PODKOLZIN AND BAINS SCORE TWICE IN CANUCKS 6-5 COMEBACK VICTORY
The Abbotsford Canucks wrapped up their five game road trip on Sunday afternoon, facing off with the Coachella Valley Firebirds for the second time in less than 24 hours.
Chase Wouters lined up along side Aatu Räty and Vasily Podkolzin, while Aidan McDonough returned to the lineup next to Max Sasson and Ty Glover. Jermaine Loewen also returned to the lineup, playing next to John Stevens and Tristen Nielsen, while Arshdeep Bains, Dmitri Zlodeev and Alex Kannok Leipert rounded out the forwards.
The defensive pairings remained unchanged, while Artūrs Šilovs replaced Nikita Tolopilo in net. Cale Morris took over the Firebirds’ crease from Ales Stezka.
Coachella Valley would strike first, as Max McCormick grabbed his team leading 13th of the season. The tally came on the penalty kill as he and Martin Studenic broke forward, with Studenic playing McCormick across the face of goal.
Max Sasson would soon equalize for the Canucks, coming on the very same powerplay. Aatu Räty threw a shot towards goal that was turned aside by Morris. The rebound fell straight to Sasson, who slid home his 10th of the season. Sasson’s equalizer came less than a minute after McCormick’s opener, and set up a 1-1 scoreline just over five minutes into the contest.
It seemed as though it would stay that way heading into the first intermission, when Vasily Podkolzin muscled the puck away from a defender in the Firebirds’ end and was streaking towards goal. He tucked away his ninth goal of the season, coming with 18 seconds remaining in the frame, giving the Canucks a 2-1 lead at the break. The visitors also outshot Coachella Valley 11-9 through 20 minutes.
Arshdeep Bains opened the second period by increasing Abbotsford’s lead to two goals. Tristen Nielsen and Matt Irwin worked together to find Bains waiting at the back door to guide home his seventh of the season. Logan Morrison would quickly cut the Firebirds’ deficit back to one just 41 seconds later.
Bains would soon grab his second of the period, this time coming on the penalty kill. He broke forward for a two-on-one with Cole McWard, kept the puck and ripped a shot off the inside of the post. His two goals came within three minutes of each other, and set the Canucks up with a 4-2 lead halfway through the period.
Coachella Valley scored twice before the end of the frame with goals by Connor Carrick and Shane Wright, tying the game up at 4-4 at the second intermission. Each side registered 15 shots in the middle period, with Abbotsford outshooting the Firebirds’ 26-24 through 40 minutes.
Shane Wright would pick up his second of the contest shortly after the restart, putting the Firebirds in front with a 5-4 lead, scoring three unanswered goals.
Trailing and with the netminder pulled, the Canucks found a late equalizer from Vasily Podkolzin with under two minutes remaining. After the Firebirds won a defensive zone faceoff, a slight hesitation left the puck sitting in front of Morris, where Podkolzin jumped on it and fired it past the goaltender.
Podkolzin’s second of the night and tenth of the season wouldn’t be the last time he found the score sheet however.
As Overtime came and went, this one required a shootout to find the winner. Vasily Podkolzin scored the lone shootout goal, with Artūrs Šilovs stopping all three efforts to secure the comeback victory for Abbotsford.
Podkolzin and Bains each registered two goals each, while Max Sasson (1G,1A) and Matt Irwin (2A) also had multi-point nights. Šilovs stopped 30 of the 35 shots he faced, as well as three in the shootout, while Morris stopped 36 of Abbotsford’s 41 shots, and forced a Nielsen shot wide of the target in the shootout.
Abbotsford will now fly home for a six game home stand, their first games at Abbotsford Centre of 2024. That home stand consists of a pair of games each against Tucson, Ontario and San Diego. It will also feature Hockey on The Farm on January 13th, Hockey Talks on January 17th, Country Night on January 20th, and Next Gen Sunday on January 21st.
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