Don’t look now, but the Abbotsford Canucks are quietly putting wins back on the right side of the ledger.

With a weekend sweep of the San Diego Gulls, Abbotsford has now won three straight games and sits at 6–4–0 over its last 10. Incredibly, it’s a stretch that has pulled them to within seven points of a playoff spot in the Pacific Division.

It’s a notable shift for a team that spent much of the early season searching for traction and one that suddenly finds itself looking to saddle up and make a run of it as the reigning champions.

Jonathan Lekkerimäki set the tone early, doing what he’s become increasingly comfortable doing at the American League level. Just days after sealing an overtime win, the Swedish sniper broke up ice and wired a labelled snapshot to open the scoring with his 10th goal of the season.

The goal — his third in as many games — pushed Lekkerimäki to the top of Abbotsford’s scoring list despite having played just 15 games. He now sits 11th in franchise history with 30 career goals.

San Diego managed to pull even midway through the contest after a juicy rebound was deposited by Yegor Sidorov. But Abbotsford regained control early in the third. Rookie Vilmer Alriksson won a hard-fought net-front battle, spun off pressure, and sent a backhand into the top corner for his fifth of the season.

With time winding down, Arshdeep Bains sealed the result with an empty-net goal, with Ty Mueller picking up the primary assist in his 100th AHL game.

In goal, Jiri Patera stopped 23 of 24 shots for his eighth win of the season. While Abbotsford’s overall results have masked some individual numbers, Patera has quietly provided consistency in his first full healthy season with the club. Through 17 starts, he holds an 8–6–4 record, a .918 save percentage, and a 2.38 goals against average.

It didn’t take long for Abbotsford to lift the spirits of the 3,369 in attendance at Rogers Forum.

After Ty Mueller won a battle below the goal line and drove the net, the puck worked its way back to the point, where newcomer Cole Clayton fired a shot on goal. The rebound popped out to Arshdeep Bains, whose swipe redirected the puck toward Mueller. He spun and finished for his seventh goal of the season.

For Bains, the assist marked his 100th in the AHL, making him just the second player in franchise history to reach the milestone. He now sits nine helpers shy of tying former defenceman Christian Wolanin for the all-time franchise lead. The secondary assist also gave Clayton his first point as a member of the Canucks organization. There was plenty more where that came from.

Later in the period, Clayton broke up a chance and likely equalizing goal at his own end as a penalty expired, immediately spotting Danila Klimovich exiting the box. Without much angle, Klimovich pulled off a slick spin move around the defender and slid a backhand through the pads on the unsuspecting netminder.

As the period wound down, Ty Mueller dropped the puck to Victor Mancini, who leaned into a wrist shot and beat the goaltender far side for his second of the season and a 3–0 lead.

After going pointless through two periods, Lekkerimäki added to the night by intercepting a cross-ice pass in his own zone and leading the rush the other way. Drawing defenders toward him, he slipped a pass to Mueller, who worked around his check and tucked home his second of the game for a beautiful finish.

The Cochrane, Alberta native (Mueller) extended his point streak to four games, posting six points over that span. After a slow start, Mueller now sits at 19 points (8G, 11A) through 37 games in his sophomore season.

Meanwhile, rookie netminder Aku Koskenvuo was rock-solid, stopping all 33 San Diego shots for his first professional shutout. “Being able to do it in front of the fans means the world,” Koskenvuo said post-game. “That’s why we show up to the rink.”

Koskenvuo is now 2-4-1 on the season with a .908 save percentage, a 2.67 goals against average, and a shutout to his name.

With three straight wins and points in six of their last 10 games, Abbotsford has injected life back into its season. The offence is finding contributors throughout the lineup, the goaltending has stabilized, and the postseason no longer feels unreachable.

The Canucks will look to carry that momentum back to California for a three-game road trip, beginning Wednesday night in Ontario. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. PT at Toyota Arena.