The Canucks fall 4-3 in overtime against The Condors.

The Abbotsford Canucks continue their California road trip down in Bakersfield as they take on The Condors for night 1 of their head-to-head.

Only one switch to The Canucks lineup tonight as Ty Glover swaps places with Aidan McDonough. Arshdeep Bains, John Stevens, and Vasily Podkolzin remain a trio, and Ty Glover joins Max Sasson and Tristen Nielsen tonight. No changes to the remaining forwards as Aatu Räty, Chase Wouters, and Marc Gatcomb stick together, and Jermaine Loewen, Alex Kannok Leipert, and Danila Klimovich round out the front end.

At the blue line, Nick Cicek and Jett Woo remain a duo, along with Matt Irwin and Filip Johansson, and Quinn Schmiemann and Cole McWard, solidifying the back end.

Arturs Šilovs slots in between the pipes for Abbotsford tonight, and he will take on Jack Campbell at the other end, for Bakersfield.

Bakersfield was awarded the first powerplay of the game, as Max Sasson got called for tripping. The Canucks penalty kill sprung into action as they were successfully able to make it through the kill, but just 2 seconds after the penalty expired, Lane Pederson was able to rip one past Šilovs for his 10th of the season and first of the game.

Looking to even the score, The Canucks started the second period with a powerplay for 1 minute and 20 seconds. With just 10 seconds remaining, The Canucks were dealt another powerplay, where Chase Wouters would come up victorious and notch his 6th goal of the season and 1st of the game for Abbotsford. Assists to Wouters's goal were credited to Tristen Nielsen and Arshdeep Bains. The Canucks needed to put their powerplay to use tonight as just a few minutes later, they once again found themselves on the powerplay. Vasily Podkolzin, the recipient of a pass from Max Sasson, ripped it top shelf through Campbell for his 11th of the season and the pull-ahead goal for Abbotsford.

The second period was a busy one, as The Condors responded just 45 seconds later to even the score back up at 2. Lane Pederson notched his 2nd of the game and 11th of the season off a pass by Matvey Petrov. 4 minutes later, The Condors regained the lead, as Raphael Lavoie successfully got the puck to the back of Abbotsford’s net for his 12th of the season. Arturs Šilovs was able to hold on for the rest of the period, making some unbelievable saves, allowing for The Canucks to re-tie the game up at 3. Filip Johansson ripped one past Campbell late in the 2nd, ensuring they would start the second period even-keeled. Abbotsford outshot The Condors 12 to 8 in the second.

Both teams started the third looking to avoid overtime. The Canucks headed to an early powerplay just, just 48 seconds into the first but were unable to capitalize. Although the third period seemed to slow down, neither team was backing down. The Condors applied offensive pressure, with some good looks on net, but Šilovs was able to shut them down. The aggression in the game only grew with time running out and neither team able to pull ahead.

By the end of regulation, Abbotsford had registered 7 powerplays, while Bakersfield had had 6. The boys headed to overtime, both teams looking for a win. The Canucks Matt Irwin picked up an interference penalty in overtime, and Raphael Lavoie called game when he netted his 13th of the season and the overtime winner.

The Canucks look to bounce back tomorrow against Bakersfield, before returning home to take on the San Jose Barracuda.

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