WIN STREAK SNAPPED AS ABBOTSFORD FALLS TO COLORADO IN REMATCH

Loveland, CO –Sheldon Dries scored his team-leading 25th and 26th goals of the season, but the Abbotsford Canucks fell 4-2 to the Colorado Eagles Sunday afternoon at the Budweiser Events Center.

Michael DiPietro (6-9-2) stopped 27 of 30 Colorado shots in the defeat, as Abbotsford’s franchise record win-streak is halted at six games.

With the loss, the Canucks’ record moves to 21-16-3-1 on the season. Colorado remains one spot ahead of Abby in the Pacific Division standings, with a 24-16-3-3 record.

With his two-goal performance Sunday, Dries moves to second place in the AHL goal scoring race with 26 goals (26-18-44). Dries sits two back of Chicago forward Stefan Noesen (28-22-50), despite Dries having played five fewer games. The 27-year-old centreman has now recorded 14 points (10 goals, 4 assists) over his last seven games.

The Canucks and Eagles traded low quality scoring chances through the majority of the opening period. Abbotsford had a scare with 3:20 left in the first, when Colorado’s Martin Kaut broke free in the slot before ringing a shot past DiPietro and off the crossbar, but the game remained scoreless.

Both teams picked up 10 shots apiece through the opening 20 minutes, as Danila Klimovich, Vincent Arseneau and Tristen Nielsen all led the way for Abbotsford with two.

Colorado opened the scoring early in the second period on the powerplay, with Kaut wristing a shot in the slot and past DiPietro at the 2:24 mark. Dylan Sikura and Jordan Gross assisted on the tally.

Shortly after Vincent Arseneau and Andreas Englund traded minor penalties, the Canucks were handed a four-on-three powerplay following a cross-checking call to the Eagles’ Justin Barron. Abbotsford wasted no time on the man advantage, with Dries scoring his team-leading 25th from Sheldon Rempal and Noah Juulsen to tie things up at 1-1.

Colorado restored its lead midway through the second, when Mikhail Maltsev picked up the puck behind the net before a wraparound deflected off of Dries and past DiPietro for the 2-1 score.

Dries nearly tied things up late in the second on a breakaway, but goaltender Justus Annunen stood tall in the Colorado crease to make the pad stop. Dries would get another chance, though, after a Juulsen slap pass from the point found him just below the right faceoff dot before he buried the one-timer for his 26th of the season.

Abbotsford picked up six shots in the middle frame, while Colorado had 11.

Both teams stayed knotted up through the majority of the third frame, before Maltsev was able to get Colorado back on the board after scoring on his own rebound at the 16:38 mark. Dylan Sikura picked up the lone assist.

After Abbotsford pulled DiPietro in the late stages of the game in search of the equalizer, Kaut scored his second of the game with 11 seconds left to secure the 4-2 win for the home side.

NOTABLES

• The Canucks finished the night 2/2 on the powerplay. Colorado went 1/3.
• Abbotsford was coming off a 2-1 win over the Eagles on Saturday night.
• The Canucks remain in sixth place in the Pacific Division, and are now eight points behind fifth-place Colorado having played five fewer games.
• Yushiroh Hirano, Tristen Nielsen and Alex Kannok Leipert all made their respective returns to the lineup Sunday.
• It was Michael DiPietro’s 17th start of the season in the Abbotsford crease.
• Dries led all Canucks skaters in shots Sunday, with four.

UP NEXT

The Abbotsford Canucks return home for a pair of games against Pacific Division leading Stockton Heat Friday (7pm PT) and Sunday (4pm PT) at the Abbotsford Centre.