The Canucks beat the Bakersfield Condors 3-1 for their 4th straight victory

The Abbotsford Canucks were hot off a 3-game win streak and returned to Bakersfield for another one-off game against the Condors.

Nikita Tolopilo got the nod in net tonight after registering his first career AHL shutout on Saturday against the Henderson Silver Knights. He went head-to-head with Colin Delia at the Condors' end.

Sticking to what’s been working, the Canucks went with an identical offensive lineup tonight. Jonathan Lekkerimäki stuck to winging Nils Åman with Tristen Nielsen, and Ty Mueller continued to center Carsen Twarynski and Danila Klimovich. Nate Smith, Chase Wouters, and Dino Kambeitz stuck together, and Ty Glover and Cooper Walker continued the streak of bookending John Stevens.

A slight change to the defense, with Elias Pettersson and Mark Friedman kicking things off. Kirill Kudryavtsev and Jett Woo stuck together, but Akito Hirose slotted back in tonight alongside Cole McWard to round out the lineup.

Neither team was able to crack the scoresheet this frame despite some close calls. The Condors had some grade-A chances, outshooting the Canucks but Nikita Tolopilo stood on his head, stopping them all. Despite a chance on the powerplay, the Canucks couldn’t light the lamp, and the game was scoreless heading into the second period.

The Condors came out strong in the second, holding the Canucks to just 1 shot on net in the first half. Tolopilo continued to do a great job at holding the game even, and despite not generating any shots, the Canucks were throwing bodies on the line and playing great defense. It wasn’t until a hooking call was dealt to the Condors, that Danila Klimovich was able to rip one from the right circle to break the deadlock. With the powerplay working in their favour, Klimovich’s goal gave the Canucks the first lead of the game. Just a minute after that, the Condors were down a man once again after an interference call, and the Canucks powerplay went back to work.  Ty Mueller was gifted the wide-open net, with no one in his way, and a shot to the back of the net, meant the Canucks would be up 2-0 heading into the final frame.

Looking to keep their lead, their momentum was spoiled early into the third when Noel Hoefenmayer got a shot from the blue line that just sneaked past Tolopilo. This goal came right after an unreal save but unfortunately brought the Condors within one. Bakersfield kept up the pressure, coming really close to tying it, but as time was expiring, they decided to pull Delia from the net. A shot on the empty net from Klimovich hit the post, and the Condors were spared for a little bit, but with just a few seconds remaining before the buzzer, Nils Åman skated down the ice with the puck, to net the empty netter with 4 seconds left in the game, securing the Canucks win.

The Canucks took this one 3-1, sweeping this road series with Bakersfield, for their fourth straight win. Nikita Tolopilo also stopped 62 of his last 63 shots, standing on his head to help bring the Canucks to victory twice in a row. They will head to San Jose to take on the Barracuda for the first time this season, and their final test on the road before enjoying a holiday homestand in December.  

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