The Canucks fell 3-1 against the Bakersfield Condors

The Abbotsford Canucks returned home from their 3 game road trip down south, and faced the Bakersfield Condors for the first time this season on Country Night!

Nikita Tolopilo got the nod in net tonight for the Canucks, taking on Oliver Rodrigue at the other end.

The Canucks shook up the lineup tonight, with Ty Mueller, Max Sasson, and Danila Klimovich kicking things off offensively. Nate Smith centered Chase Wouters and Tristen Nielsen, followed by Ty Glover, John Stevens, and Carsen Twarynski. Going with an 11 and 7 formation again, Cooper Walker and Dino Kambeitz rounded out the offence.

On defence, Akito Hirose returned to the lineup, pairing up with Jett Woo, followed by Elias Pettersson and Cole McWard. Christian Felton made his AHL debut tonight alongside veteran Guillaume Brisebois, and Kirill Kudryavtsev solidified things at the blue line.

It was a slow first period to start the game, with each team limiting their opponents’ shots. The Condors held the Canucks to just 3 shots, and Canucks held Bakersfield to 5. The Canucks were also able to kill off a 5-on-3, to keep the game scoreless. It wasn’t until 18 minutes into the period that the Condors were able to strike first as Cameron Wright put them up 1-0 to head back to the dressing room.

Heading into the second, frame the Canucks looked to get on the board. The first half of the period was another quiet one, with few penalties or shots on goal. Once again, it was the Condors that got on the board first. Drake Caggiula ripped one to the back of the Canucks net to extend their lead to 2-0. Looking for a quick response Jett Woo created a turnover play where Ty Glover headed down the stretch and put the puck hard on the net. Picking up the rebound Cooper Walker brought the Canucks within one, eleven and a half minutes into the second. Tension rose shortly after when Jett Woo and Akito Hirose both got into it with Drake Caggiula and Max Wanner. Neither team was able to score in the remaining minutes, and the Canucks were down by one heading into the final frame.

Halfway through the third period, Bakersfield found the back of the net after intercepting a Canucks play, restoring their 2-goal lead as a result of Carl Berglund’s first goal of the season. In a last-ditch effort by the Canucks, they pulled the netminder to add an extra man on the ice with just over 2 minutes to play. Although preventing the Condors from notching any empty net goals, The Canucks could not muster up enough goals to push back against the Condors, and they dropped this one 3-1.

The two teams will rematch tomorrow before the Abby Canucks take on the Coachella Valley Firebirds next weekend for Hockey Fights Cancer and Movember Night.

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