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Abbotsford weekly: Cootes and Lind tally 3 points each in Canucks’ first win of the season
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Photo credit: Abbotsford Canucks
Jacob Fraser
Oct 11, 2026, 17:49 EDTUpdated: Oct 11, 2026, 17:52 EDT
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The Abbotsford Canucks were on the road once again, this time in Colorado, taking on the Eagles. It was a much better weekend for the Canucks overall, picking up their first win of the season, along with another point in their first matchup of the back-to-back. The team now moves to a 1-2-1 record, pushing them to sixth place in the Pacific Division. 
Ty Mueller scored in both games, which means the centreman has now scored in every game to start the season in Abbotsford. Braeden Cootes and Kole Lind each had three points in the second game, pushing Cootes to two goals and four points on the season through four games.
Kirill Kudryavtsev made his season debut in the first game, but missed the second. The opposite was true for Sawyer Mynio, who missed the first game but played in the second.
Austin Brimmer and Tim Rego drew into the lineup to make their season debuts. Nikita Tolopilo got both starts after splitting the season opening games with Ty Young. 
Last weekend, the Calgary Wranglers were the team that created the majority of the chances but couldn’t capitalize. This weekend, the Canucks found a way to capitalize on more of their chances against the Eagles. 

Game 1

Ilya Safonov got things going early in the opening minute of game one, laying a massive hit on the forecheck. Eagles defenceman Keaton Middleton took exception to the hit, which saw him receive a minor penalty for roughing, leading to an early power play for the Canucks. 
On the ensuing power play, Kudryavtsev walked the line, found Trey Fix-Wolansky down low, and Fix-Wolansky made a nice one-touch pass to Mueller in the slot, who fired it home to open the scoring less than two minutes into the game.
The rest of the first period was pretty quiet for both teams; Abbotsford would finish the first with just seven shots on goal, and Colorado would register nine. However, Cootes found Mueller for another opportunity in the slot, but Mueller fired the puck wide of the net.
The second period saw the most action, with a combination of four goals, two for each team. 
Five minutes into the second period, Jimmy Schuldt got his second goal of the season. After Riley Patterson won the offensive zone faceoff, Schuldt sent a floater from the point that made it’s way through the traffic out front and beat Eagles goaltender Ilya Nabokov high blocker.
Just 23 seconds later, Vilmer Alriksson gave the Canucks a 3-0 lead. Anri Ravinskis and Patterson picked up their second assists of the period. Ravinskis made a strong play, driving the puck to the net; Patterson and Alriksson both jammed at the puck, with the big Swede getting the touch, squeaking it through Nabokov. 
Both Colorado goals in the second came from rebounds. Adam Beckman banged home the rebound on a tipped point shot to get the Eagles on the board, and then Taylor Makar made a nice move to get around Cootes and fire a shot. Tolopilo stopped the initial shot, but Makar was able to finish on the rebound.
Later in the second, Bennett Schimek took a hard high stick to the face and left the ice in a hurry. However, he would return to end the period, where he got a great breakaway chance but couldn’t add to the lead.
Up a goal in the third, the Canucks killed off a five-on-three power play. Colorado generated plenty of chances, but Abbotsford managed to bend but not break to maintain the lead. 
Gavin Brindley tied the game later in the third, tipping a shot past Tolopilo. Once the game was tied, the Canucks created a ton of chances, with Cootes, Schimek, Fix-Wolansky and Chase Wouters all having great scoring opportunities but were all unsuccessful in helping the team regain the lead. 
With under 10 seconds to go, Colorado’s Beckman had a golden opportunity to finish the game, but Tolopilo made an unbelievable save to force overtime.
Right off the opening faceoff of overtime, Colorado took a delay-of-game penalty for playing the puck with their glove, giving Abootsford an early opportunity to end the game on the power play.
Both Mueller and Fix-Wolansky had some great scoring chances on the man advantage but couldn’t find the back of the net. Cootes also made a good play feeding Safonov down low, who tried to go between the legs but was stopped by Nabokov. 
The game could not be decided in overtime, so we saw our first shootout of the season: Abbotsford’s three shooters, Ben Berard, Cootes, and Fix-Wolansky, were not able to beat Nabokov. Beckman was the lone shootout scorer, beating Tolopilo high-blocker to win the game.

