åman continued to center 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 dominated as a duo, and Erik Brännström stuck next to Jett Woo. The only change came to Cole McWard, who slotted back in next to Christian Wolanin to solidify the lineup.
Abbotsford looked to carry over their momentum from last night, as the puck dropped on tonight’s game. A couple of early penalties to each team would set the tone for what would be a physical game. The goaltenders looked sharp all period, but there would only be one person who could crack them in the first 20 minutes. Luckily for the home team, Nate Smith would be the one to crack Portillo, when he cleaned up his own rebound, giving Abbotsford a 1-0 lead into the second period.
The majority of the second period would be a goalie standoff once again. Artūrs Šilovs came up big for the Canucks, stopping all 15 shots in the period that Ontario dominated. However, with less than five minutes to go, Abbotsford got themselves set up in the Reign’s zone, and Nils Åman got his stick on a shot from Christian Wolanin that ensured the puck would end up in the net. Abbotsford now had a 2 goal lead, and Ontario found 2 of their men in the box simultaneously. With the 2-man advantage, Linus Karlsson cashed in on a perfectly set up tic-tac-toe play with Erik Brännström and Christian Wolanin for their 3rd of the game. Abbotsford held a 3-0 lead going into the final frame.
They was 20 minutes away from closing out the game and securing their 4th straight victory. Abbotsford caught themselves down a man just over the halfway point, and Ontario took advantage when Samuel Fagemo scored their first of the game to bring them closer to a comeback. It didn’t take long for the Canucks to respond though, when Cole McWard ripped a shot from the blueline, restoring their 3-goal lead. Continuing their back and forth in the third period, the Canucks were down a man once again, and just two minutes later, Jeff Malott took his own shot from the point to grab their second of the game. In their last-ditch effort, to get the game back, Ontario pulled Portillo, but just like last night, the Canucks sealed the deal, when Sammy Blais took the shot into the empty net to give them a 5-2 lead.
The Abbotsford Canucks kept it going and secured their fourth straight win with a 5-2 victory over the Ontario Reign tonight. Artūrs Šilovs played a massive role in tonight's win, after stopping 42 of 44 shots on net. They will take 2 days to reset before taking on the San Jose Barracuda to close out their homestand with Flaunt Your Flannel Night and Next Gen Sunday.
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