The Canucks Fall 2-1 against the San Jose Barracuda after their first matchup of the season
The Abbotsford Canucks took on the San Jose Barracuda at home for the first time this season. This head-to-head series will be the final test for each team before heading into the AHL all-star break on Sunday.
The Canucks have settled into a very comfortable lineup, as Arshdeep Bains, John Stevens, and Vasily Podkolzin stick together leading the offense. No changes to the line of Aidan McDonough, Max Sasson, and Tristen Nielsen. Linus Karlsson returns to Abbotsford upon the NHL All-Star break, and he slots into his usual spot alongside Aatu Räty and Danila Klimovich. Rounding out the forwards, Chase Wouters centres Jermaine Loewen and Marc Gatcomb.
No modifications to the blue line as Nick Cicek and Jett Woo kick off the defense, Matt Irwin and Cole McWard remain a duo, and Quinn Schmiemann and Alex Kannok Liepert seal the back end. Artus Šilovs gets the nod t in net tonight, as well as Georgi Romanov for the Barracuda.
The first period kicked off hot as the Canucks held possession of the puck for the beginning of the game. The Barracuda struck first, however, as they intercepted the puck in the neutral zone, causing a turnover that led to Nathan Todd picking up the first goal of the game and 100th AHL point. Shortly after, Kayle Rau tips in the puck from the point, to put the Barracuda up 2-0 heading into the third. The Canucks saw some great looks on net but were not able to capitalize despite outshooting San Jose 11-9 after 20 minutes.
Not much to report during the second period, with the best chance coming from Danila Klimovich where the puck was loose around the crease, but Romanov held on to maintain their 2-goal lead. The Canucks still continued outshooting the Barracuda after the end of the second period, but neither team was able to put one in the back of the net, and the Canucks trailed by 2 after 2.
Heading into the third period, the Canucks looked for a comeback after chasing a 2 goal deficit. Neither team could generate any looks leading into the halfway point of the third. Just after the TV timeout, Aatu Räty gets a high stick to the face and the Canucks headed to a 4-minute powerplay; a huge opportunity for Abbotsford to get on the board and push for overtime. The Barracuda were able to successfully kill off the penalty and maintain their lead with just under 5 minutes left in the game.
Marc Gatcomb was the lone goal scorer for Abbotsford tonight picking up his rebound of the post and jamming it in to cut the Barracuda’s lead in half with 4 minutes to play. Assists to the goal were credited to Chase Wouters and John Stevens. Despite pulling Šilovs with just over 3 minutes to go, the Canucks were able to keep the puck out of their own net but were also unable to find the back of San Jose’s net.
The Canucks drop this one 2-1, despite Gatcomb's late third period goal, and look to bounce back tomorrow night as they take on the Barracuda for the final time at home this season before heading to AHL All-Star break.
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