ABBOTSFORD CANUCKS VS CALGARY WRANGLERS SERIES PREVIEW
Abbotsford, BC – After a quick trip down the coast to San Jose, the Abbotsford Canucks are back home for a five game homestand. Abbotsford and the San Jose Barracuda split the weekend, with the Canucks nabbing a 5-1 victory on Saturday before San Jose collected the two-points with a 3-2 win on Sunday.
Arshdeep Bains, Kyle Rau, and Phil DiGiuseppe all recorded multi-point games last weekend. DiGiuseppe led Abbotsford in shots against San Jose with 11 across the weekend, landing 2 of those in the back of the net. Abbotsford sits 3rd in the Pacific Division and 7th overall in the league (22-11-1-1).
The first three-games of the homestand are a series against the Calgary Wranglers . Wednesday night’s game will be the first ever matchup between the two teams at the Abbotsford Centre. The Wranglers are heading north from Henderson where they suffered two losses against the Silver Knights. The Wranglers were defeated 3-1 and 4-2 on Friday and Saturday after a 3-game win streak, including a shutout against Abbotsford. Despite their recent losses, Calgary sits one spot above Abbotsford in 2nd in the Pacific Division and 6th overall in the league (24-10-1-0), just three points above the Canucks.
Calgary and Abbotsford met just 2 weeks ago in a split series at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Nils Aman scored his first and second goal with the Abbotsford Canucks in their first victory of the New Year against Calgary. It was Tristen Nielsen who scored the game winner that night, ultimately leading to a 5-2 victory, Abbotsford’s first ever win against Calgary. The next night Abbotsford fell 3-0 to the Wranglers, with Dustin Wolf denying all 29 of Abbotsford’s shots. Abbotsford’s Silovs still saved 37 of Calgary’s 39 shots and walked away with a 0.938 save percentage across both games.
Abbotsford’s Christian Wolanin, Linus Karlsson, and Justin Dowling continue to sit at the top of Canucks’ leaderboard. Wolanin leads the team in scoring with 40 points (4G, 36A). The AHL All-Star also leads the league in assists and is just 8 points away from his 100th career AHL point. 40 of those have been scored as a Canuck. Rookie Linus Karlsson sits second in points for Abbotsford, leads the team in goals, and is tied for third in the league for rookie scoring (11G, 17A). Justin Dowling matches Karlsson’s point count with 28 (8G, 20A), good for third on the team.
Climbing the Abbotsford leaderboard lately is Danila Klimovich, citing advice from his coaches has led him to 8 points in his last 8 games (4G, 4A). He ties Justin Dowling at 5th in goals for Abbotsford, each with 8.
Notable Wranglers include Matthew Phillips, tied for first in the league for goals, and second in league scoring (21G, 21A), as well as All-Star goalie Dustin Wolf. Wolf tops the goalie leaderboard in almost every category leading the league in games and minutes played, shutouts (4), goals against average (2.12), wins (21), and shots against (805). He is second in the league for save percentage (0.930).
Both Phillips and Wolf were named to the AHL Pacific All-Star team, where they will play with Abbotsford’s Christian Wolanin. Connor Zary also sits at the top of Calgary’s leaderboard, leading the team in assists and sitting second in scoring (12G, 23A). Zary put up Calgary’s lone goal in their 3-1 loss against Henderson.
Special Teams
Power Play %
ABB: 23.3%, CGY: 24.7%
Power Play Goals For
ABB: 35, CGY: 41
Penalty Kill %
ABB: 75.4%, CGY: 85.7%
Fast Facts:
After last week’s game against San Jose, goalie Arturs Silovs has exceeded an overall save percentage of 0.900 (0.903%).
With a start this weekend, Silovs will break the franchise record for most games played by a goalie (34 games).
Abbotsford blue liner Wyatt Kalynuk holds a 13 +/- rating over 27 games, tied for first on the team.
Abby’s Kyle Rau could see his 150th career AHL assist this weekend with just 2 more helpers needed.
Calgary head coach Mike Love has been selected to coach the AHL All-Star Pacific Division team at the All-Star game in early February.
Calgary’s Connor Zary is the only member of the Wrangler’s roster to be featured in all 35 of their games. Abbotsford’s Wolanin, Karlsson, and Nielsen are the only 3 to have played in all 35 Abby games.
Jakob Pelletier of Calgary was recalled by the Flames at the beginning of January. He leads the Wranglers in power play goals (7).
After their three games against Calgary, Abbotsford will host the Toronto Marlies for the first time this season on January 24th and 25th.