THE CANUCKS CASHED IN IN OVERTIME, DEFEATING THE EAGLES 5-4

The Abbotsford Canucks were fresh off the heels of the All-Star break, and in Colorado, looking to use the break to their advantage before taking on the Eagles.

Adam Scheel was the man between the pipes for the opponents, as Artūrs Šilovs stood tall for the Abbotsford Canucks, in his 100th career AHL game.

Abbotsford continued to go with a similar lineup, making just a few changes. Phil Di Giuseppe rejoined the club in tonight’s game, and he slotted on the right wing of Aatu Räty and Arshdeep Bains. Max Sasson centered Sammy Blais and Tristen Nielsen, and John Stevens and Danila Klimovich bookended Ty Mueller. Cooper Walker slotted back in as well, on the left wing of Chase Wouters and Dino Kambeitz, and the Abby Canucks offense was complete.

On defense, Guillaume Brisebois and Jett Woo continued kicking things off together, followed by Christian Wolanin and Akito Hirose. Kirill Kudryavtsev paired up with Cole McWard, becoming the final piece of the Canucks puzzle tonight.

They kicked off quickly, with both teams coming out hot, setting the tone and pace of the game. The Eagles had the first great chance when a shot from Ty Felhaber hit the post and nearly put the Eagles up 2 minutes in. The Canucks were spared when the puck didn’t cross the line, and kicked into high gear, not wanting to give up the first goal of the game. Cole McWard solved them shortly after, when he took a shot from the blue line that became a quick in and out of the net, giving the Canucks an early 1-0 lead. Five minutes later, Jayson Megna passed ahead to Matthew Phillips, who turned on the jets to find himself 1 on 1 with Šilovs. Phillips tucked it top shelf to tie the game up at 1. A few minutes later, a holding call to the Eagles meant the Canucks would head to the powerplay. It didn’t take long to make it worth it, when just 28 seconds in, Bains circled the net, put the puck in front, and Max Sasson was there to tip it home. The Canucks held a 2-1 lead into the second period.

The second period got off to a slower start, with no one getting on board in the first half despite some great chances. After the 10-minute mark, both teams' offense exploded, starting with Wyatt Aamodt, when he ripped a long shot from the blue line to even the game up at 2.  Canucks didn’t fret, because 2 minutes later, Cole McWard spotted Arshdeep Bains waiting in front of the net, and with a long shot from the blue line, Bains deflected it in, restoring the Canucks lead. Three minutes later, Cooper Walker carried the puck over the blue line and took a quick wrist shot from the left circle that went right to the back of the Eagles net. The Canucks now had a 2-goal lead, with 4 minutes left in the period, but after the Eagles found themselves on a breakaway, John Stevens got caught with a hooking call. Colorado now desperate to get themselves within one before the end of the period, cashed in on the advantage. Jere Innala found himself on a breakaway and tucked it home with 11 seconds remaining, and the Canucks were up 4-3 at the end of the frame.

Once again, the Canucks were 20 minutes away from taking the game. The Eagles came out and applied pressure, desperate to get their game back, but Šilovs and Scheel came up huge to make some great saves at each end. With time ticking down a late powerplay came to the Eagles, and the Canucks went on the powerplay. They couldn’t get it done there and after the 2 minutes expired, the Eagles pulled their netminder to add an extra body on the ice. With 40 seconds remaining in the game, Matthew Phillips was the hero for Colorado, tying the game up at 4, and sending the game into overtime.

As expected, the teams put on the pressure, and the goaltenders made some great saves. They played 4 minutes and 20 seconds of overtime, until Arshdeep Bains became the overtime hero, cashing in on his own. After his initial shot was stopped, he persevered and poked in his own rebound, winning the game 5-4 for the Abbotsford Canucks.

The teams will rematch tomorrow evening before the Canucks return home to debut their green jerseys in front of their fans. They will face the San Diego Gulls on Tuesday and Wednesday, before hosting the Colorado Eagles once again on the weekend.

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