THE CANUCKS COME UP WITH A BIG 4-2 WIN OVER THE BAKERSFIELD CONDORS

The Abbotsford Canucks hit the road for their first of 5 games, and they are taking on the Bakersfield Condors. These two teams are sitting just 2 points away from each other in the standings, so you can expect a battle tonight as both teams are itching to pull ahead.

In net for the Canucks tonight is goaltender Nikita Tolopilo, and he is going head-to-head against netminder Jack Campbell of the Condors. Standing tall in front of him are defensemen Nick Cicek and Jett Woo. Chad Nychuk slots in for Matt Irwin, who is currently up with the big club, Vancouver Canucks, and he is paired with Cole McWard, and Akito Hirose and Filip Johansson round out the blue liners.

Up front, the line of Tristen Nielsen, Sheldon Dries, and Linus Karlsson remain unchanged as of late. Arshdeep Bains marks his return to Abbotsford, after making his NHL debut in Vancouver, and he slots in with John Stevens and Aidan McDonough. Chase Wouters centers Aatu Räty and Marc Gatcomb, and Cooper Walker, Dmitri Zlodeev, and Ty Glover finish out the puzzle of tonight’s lineup.

A slower start to the game as neither team was able to capitalize on their plays. The first penalty was dealt to the Canucks, but their penalty kill sprung into action and the Condors weren’t able to get it done. Unfortunately, the second penalty was given to Abbotsford, but this time, Drake Caggiula was able to find the back of the net on the Condors powerplay, and they were up 1-0. The Canucks found themselves heading to the powerplay that would extend into the start of the second.

The Canucks kicked off the second period on the powerplay, which worked in their favour as Sheldon Dries was able to tip in a shot from Filip Johansson, for his 18th of the season, and 1st goal for the Canucks to tie the game. Shortly thereafter, Greg McKegg notched his 6th goal of the season in a turnover from Cameron Wright, and the Condors found themselves ahead by 1, once again. A double minor to dealt to the Condors' Max Wanner for high sticking, and Linus Karlsson was able to capitalize and record his 14th goal of the season to retie the game up at 2. That goal went unanswered, until a series of passes from Jett Woo, to Arshdeep Bains, to Nick Cicek, ultimately found its way passed Jack Campbell to secure his 4th goal of the season, and gave the Canucks the lead for the first time in this game. Just 30 seconds later, a drop pass from Linus Karlsson to Chad Nychuk went straight to the back of the net, for his 2nd goal of the season. The Canucks would head to the third period, up by 2.

Not much to report from the third period, as neither team was able to capitalize on any of their chances. Bakersfield pulled their goalie with a few minutes to spare, in a desperate attempt to make a comeback and force overtime, but Tolopilo held strong in the dying minutes of the game.

The Canucks come up with a big 4-2 win over the Condors and start their 5-game road trip by taking away 2 more points. Abbotsford gets set to take on the Ontario Reign tomorrow evening for their next stop.