The Canucks come up big with an 8-3 win against the Henderson Silver Knights
It’s the final night of the Abbotsford Canucks homestand, and they’re closing it out with a game against the Henderson Silver Knights. The Canucks looked to return to the win column following a 7-3 loss last night against the Silver Knights.
It’s the same lineup for the Canucks tonight, with just one minor change. Nikita Tolopilo will maintain possession of the Canucks net, and he will match up against Isaiah Saville. Nick Cicek and Jett Woo stand tall in front of him, followed by Matt Irwin and Filip Johansson. Akito Hirose will slot in for Guillaume Brisebois, and he will play alongside Cole McWard at the blue line.
Up front, Tristen Nielsen, Sheldon Dries, and Linus Karlsson remain a powerhouse, followed by Aidan McDonough, John Stevens, and Arshdeep Bains. Max Sasson continues to center Aatu Räty and Marc Gatcomb, and no change to the final 3 forwards, and Dmitri Zlodeev, Chase Wouters, and Ty Glover stick together.
It was an action-packed first period, as just 51 seconds into the game, Linus Karlsson tipped in a shot from Filip Johansson at the point, to notch his 15th goal of the season and put the Canucks up 1-0. Just 9 seconds later, Aatu Räty found the back of the net in a two-on-one with Max Sasson and put the Canucks up 2-0 in just 1 minute of the game. Räty’s goal established a franchise record for the fastest two goals to start a game in franchise history, the time now set at 1 minute. The Canucks continued to fire shots on goal until Dysin Mayo on the Silver Knights was sent to the box for holding. The Canucks found themselves on a powerplay, just around 5 minutes into the period, where Aatu Räty secured his second goal of the game off a pass from Filip Johansson, and the Canucks held a 3-goal lead just 5 minutes into the game. The Silver Knights were successfully able to get one back after Grigori Denisenko intercepted a Canucks turnover, and passed in front to Brendan Brisson who put one past Tolopilo. Nothing to worry about for Canucks fans as, Triste Nielsen joined the scoring party off a beautiful feed in front from Linus Karlsson, for his 11th of the season and the Canucks were up 4-1. Just under 2 minutes later, Sheldon Dries contributed to the game after he buried his 24th goal of the season, thanks to some help from Aatu Räty and Filip Johansson. The Canucks were up 5-1, with 6 minutes to play in the first period, until Grigori Denisenko found the back of the net for the Silver Knights once again, but the Canucks maintained their lead, 5-2, heading into the second period. However, another record was broken in this period, as Aatu Räty broke the franchise record for most points in a period, with 2 goals in 2 assists.
The second period slowed down quite a bit, but Abbotsford’s pressure remained relentless. Nothing to show for it, until 14 minutes into the game, when Arshdeep Bains fired one past Patera for his 13th of the season, to put the Canucks up 6-2 on the powerplay. Just a few minutes after that, Marc Gatcomb found himself on the scoresheet after a perfect pass from Max Sasson found its way to the back of the net. The Silver Knights were scoreless in the second period, so the Canucks headed into the final frame with a 5-goal lead.
Henderson was quick to get things going in the third period, as Brendan Brisson got his second of the night, unassisted, to give the Silver Knights their third goal of the game. Just 4 minutes later, after a game of tic-tac-toe between Akito Hirose, John Stevens, and Marc Gatcomb, Gatcomb was able to notch his second goal, and 5th Abbotsford Canucks powerplay goal of the game to put the Canucks up 8-3. Marc Gatomb’s goal broke another franchise record: Most power play goals in a single game, now standing at 5.
The Canucks take this game, 8-3 against the Henderson Silver Knights, and find themselves back in the win column before heading back on the road to take on the Manitoba Moose.