It was a tall order for the Abbotsford Canucks with the red-hot Henderson Silver Knights coming to town. Although the home side made a weekend of it with a barn burner on Sunday, the visitors ultimately skated away with a pair of wins.

The Canucks welcomed newly signed forward Bennett Schimek to the lineup, who made an immediate impression in his professional debut. Used in a top-six role, Schimek saw tons of ice time, including a spot on the team’s top power play unit. Also making his Abby debut was newly acquired Jayden Grubbe, who was brought in from the Edmonton Oilers organization in exchange for Josh Bloom.

With several newcomers joining the lineup, there is renewed energy around Rogers Forum – even if the results have been difficult to come by.

Starting lineup:

The weekend began with a strong start from Abbotsford, as the Canucks fired nine shots on net in the opening period. After a scoreless first, however, Henderson struck early in the second.

It took nearly the entire period, but Abbotsford would eventually respond. Taking a rimmed puck off his skates, Nils Åman quickly spotted Arshdeep Bains in the slot, where he buried the chance for his ninth goal of the season. With the assist, Åman continued what has been a strong run lately, collecting his 11th point in his last 12 games.

Henderson regained the lead early in the third period and never looked back. The Silver Knights added two more goals in the frame to secure a 4-1 victory despite being outshot 30-23.

Danila Klimovich led the Canucks with six shots on goal. Meanwhile, Schimek showed flashes in his AHL debut, recording two shots and several smart plays despite finishing with a minus-3 rating. The rookie was also trusted in the final minute while Abbotsford pushed with the extra attacker.

Starting lineup:

With less than 24 hours between games, Sunday’s rematch opened with plenty of energy in front of a well-attended crowd.

The Canucks dominated the early portion of the game, registering the first seven shots and jumping out to a quick 2-0 lead.

The opening goal came from a trio of newcomers, with Jack Thompson firing a puck toward the net from the blue line. Planted in the slot was Austin Brimmer, who redirected the puck toward the net. Following the play was newly acquired Jayden Grubbe, who pounced on the rebound to score his first goal as a member of the Canucks. With the assist, Brimmer collected his first professional point in his third AHL game.

Moments later, Abbotsford doubled its lead thanks to an excellent defensive read by Sawyer Mynio. Breaking up the play at centre ice, the defenceman jumped up on the rush and found Nick Poisson with a cross-ice feed. Poisson made no mistake, scoring his fifth goal of the season.

But despite all that momentum, things quickly shifted toward the other end of the ice. After absorbing pressure for nearly seven minutes, Henderson finally broke through when Vilam Kmec blasted home his first AHL goal.

The Silver Knights refused to lay off the gas, continuing their push in what was a hectic opening period. Top scorer Ben Hemmerling tied the game shortly after, taking a between-the-legs pass from Matyas Sapovaliv and scoring his 18th goal of the season. Hemmerling struck again moments later off an offensive zone faceoff, this time finishing a feed from Tanner Laczynski to give Henderson its first lead.

The period ended with some added emotion as newcomer Austin Brimmer dropped the gloves for his first professional fight. With an assist already on the scoresheet, he suddenly found himself one goal shy of a Gordie Howe hat trick.

That momentum didn’t stop Henderson from rolling in the second period. Hemmerling completed the hat trick midway through the frame, floating a shot from the blue line past Ty Young to extend the lead.

Abbotsford thought it had cut the deficit late in the period when Ty Mueller found the back of the net, but the goal came just milliseconds after the buzzer.

But the Canucks responded quickly in the third, with Mueller finally getting his goal minutes into the period. Bennett Schimek delivered a quick one-touch pass into the slot following a feed from Kirill Kudryavtsev before Mueller snapped the shot past Cameron Whitehead and off the post. The assist marked Schimek’s first professional point after several attempts throughout the weekend.

Moments later, Abbotsford drew even on the power play. Kudryavtsev again started the play, moving the puck to Danila Klimovich along the flank. Klimovich sold the shot before sliding the puck to Chase Stillman in the slot, who fired home his second goal of the season.

But true to form, Henderson regained their lead. Ben Hemmerling and Dylan Coghlan exchanged passes before Coghlan blasted a one-timer past Young. A later penalty to Kudryavtsev allowed Henderson to extend the advantage again, capitalizing on an odd-man rush while Abbotsford attempted to pressure short-handed.

But the Sunday afternoon rollercoaster continued, and the Canucks pulled one back on the power play. After an incredible amount of sustained but unsuccessful pressure, Jack Thompson found Klimovich wide open at the net front. Like the natural goal scorer he is, Klimovich ripped a shot upstairs for his 13th goal of the season.

Despite a late push with the extra attacker, Hemmerling sealed the result with his fourth goal — and fifth point — of the game into the empty net.

With the six-game homestand now complete, the Canucks head to California for a three-game road trip.

The first stop comes against the Pacific Division-leading Ontario Reign, with puck drop set for 7:00 p.m. PT Wednesday at Toyota Arena.