Canucks Fall 2-1 in Shootouts Against The San Diego Gulls For The Final Time This Season

The Canucks are down in San Diego taking on the Gulls for the final time this season and they’re looking to close out the season series with a victory.

Abbotsford’s lineup is looked very similar to the last two games with Arshdeep Bains and Vasily Podkolzin starting on either end of John Stevens, and Max Sasson staying between Tristen Nielsen and Aidan McDonough. Marc Gatcomb returned to the lineup tonight, slotting in with Chase Wouters and Aatu Räty, and solidifying the offense were Jermaine Loewen, Alex Kannok Leipert and Danila Klimovich.

Arturs Šilovs gets the start tonight after getting 3/4 starts against the gulls and he will face Calle Clang, who is in net for the Gulls for the first time against the Canucks. Defensemen pairings stay the same with Nick Cicek and Jett Woo, and Matt Irwin with Filip Johansson. Quinn Schmiemann makes his return to the lineup with Cole McWard after Vancouver recalled Mark Friedman from his conditioning assignment.

A notable absence for San Diego tonight is Olen Zellweger, as he makes his NHL debut tonight with Anaheim. Zellweger was a key player for the Gulls in the last two matchups against the Canucks, so Abbotsford will look to use that to their advantage.

The Canucks were challenged with the first penalty of the game but were able to kill that off, holding the gulls to only 2 shots for the entire 2 minutes. The game remained scoreless after 20 with The Canucks registering just 6 shots, and San Diego with 9. Low shot clock in the first, but both Šilovs and Clang hold on for their respective teams.

The second period opened with 1:41 of 4 on 4 hockey, but neither team was able to capitalize. Around 9 minutes into the second period, Danila Klimovich was able to catch the puck from Arshdeep Bains and complete a turnover at the blue line, which resulted in a shot to the back of the net for his 2nd of the year and 1st of the game. The Canucks were able to get on the board first, but just two minutes later The Gulls were able to answer back to knot the game back up at 1. Pavol Regenda got the credit for that one, assisted by Andrew Agozzino during a back and forth passing sequence.

Both teams were looking to avoid overtime as they headed into the third period, however it was tough for the teams to find any momentum. During the third, the game play was choppy, and both teams ensued many stoppages in play. Neither team was able to get anything going as a result, and despite holding San Diego to 2 shots in the third period, overtime became necessary.

Abbotsford held possession of the puck for more than half of the 5-minute overtime but was only able to register 1 shot on net, with San Diego getting none. The game was then headed to a shoot-out.

The first round of shootouts saw Tristen Nielsen and Ben King net their first two shots. Vasily Podkolzin was shooting next for Abbotsford but was unable to get one past Clang. Nikita Nesterenko went second for San Diego and found his puck in the back of Abbotsford’s net. Calle Clang was able to hold on one last time for Aidan McDonough’s shot, and the Gulls were able to secure the win.

Abbotsford fell 2-1 in shootouts against the San Diego Gulls for the final time this season. They will head to Bakersfield next for a back-to-back against the Condors before returning home to take on the San Jose Barracudas.

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