Braeden Cootes draws back into the Abbotsford #Canucks lineup and gets an early breakaway chance.
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Abbotsford Weekly: Canucks winning streak comes to an end after 8 straight wins
Photo credit: Abbotsford Canucks
By Jacob Fraser
Nov 9, 2026, 13:16 EST
The Abbotsford Canucks extended their winning streak to eight straight in the first game of a back-to-back against the Ontario Reign, but the Reign ended it in the second game, giving the Canucks their first loss in a month.
Following the Canucks 1-1 weekend, the team now drops to the second spot in the Pacific Division. They fall behind the Tucson Roadrunners with a record of 8-3-1. Braeden Cootes rejoined the lineup after missing time with an injury and was back at centre on the top line with Trey Fix-Wolansky and Kole Lind on his wings.
Jack Thompson made his season debut paired with Kirill Kudryavtsev on the back end. Thompson also took over top power play unit responsibilities, moving Sawyer Mynio down to the second unit.
Nikita Tolopilo got the start in Abbotsford’s first game of the weekend, earning his sixth win of the season. Ty Young got the start in the second game; despite the loss, Young had a very strong performance between the pipes in his fourth opportunity of the season.
Game 1
Lineup:
Lind – Cootes – Fix-Wolansky
Berard – Mueller – Patterson
Alriksson – Wouters – Stienburg
Ravinskis – Safonov – BrimmerMynio – Clayton
Schuldt – White
Kudryavtsev – ThompsonTolopilo
Young
Cootes didn’t skip a beat after returning from injury. On his first shift back, he blew by two Reign defencemen, springing himself on the breakaway, but couldn’t find the back of the net.
Later in the first, he had another scoring chance after a backdoor setup from Fix-Wolansky. Cootes didn’t get enough on the feed and tipped it just wide.
Just past the midway point of the first period, Lind and Cootes were sprung on a two-on-one. Lind made a nice saucer pass to Cootes, and instead of taking a shot with the goalie down and out, he held onto it a bit too long and tried to force it back over to Lind. His pass back was blocked by the Reign goaltender, and the game remained tied at zero.
Cootes gets another golden opportunity for the #Canucks. Definitely want to see a shot there
It was a positive sign to see Cootes get three good chances in the first 12 minutes, even if he didn’t capitalize.
The Canucks did end up opening the scoring late in the first period. Ben Berard brought the puck up the halfwall in the offensive zone and made a great cross-ice feed over to Sawyer Mynio. Mynio cut to the net and was stopped on the initial shot, but Ty Mueller followed up, scoring his seventh of the season off the rebound chance.
Unreal cross-ice feed from Ben Berard to Sawyer Mynio and Ty Mueller cleans up the rebound to put the #Canucks up 1-0
In the second period, the Canucks had the goalie pulled with a delayed penalty coming to the Reign. During the six-on-five, they had multiple grade-A looks:
Fix-Wolansky came on as the extra attacker and made a pass through the slot over to Matthew Stienburg. Looking for his first goal of the season, Stienburg ripped the puck off the post. Thompson also got a good look, walking down from the point to the dot with the goaltender down, but couldn’t find the back of the net.
Later in the frame, the Reign tied the game back up at 1-1. On what could have been an icing call, the Reign managed to gain possession in the offensive zone, and Kaleb Lawrence was left all alone out front beating Tolopilo on the one-timer.
Fix-Wolansky helped the Canucks regain their lead with a little over a minute to go in the second. Cootes got the play started, picking the pocket of one of the Reign players in the defensive zone and making a quick play up to Lind. Lind and Fix-Wolansky broke in on an odd-man rush; Lind made a nice pass over to Fix-Wolansky, who buried the one-timer to put the Canucks up 2-1.
Braeden Cootes picks up another assist to bring him to 7 points in 7 games for the #Canucks
The third period was very back and forth. Not much happened for either side until midway through, when the Canucks took two penalties, giving the Reign a great opportunity to tie the game back up. The Canucks did a great job of killing off the two-man advantage, helping them secure their eighth straight victory of the season.
