The Canucks sweep the back to back after a 5-1 victory against the Colorado Eagles
The Abbotsford Canucks take on the Colorado Eagles for the final time this season, and they looked to use the momentum from last night’s win and take home another 2 points in today’s game.
A change to the Canucks netminder, as Zach Sawchenko takes the starting position between the pipes tonight, and he faces Ivan Prosvetov of the Eagles. The Canucks chose to go with an 11 and 7 formation and shakes things up with the d-core. Christian Wolanin takes his spot on the first line, alongside Alex Kannok Leipert, and Jett Woo pairs up with Matt Irwin. Akito Hirose slots back into the lineup, and he lines up next to Nick Cicek. Elias Pettersson makes his AHL debut and he fits in as the 7th and final defenseman to round out the back end.
Up front, a mix-up to the offense leaves Tristen Nielsen and Sheldon Dries as a duo on the first line, and Linus Karlsson joins Aatu Räty and Max Sasson as they move up to the second line. John Steven centered Aidan McDonough and Jonathan Lekkerimäki, where Ty Glover, Chase Wouters, and Marc Gatcomb solidify the front end.
Abbotsford got off to a hot start when Max Sasson found the net off a feed from Linus Karlsson to give the Canucks a 1-0 lead just 1 minute and 33 seconds into the game. This came as his 18th goal of the season and set a new #AbbyCanucks franchise record for longest consecutive point streak of 8 games. The Eagles were able to hold the Canucks to just 3 shots in the first period but were unsuccessful at netting one themselves. Abbotsford held on to their 1-0 lead, moving into the second period.
Looking to maintain their lead, Abbotsford was granted a powerplay just 5 minutes in, but Jack Ahcan intercepted a turnover and sent it cross ice to Tanner Kero who notched his 12th goal of the season with another shorthanded goal for Colorado. Aggression was building as the game went on, and the Canucks were faced with killing off a few more penalties this period but were successful in keeping the score knotted up at 1. The game is following in yesterday’s footsteps, and both teams will push for the go-ahead goal in the third period.
The Canucks came out strong in the third period, really looking to sweep the series against the Eagles. Just 4 minutes in, Aatu Räty tipped in a shot from Max Sasson for the go-ahead goal and his 17th of the season. The Canucks found themselves up 2-1 and headed to a powerplay just after the halfway mark in the final frame, with tensions rising. Linus Karlsson was able to capitalize on the powerplay, grabbing his 17th of the season off a pass from Aatu Räty, to give the Canucks some more insurance. In a desperate attempt to get back in the game, the Eagles pulled their goalie with just under 3 minutes to go, but Linus Karlsson ripped the puck down the ice, straight into the back of the net to secure his 100th AHL point, and give the Canucks a 3 goal lead. A late fight between Jett Woo and Brad Hunt meant the Eagles would head to a very late powerplay. In an attempt to kill the penalty, Matt Irwin ripped one down the ice, and the puck went right into the empty net with just 2 seconds left to play, to get his 5th goal of the season.
With 4 unanswered goals in the third period, the Canucks take this one 5-1, to sweep the back-to-back and take home 4 points this weekend.
Abbotsford returns home on Tuesday and Wednesday to take on the Manitoba Moose for the final time this season, before facing Coachella Valley next weekend.
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