The Canucks split the series with the Gulls after falling 4-1

The Abbotsford Canucks had a quick turnaround, as they rematched the San Diego Gulls following a 3-2 win last night.  

Nikita Tolopilo started in net for the Canucks tonight, taking on Oscar Dansk, who played for San Diego last night as well.

Happy with last night’s structure, the Canucks went with an identical offensive lineup. Nils Åman continued to line up next to Max Sasson and Linus Karlsson, and the trio of Arshdeep Bains, Aatu Räty, and Jonathan Lekkerimäki stayed together. Sammy Blais and Phil Di Giuseppe bookended Ty Mueller, and Tristen Nielsen, John Stevens, and Chase Wouters were locked in to round out the offense.

On defense, Kirill Kudryavtsev played alongside new teammate Victor Mancini, and Christian Wolanin and Jett Woo stayed together. Joe Arntsen slotted into the lineup for his first career AHL game tonight, alongside Cole McWard who played his 100th career AHL game, and the lineup for the night was complete.

The first period started like last night, with both teams applying pressure but no one seeing results. It was almost halfway through when the Canucks took the first penalty of the game, but they were able to kill it off before returning to 5 on 5 hockey. It was only a few minutes later, that the Canucks took another penalty, but this time they weren’t as lucky. Jett Woo was in the box for all of 9 seconds, before Sasha Pastujov scored on the powerplay for the Gulls to give them a 1-0 lead. Just like last night, it didn’t take long for the Canucks to respond because just a minute and a half later, Jonathan Lekkerimaki shot a laser to the back to the Gulls night, and the game was tied. No one else could find the slot before the end of the period, and the teams were tied at 1 after 20 minutes of play.

The second period got off to a quick start, with the Gulls getting on the board just a minute and 56 seconds in. Sasha Pastujov netted his second of the game through the legs of Tolopilo to pull ahead, 2-1. Although scoring off the hop, that was the lone goal of the period. Neither team was able to get on the board again, despite the Canucks first powerplay opportunity. The goaltenders were sound, and the Gulls were up by 1, heading into the final frame.

There were 20 minutes on the board to try and catch up in the game. The goalies were locked in, continuing to shut the door on opportunities. However, after an unlucky turnover in Gulls zone, the Gulls headed down the stretch and Judd Caufield was able to extend their lead to 2, 14 minutes into the period. With just under 5 minutes left in the game, the Canucks pulled their goaltender to try and make up some goals. They registered some grade-A chances during the time, but after a faceoff in the offensive zone was intercepted by the Gulls, a long shot from Nathan Gaucher made its way into the empty net, and the Gulls were up 4-1 with 3 and a half minutes left in the game. Unfortunately, the Canucks could not get it done in time, and they fell to Gulls to split the series.

The Canucks will take a few days to regroup before facing the Eagles once again this weekend for Country Night and their Family Day game.

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