Game two
The lineup remained the same as the first game of the weekend. All four forward lines and all three defensive pairings stuck together, with the only change coming in goal as Young got the start over Tolopilo.
Early in the first, the Canucks had a couple of power play chances. Both units struggled to get anything going, and gave up some chances the other way. Young stood tall in net and managed to make some big saves early to keep the game tied at 0-0.
Koehn Ziemmer put the first goal on the board late in the opening frame. A breakdown in the defensive zone led to a two-on-one in tight, and Ziemmer buried it on the backdoor feed.
The Lind, Cootes, Fix-Wolansky line dominated most of their ice time in the second period. Cootes gave Lind a golden chance to tie the game on a backdoor pass that just took a hop off Lind’s stick, and he couldn’t redirect it in the back of the net. Lind got another look out front after Cootes picked off a breakout pass and threw the puck on net. Lind got a tip on the initial shot, but he couldn’t beat Carter George on either the tip or off the rebound.
Chase Wouters laid a massive hit on the forecheck, leading to a big scrum that ended up giving the Canucks another power play.
Abbotsford #Canucks captain Chase Wouters lays a massive hit.
On the ensuing power play, Cootes fed the puck down low to Mueller, who moved it cross-ice to Fix-Wolansky. Once again, George got across and made a great save to maintain a 1-0 lead for the Reign.
George continued to stand on his head in the third. The Canucks couldn’t find a way to solve the young goaltender to get back in the game. The Reign, however, doubled their lead after Kudryavtsev made an outstanding diving play to stop a breakaway chance. Yet Francesco Pinelli was awarded a penalty shot on a very questionable call.
#Canucks Kirill Kudryavtsev makes a great defensive play, but somehow it's called a penalty shot?1?
Pinelli made a nice move to the backhand and beat Young on the penalty shot to put Ontario up 2-0.
Later in the final frame, with the goalie pulled, Fix-Wolansky fed Cootes in the slot. Instead of getting the puck toward the net, Cootes hesitated while looking for a play to make, got pickpocketed, and Aatu Jämsen fired it into the empty net to solidify the 3-0 victory and end the Canucks’ eight-game win streak.
The Canucks created plenty of chances, but George got the better of them between the pipes, earning his first shutout of the season.
Standouts
Cootes continues to be a major standout in every game he plays. Despite having the single assist over the weekend, his ability to create and turn defence into offence has been spectacular. He does still have some things to work on, of course. There were a few instances where he probably should have been more willing to shoot, but his playmaking has been the best part of his game over the course of the season. If he pulls the trigger a bit more often and is more decisive offensively, he could very well earn a full-time NHL job heading into next season.
Mynio has continued to stand out for the Canucks on the backend. Despite the demotion off the top power play unit, he continued to be very solid at both ends of the ice. Mynio picked up the assist on the first goal of the weekend because he was willing to jump up into the play in the offensive zone. He has also been showing his ability to carry the puck up ice and out of the defensive zone. His poise with the puck and calming presence on the blue line has been excellent to see as he continues to develop his game.
#Canucks prospect Sawyer Mynio is showing off his one-man breakout ability.
Young certainly deserves a shoutout for his outstanding performance in the second game of the weekend. He may have only made 23 saves on 25 shots, but a lot of the saves he did make came from some great scoring chances for the Reign. Multiple breakaways and opportunities in tight that he managed to stop really helped the Canucks stay in that game till the end. Had he not played as well as he did, the game could have gotten out of hand early, but Young gave the team the best chance possible to win in Saturday’s matchup.
#Canucks goaltending prospect Ty Young has been lights out to start tonight's game.
What’s next?
It’s a jam-packed week for the Canucks with four upcoming games. They’ll kick things off with back-to-back games at home against the Colorado Eagles on Tuesday, November 10 at 7:00 PM, and Wednesday, November 11 at 5:00 PM.
Following the mid-week back-to-backs, they’ll be headed on the road to take on the Reign once again, this time in Ontario on Saturday, November 14 at 7:00 PM. They will then travel to Coachella Valley to take on the Firebirds at 4:00 PM PT on Sunday, November 15.
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