THE CANUCKS TAKE GAME 1 IN THE SERIES WITH A 4-2 VICTORY OVER THE EAGLES

The Abbotsford Canucks kicked off playoff hockey down in Loveland, Colorado to take on the Colorado Eagles for Round 1, Game 1.

The Canucks continued their tried and true 11 and 7 formation, but tonight Zach Sawchenko found himself starting between the pipes. Backing him up on defense is the duo of Christian Wolanin and Nick Cicek, followed by Matt Irwin and Filip Johansson. Akito Hirose and Cole McWard stuck together and Elias Pettersson capped off the back end.

Up front, no change to the offense as Aatu Räty and Linus Karlsson continued to bookend Max Sasson, and Sheldon Dries centered Tristen Nielsen and Marc Gatcomb. Aidan McDonough, John Stevens, and Arshdeep Bains follow suit, and Chase Wouters and Ty Glover round out the offensive power.

A quick start to the game, Arshdeep Bains picks up John Stevens’ rebound to put the Canucks up 1-0 just 1 minute and 56 seconds into the game. Quickly asserting their dominance in the game, but Canucks found themselves trying to kill off a penalty at the halfway mark in the period. Unfortunately, the Eagles used this to their advantage when Callahan Burke stickhandled his way through the Canucks, to tie the game up at 1.

The game was tied going into the second, and the Canucks found themselves playing their special teams more than anticipated, getting multiple penalty calls. The penalty kill got to work, this time successful. The scoring came first in this period when Sheldon Dries ripped home a shot from center to give the Canucks a 1-goal lead once again, around the 7-minute mark. The Eagles were quick to challenge them when Ivan Ivan got one past Sawchenko just a few minutes later to tie the game up at 2. Looking to pull ahead, Sheldon Dries became the hero once again and netted his 2 goals in a row with just 27 seconds left to play in the period. The Canucks headed into the final frame with 1 goal lead once again.

The Canucks looked to keep up the momentum in the third, using the lead to their advantage. Some great chances for both teams, but Sawchenko held on to make some big saves for the team. With just over a minute to play, and the score unchanged, the Eagles pulled their goalie to get an extra man, but the Canucks took advantage, with Linus Karlsson grabbing the empty netter to solidify the Canucks win.

The Canucks take game one against Colorado 4-2, to put them up 1-0 in the series. They will look to secure a second win on Friday, and hopefully punch their tickets to the second round.