ABBOTSFORD CANUCKS VS COACHELLA VALLEY FIREBIRDS SERIES PREVIEW
The Abbotsford Canucks will wrap up a four game home stand this weekend with a pair of games at Abbotsford Centre, hosting the Coachella Valley Firebirds.
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This weekend will be the second and third matchups of an eight game season series, and will continue with a single game in Coachella Valley on Wednesday, December 13th.
Coachella Valley has started their Western Conference title defence with a 10-7-1 showing through their first 18 games, sitting at exactly the one-quarter mark of their season. Those 21 points have them sitting in a tie for sixth place with Colorado.
Meanwhile, the Canucks hold second spot in the division, and are tied for fourth overall in the league. Their 13-5-1 record has Abbotsford sitting four points behind Calgary for the Division and Conference lead, with a game in hand.
En route to their 27 points, the Canucks have won eight of their last nine games, including five straight home victories over Henderson, and sweeping the Condors and Rocket. The Firebirds are coming off the back of a pair of games against Ontario where they went 1-0-1, and have picked up points in five of their last seven games (3-2-2).
These two sides have met once before this season, with Coachella Valley winning 8-3 on home ice back in October. The Firebirds had eight different goal scorers, while Sheldon Dries scored a pair and Max Sasson also found the back of the net for Abbotsford. The Canucks and Firebirds split the season series last season 2-2, with a combined 29 goals scored through four contests in 2022.
Rookie Shane Wright is leading the active Firebirds in goals with eight, with Cameron Hughes leading the team in assists with 12. Max McCormick is the overall leader in total points scored by an active Firebird with 17 (8G, 9A), and was reassigned back to Coachella Valley from Seattle on Wednesday. The Kraken’s AHL affiliate are also one of just five AHL teams to have five or more players record multiple powerplay goals so far this season, alongside Hednerson (7), Laval, Lehigh Valley and Providence (5).
Arshdeep Bains is leading the Abbotsford scoring race with 18 assists and 21 points, while Sheldon Dries leads the team in goals with nine. The Canucks are without Nils Åman and Linus Karlsson, who are both currently with the NHL squad and tied with Christian Wolanin in points (15). Abbotsford is one of just two AHL teams to have multiple players score multiple short handed goals this season (Laval, 2) with John Stevens and Sheldon Dries both tallying twice while on the penalty kill.
Abbotsford also have scored the fourth most goals in the AHL (71), and have the fourth fewest penalty minutes in the league (197).
In net for Coachella Valley this season has primarily been Chris Dredger, playing in 13 of the team’s 18 games so far this year. Ales Stezka has featured in six contests, but the Firebirds announced on Monday that Stezka sustained an upper-body injury and is day-to-day, and have recalled Jack LaFontaine from the Kansas City Mavericks (ECHL). Driedger has posted a .916 save percentage this season, and is tied for third in the league with two shutouts.
Artūrs Šilovs and Nikita Tolopilo have been steady in the Abbotsford net this season, featuring in 12 and 8 games respectively. Pitching a .912 save percentage this season, Šilovs was announced as the AHL Goaltender of the Month for November, going 4-1-0 and picking up a pair of shutouts last month.
After this weekend, the team will fly south for a three game road trip, stopping in Coachella Valley and then Tucson for a pair of games, before their final home games of 2023 against Ontario on December 20th and 21st.
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