Game 2

The Canucks once again got off to a solid start. Lind jumped out on a breakaway chance less than a minute into the game. Cootes followed up on the rebound and rung the post, keeping the game scoreless.
Not long after Lind’s breakaway, Colorado took a 1-0 lead. But just a few minutes later, Lind and Cootes followed that up with a picture-perfect give-and-go leading to Lind’s first goal of the season and tying the game at one apiece. 
The rest of the first was mostly uneventful; Patterson and Alriksson got a two-on-one scoring chance, but Patterson missed the net.
Midway through the second period, Lind and Cootes combined again. Cootes carried the puck through the neutral zone, beat a defender and made a pass out wide to Fix-Wolansky. He then found Lind trailing in the high slot, who ripped home his second of the night to give Abbotsford a 2-1 lead. 
Fix-Wolansky got another great chance later in the second, ripping down the wing with speed and almost scoring on a wrap-around attempt.
Safonov also made a great play late, finding Rego with a perfect tape-to-tape pass through traffic, but Nabokov made a great save. 
The Canucks’ third goal was set up by a great play from Fix-Wolansky. He battled the puck out of the air to break up a breakout pass, then found Mueller backdoor to tip in his fourth goal of the season. 
Late in the third, with the game now tied at 3-3, the Eagles took another delay-of-game penalty, using their glove to win a faceoff. 
On the power play, Lind made a pass to Mueller in the slot for a chance on net. Cootes hung around the side of the net and was in the right place at the right time for what would become the game-winning goal, picking up his third point of the night. 

Standouts

We can nearly guarantee Cootes will be featured in the standouts every week, based on what we’ve seen from him to kick off the season. He continues to be a dynamic playmaker, and his ability to carry the puck through the neutral zone, gaining the blue line with possession, is second to none. 
He’s not necessarily an elite goal scorer, but all signs are pointing to what could be a very productive year offensively for him if he continues to move the puck and create dangerous chances for his teammates. 
Lind also needs to be mentioned among the standouts, given his two-goal, three-point effort on Saturday. In the two games against the Wranglers last week and Game 1 in Colorado, Lind was fairly quiet. But he seems to have finally found his footing, especially on a line with Cootes and Fix-Wolansky, where he can be a bit more of a rover in the offensive zone and find soft spots to get scoring chances. 
The line of Patterson, Alriksson and Ravinksis was a big-time standout for the team this weekend. They created plenty of chances offensively; Ravinksis in particular took the puck to the net with force, creating havoc out front, which was great to see from him after an uninspiring first two games this season. Alriksson had a play in the second game where he flashed some serious speed through the neutral zone, but was hooked at the blueline, though there was no call on the play. Patterson has been the guy who brings this line together, though. He’s responsible and a puck hound at both ends of the ice, winning tons of battles.
The final standout that we’ll mention for this week was Safonov. Kicking things off with a big hit in the first game, which led to a power play and the opening goal for Abbotsford. He flashed skill and confidence in tight overtime with a between-the-legs attempt, but the most impressive and unexpected part of his game this weekend was his ability to carry the puck through the neutral zone. 
It’s something we didn’t see in the NHL preseason or even in the prospects showcase over the summer, but this weekend against Colorado, he had some speed bursts through the neutral zone, controlling the puck as he entered the offensive zone. Turning that into some good offensive zone time and pressure. 

What’s Next?

Next up on the schedule for Abbotsford is a back-to-back on October 17th and 18th against the Coachella Valley Firebirds, where they will look to build off their first win of the year in front of their home crowd for the first time this season.
The October 17th game starts at 7:00 PM, while the October 18th puck drop is at 4:00 PM in Abbotsford.
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