The Abbotsford Canucks Fell 3-2 In A Tough Battle Against The Tucson Roadrunners

The Abbotsford Canucks continued south on this road trip, taking on the Tucson Roadrunners.

Nikita Tolopilo rejoined the team in Arizona, following a practice stint with the Vancouver Canucks, and he took on Matthew Villalta for his 3rd straight start for the Roadrunners.

The Canucks continue to adjust their lines after some more movement within the team. Linus Karlsson and Aatu Räty slotted back in next to Sammy Blais, after missing the last couple of games. Max Sasson moved in between Tristen Nielsen and Nate Smith, and Ben Berard and Danila Klimovich bookended their captain Chase Wouters. Carsen Twarynski and Dino Kambeitz were positioned on either end of Cooper Walker, and the Canucks offensive group was complete.

Abbotsford made some more shifts on the backend, with Joe Arntsen and Cole McWard kicking things off, with Christian Wolanin and Jett Woo following suit. Akito Hirose dressed tonight next to Kirill Kudryavtsev and the Canucks lineup was complete.

The puck dropped at the start of the game and both teams looked to come out strong and set the tone. Abbotsford took charge early, registering a ton of shots on net, but nothing got through Villalta. Tucson applied equal pressure, registering some great chances, with their closest one sitting right at the goal line, but never crossing over. The period wouldn’t end scoreless because Egor Sokolov backhanded the puck over Tolopilo’s left shoulder and gave the Roadrunners a 1-0 lead. Abbotsford couldn't cash in on the rest of their chances and they were down 1 after the first period.

The second period was much rougher as tensions continued to rise. There was a total of 9 penalties dealt between the teams throughout the middle 20 minutes. The Canucks were hopeful to get on the board, but the Roadrunners had other plans. Around the 8-minute mark, Cameron Hebig received a pass from Kailer Yamamoto and buried it to extend their lead to 2. The Canucks had a few powerplay opportunities, but the Roadrunners were lights out on the penalty kill not allowing anything to make it past their netminder. As the period was coming to a close, Hunter Drew added his name to the scoresheet after receiving a stretch pass down the left wall and took a shot from the right circle that went to the back of the Canucks net at 18:50. Abbotsford was down 3-0 heading into the final frame.

It was do or die for the Canucks now, with 3 must-get goals to at least force overtime. The Roadrunners, now playing defensive hockey, held off the Canucks from registering as many shots as they could have. Some reprieve finally came for Abbotsford when a shot from Sammy Blais finally found its way past Villalta, preventing a shutout and getting the Canucks on the board. Time was running out and with around 6 minutes remaining, Tristen Nielsen found himself on a breakaway but was hooked by Max Szuber, giving them a powerplay at a crucial time. They were unable to cash in on the advantage but were relentless in applying pressure. With 30 seconds left on the board, Aatu Räty brought the Canucks within 1, when a shot made its way to the back of the net. The Canucks came close to the comeback when a shot from Danila Klimovich just went wide, but the time expired and they fell 3-2 in a scrappy, hard-fought game.

The teams will rematch tomorrow before Abbotsford heads home for a week of practice before heading north to visit the Calgary Wranglers.  

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