The canucks secure 7th straight victory with a 3-2 win over the roadrunners

The Abbotsford Canucks hit the road following their 6-game home stint, making their first stop in Tucson to take on the Roadrunners. Abbotsford looked to continue their home momentum into the road, hoping for their 7th straight win.

Nikita Tolopilo got the first start of the road trip, taking on Matthew Villalta, a historically tough goaltender for them to solve.

The Canucks continued to play a similar lineup to the previous few games, making minor tweaks. Danila Klimovich moved into the right wing spot of Sammy Blais, and Ty Mueller, and Jonathan Lekkerimäki slotted on the right wing of Arshdeep Bains, and Aatu Räty. Tristen Nielsen and Nils Åman stuck together alongside Nate Smith, and John Stevens returned to the lineup next to Chase Wouters and Dino Kambeitz to round out the group of forwards.

The blue line saw a few different pairings, starting with Erik Brännström and Jet Woo. Guillaume Brisebois slotted back in following his time with the Vancouver Canucks and he paired up with Cole McWard, and Christian Wolanin and Kirill Kudryavtsev became a duo to strong-arm the blue line.

The game got off to a rapid start when just a minute and 13 seconds in, Max Szuber picked up the rebound and took a snipe from the slot to give the Roadrunners an early 1-0 lead. Their lead lasted about 33 seconds, until John Stevens won the faceoff in the offensive zone, passed to Erik Brännstrom, who then backhanded it back to Dino Kambeitz. Kambeitz one-timed the puck right to the back of the net, and the game was tied at 1, less than 2 minutes into the game. The teams exchanged a penalty each, but no one else could score for the remainder of the period, and they headed into the second fired, locked at one goal apiece.

The second period was a lot slower. There were a ton of man advantages, giving each team ample opportunities to get on the board but Nikita Tolopilo and Matthew Villalta were at the top of their games. They were making huge save after huge save, until 18 minutes in, Artem Duda ripped a shot from the blue line, that ultimately made its way to the back of the Canucks net. The Roadrunners found themselves up 2-1, but Abbotsford would not give up pressure yet as they ended the period and started the third on the powerplay.

The Roadrunners were determined to snap their losing streak as they came out swinging, taking control of the puck, and registering some of their best shifts of the game. Unfortunately for them, the Canucks were even more determined to keep their win streak alive, seeing Tolopilo stand on his head for the remainder of the period. 8 minutes in, Erik Brännström received the puck from Aatu Räty, who set him up perfectly for a point shot to even the score at 2. Aatu Räty picked up his 100th career AHL point, with an assist on Brännström’s equalizer goal. With time running out, both teams began fighting for the go-ahead goal. With overtime hanging over their head, Jonathan Lekkerimäki became the hero for Abbotsford once again, when he took a shot from the blue line with 21 seconds remaining in the game, to give the Canucks their first lead of the game. It was too late for Tucson, and Abbotsford came away with a 3-2 win over the Roadrunners, successfully securing their 7th straight victory.

You can expect a tough battle when the two teams rematch tomorrow night, and then the Canucks will head west to take on the Coachella Valley Firebirds, ahead of returning home once again.

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