The Canucks drop the first of their back to back against the Colorado Eagles, 5-2.
The Abbotsford Canucks return home after a 3 game road trip in California, as they take on the Colorado Eagles. Both teams are coming off multi-game win streaks, so tonight’s game will be a true test of endurance and perseverance.
Nikita Tololpilo is back in between the pipes tonight for the Canucks, and he would face off against Ivan Prosvetov for the Eagles. Supporting him on the backend are defensive pairings Nick Cicek and Jett Woo, Matt Irwin and Cole McWard, and Akito Hirose with Filip Johansson.
Upfront, the Canucks have their staple line as of late, Tristen Nielsen, Sheldon Dries, and Linus Karlsson. John Stevens centered Dmitri Zlodeev and Vasily Podkolzin, followed by the line of Chase Wouters, Aatu Räty, and Marc Gatcomb. Cooper Walker draws back in, and he finds himself on a line with Ty Glover and Danila Klimovich.
The first period was a defensive master play from both teams, as the offense couldn’t capitalize on any of their chances. The score remained 0-0 until about 3 minutes left in the game when Keaten Middleton got called for a delay of game penalty and Aatu Räty was able to tip it into the back of the net off a feed from Linus Karlsson to put the Canucks up 1-0. This goal extended both Räty and Karlsson's point streak another game. With just 3.9 seconds to go in the first period. Riley Tufter was able to get one past Tolopilo for his 15th of the season, to knot the game up, heading into the second.
The second period, starting with a draw, saw both teams looking to pull ahead and secure some insurance. The Eagles were the first to succeed, as Ivan Ivan shot one past the red line for his 11th of the season, and the Colorado found themselves with a one-goal lead. A couple of solid chances for Abbotsford, but no one was able to touch the twine in the back of the net. Instead, a late second-period goal for the Eagles came from Ben Myers from Peter Holland, for his 10th of the season, and extended their lead by 2.
The Canucks needed to do damage control to get this game back. Cole McWard came up big for Abbotsford halfway way through the third when he picked up the triple rebound to notch his 4th of the second and bring the Canucks within 1. A late penalty to the Eagles came with just under 3 minutes to play, so Abbotsford pulled their goalie to create a 6-on-4 opportunity. Unfortunately, the puck got loose, and Tanner Kero scored the empty netter with 56 seconds to play, to put the Eagles back up 4-2. With 1 second to go, Ivan Ivan scored his second of the night to secure the Eagles' 5th and final goal, once again on the empty net.
The Canucks dropped game one of their back-to-back against the Eagles, 5-2. They will battle back tomorrow for First Nations Night, before hitting the road for a 5 game trip.