It’s Over.

With a 12-game losing skid on the line, the Abbotsford Canucks finally broke through and picked up their first win since opening weekend back in early October.

But it didn’t come easy. They were outshot in both games and were embarrassed on home ice with a 7-0 loss in game one. But with a 4–3 shootout victory on Wednesday night, the Canucks managed to split their midweek series against the San Jose Barracuda and bump their season record to 3-9-0-2.

Slowly but surely, help is back on its way.

Starting goaltender Nikita Tolopilo is close to his return, while Jonathan Lekkerimaki has joined the team and could see reps as early as this weekend. This week, however, it was a few youngsters stepping up to play hero, including a goaltender making his AHL debut to seal the victory.

Ty Young returned to the lineup for Tuesday’s opener after missing the final game of the Colorado trip, stepping back into the starter’s crease with Nikita Tolopilo and Jiri Patera both still sidelined.

Unfortunately, things went south quickly.

Young allowed two goals on 11 first-period shots, and Abbotsford found themselves in a 2–0 hole after 20 minutes. The wheels fell off in the second, as San Jose capitalized early and tacked on three more goals to stretch the lead to 5–0 after 40.

Jonathan Lemieux, fresh off his AHL debut over the weekend, took over in net. He stopped 13 of 15 shots but couldn’t spark a comeback. The Canucks, held off the scoreboard completely, were shut out for the third time this season — a feat they only managed once in the entire 2023–24 campaign.

San Jose held a 36–27 shot advantage and handed Abbotsford their 11th straight loss.

On Wednesday, the Canucks returned to the ice for the back half of the midweek set, handing the crease to Aku Koskenvuo for his first career AHL start.

The 21-year-old Finnish netminder was riding high after earning his first professional win with Kalamazoo, and with Abbotsford’s goalie depth depleted, he got the nod for a long-overdue AHL debut.

The game started much the same as the night before. Koskenvuo gave up a goal on the third shot of the game just eight minutes in, and Abbotsford didn’t register its first shot until the 8:40 mark.

The Barracuda held a 13–4 shot advantage in the first, but Koskenvuo stood tall late in the frame, making several key saves to keep it a one-goal game.

San Jose extended their lead early in the second on the power play.

But Abbotsford finally answered.

Moments later, the Canucks finally collected their first goal of the week as Joe Arntsen collected the puck at the top of the circles and buried his first of the season and second AHL goal of his career.

Just minutes later, Ty Mueller took advantage of a fortunate bounce off the end boards and buried his second point of the period to knot things up at 2–2 midway through the game.

However, the momentum didn’t last long. Following a costly turnover from newly signed ECHL defender Phip Waugh, veteran Colin White restored the lead for San Jose, making it 3–2 heading into the final frame.

But with time winding down in the third, the Canucks pulled the goalie and threw everything at the net.

Sawyer Mynio stepped into a heavy one-timer from the point, and Joseph LaBate — parked in front — got the perfect deflection to beat the screened goaltender and tie the game at 3–3 with just minutes to go.

Overtime solved nothing, sending Abbotsford to their fourth shootout of the season.

There, Vilmer Alriksson opened the home team’s scoring with a slick backhand-to-forehand move to tuck one past the netminder. A few shooters later, Duncan, BC native Ben Berard sealed the deal with a smooth finish of his own to clinch the win.

In his AHL debut, Aku Koskenvuo made 33 saves and was named the game’s second star, earning his first career AHL win and first win at home of the 2025-26 season.

The Canucks now hit the road for a six-game road trip that will take them through the rest of November.

They’ll kick things off in San Diego against the Gulls on Saturday, November 15, at 6:00 p.m. PT, before a quick turnaround in Coachella Valley to take on the Firebirds on Sunday at 5:00 p.m. PT.