The Canucks defeat the Manitoba Moose 5-2 in thier 5th straight Victory
The Abbotsford Canucks looked to round out their season series with a win as they faced off against the Manitoba Moose for the final time this season.
Zach Sawchenko will return to the crease tonight for the first time on home ice, and he will face former Canucks goaltender Collin Delia. The lineup remains unchanged as of last night, with an 11 and 7 formation. Jett Woo and Christian Wolanin kicked off the blue liners, followed by Matt Irwin and Nick Cicek. Akito Hirose and Filip Johansson stuck together, and Elias Pettersson bookends it.
Up front, Max Sasson centered Aatu Räty and Linus Karlsson, followed by Tristen Nielsen, Sheldon Dries, and Jonathan Lekkerimäki. Aidan McDonough and Marc Gatcomb bookended John Stevens, and Chase Wouters and Ty Glover solidified the Canucks offense.
The game was off to a quick start as the Canucks found themselves on a penalty kill around 3 minutes in, but Nick Cicek intercepted a play in the Canucks zone and found Sheldon Dries on the breakaway, where he notched his 4th shorthanded goal of the year. This came as his 26th goal of the season and gave the Canucks an early 1-0 lead. Shortly after the halfway mark in the period, Elias Pettersson passed to Tristen Nielsen, who ripped it past Collin Delia on an open timer, to put the Canucks up 2. Elias Pettersson registered his 1st career AHL point on Tristen’s 13th goal of the season. Just 2 minutes until the end of the period, Tyrel Bauer was able to squeak one through Sawchenko to cut the Canucks lead in half, and Abbotsford was up 2-1 heading into the second period.
The Canucks desperate to regain their 2-goal lead, got to work quickly. An early penalty to the Moose allowed the Canucks to find themselves on a power play just 19 seconds into the period. Aatu Räty ripped one in front of the net, where Sheldon Dries was there to tip it in for his 27th goal of the season. Thomas Milic swapped places with Collin Delia and took over the Moose’s net for the remainder of the game. There was a lull in goals for about 10 minutes until Jeffery Viel was able to just squeak one through Sawchenko to net his 15th goal of the season and bring the Moose within 1. The Canucks were not happy with the call, and just 30 seconds later a cross-ice feed from Chase Wouters to Aatu Räty ended up in the back of the Moose's net, and their 2-goal lead was restored. The Canucks headed into the final frame leading 4-2.
As the third period began, the Abbotsford looked to maintain their lead and take home their 5th straight win. The Moose put up a fight but Zach Sawchenko was a brick wall for the entirety of the period. With just under 5 minutes to pay, a beautiful pass from John Stevens found Linus Karlsson in front of the net, and he was able to secure their 5th goal of the game and pull ahead by 3.
The Canucks sweep the back-to-back against the Moose and come up with their 5th win in a row. The Canucks will get back to work in practice before taking on the top seed in the Pacific Division, the Coachella Valley Firebirds on the weekend.