Game 72 of the 2024-25 AHL regular season roared to a close, and the Pacific Division delivered a finale packed with drama.

With first-round playoff matchups still up in the air, the Abbotsford Canucks and Ontario Reign clashed in a high-stakes battle for the division’s second seed. So, even with home ice secured, this game brimmed with compelling storylines.

The prize? A second-place seed in the Pacific Division and a matchup against the seventh and final seed.

Meanwhile, the out-of-town scoreboard dangled potential first-round opponents — San Jose, Calgary, Tucson, and Bakersfield — with each separated by just a handful of points. The Canucks faced the possibility of drawing any of these four teams, setting up for a thrilling finish to the season.

Despite a sluggish and sloppy start, the Canucks quickly found their groove, seizing control with a dominant possession game.

They battled back from two deficits, showcasing their trademark resilience. Even with a late Ontario tying bid, Abbotsford swiftly responded, proving their clutch mentality.

The victory capped an astonishing 16-1-1-0 run to close the season, propelling the Canucks into the 2024-25 Calder Cup playoffs with unstoppable momentum.

Let’s dive into the action!

Bains – Räty – Lekkerimäki
Di Giuseppe – Sasson – Karlsson
Blais – Mueller – Klimovich
Khaira – Wouters – Nielsen

Wolanin – Mancini
Brisebois – Kudryavtsev
Hirose – McWard

Tolopilo

Thanks to a sloppy, back-and-fourth start from the visiting Canucks, the Reign came out with the game’s initial shots.

The Reign took advantage of an overzealous pinch, leading to Glenn Gawdin sneaking past the Abbotsford defence to break one-on-one with Nikita Tolopilo.

With hopes of winning the race, Cole McWard activated in an attempt to get the jump on the opposition’s ring-around. Unfortunately, Martin Chromiak beat him to the puck, chipping the puck past him ahead for Taylor Ward.

Finding Gawdin, the veteran forward snapped a perfectly placed shot over Tolopilo’s shoulder.

But the Reign weren’t satisfied.

Directly off the face-off, they continued their press, capping off a 7-1 shot advantage run.

But Abbotsford has been resilient all season, and despite the less-than-ideal start, they regrouped and evened the score.

Following a strong board win from Max Sasson, Victor Mancini unleashed a heavy one-timer toward the net.

Posted up in his office at the netfront, Linus Karlsson out-muscled his check to deposit his 23rd goal of the season and second since being reassigned from Vancouver.

The pair of goals brought the game down an octane, as the teams settled into their legs.

Later in the period, Ontario got a favourable bounce.

With Max Sasson attempting the defensive clearance, the puck unfortunately bounced off the referee and out into the open space.

Wasting no time, Andre Lee loaded up the shot from the tee to regain their Lead at 2-1.

But the Canucks refused to let that shake them.

Like they did once already, the Canucks Responded quickly, with both Max Sasson and Victor Mancini picking up their second points of the period.

Sasson fished the puck from the scrum and handed it to Christian Wolanin, who sent it D-to-D to set up Mancini. He went to work to showcase some soft hands and shifty edgework.

Providing the shimmy shake at the line, the defenceman got past his check before snapping the puck past Phoenix Copley for his fourth goal of the season to even the score.

Sure, Quinn Hughes’ season may be over in Vancouver, but his influence lives on through some of the younger defenders who’ve been blessed to watch him down the stretch.

Things got a little messy at the end of the period, with Ontario getting in a few shots while taking the game’s first penalty.

Despite a sloppy and shaky start, Abbotsford regrouped, responded on separate occasions, and played a much stronger second half.

After 20 minutes, things were all tied up.

The Canucks enjoyed the advantage of having fresh ice for their minute and a half of powerplay time.

Despite a few looks, nothing came of the opportunity.

Instead, the middle frame began with far less intensity than the opening period, with just a few combined shots.

But the Canucks took hold of the game midway through the game, embarking on an incredible stretch of sustained in-zone pressure.

Highlighted by Victor Mancini, who was all over the ice for Abbotsford, the Canucks spent several minutes hemming the Reign inside their end. Unfortunately, pressure is all they’d see, as they failed to take their first lead of the evening.

But Mancini was having himself a night. Keep an eye on number 90 in this sequence:

From there, it was all action. For minutes, the actual Picked up with back-and-forth chances in what felt like an overtime sequence.

Enjoy.

You wouldn’t know by the period’s stat books, as somehow, nothing came of it, but the Canucks played an incredibly aggressive and dominant possession game. However, their six registered shots may not indicate that.

The period may have concluded without a change in score, but It was ALL Abbotsford Canucks.

While they didn’t begin the third period on the man advantage like in the second, the Canucks were handed an early powerplay as Sasson was hauled down in the neutral zone.

While they failed to register any shots, they would find the twine.

With another board battle win, Jujhar Khaira collected the puck and sent it toward the man in the slot.

Although Chase Wouters missed the one-timer, the puck continued toward Akito Hirose, who wasted no time snapping the shot from a distance.

Finally, after grinding the Reign down, the Canucks enjoyed their first lead of the night.

The Canucks were seeing tons of success from taming quick and snappy shots, wasting no time to test the netminder.

Things were going well. The Canucks were shutting things down. The period was nearly complete.

But the Reign battled back.

Out-muscling Jonathan Lekkerimäki at the line, Jacob Doty broke through the zone, circling the net before throwing the puck toward the front of the net.

As the old saying goes: Go to the net, and good things will happen. And that’s precisely what happened for Kaleb Lawrence, who had the puck ricochet off his skate to tie the game.

But. The. Canucks. Are. Resilient.

Just moments later, the Canucks scoffed at the idea of overtime, picking up their second go ahead goal of the period.

Following the PDG dump-in, Max Sasson outran the defender, winning the race to snap the puck past Copley for the 4-3 advantage.

Once again, it’s a quick release shot, and once again, it’s a goal.

With their backs against the wall, Ontario pressed to tie things up, but Tolopilos’ toe was up to the challenge.

With the netminder pulled, Arshdeep Bains iced the game for his 11th goal of the campaign.

With that goal, Ontario seemingly let up, leading to the Abbotsford victory and sole possession of the second seed in the AHL Pacific Division.

The Canucks have shown incredible resiliency, especially since the calendar switched to 2025. That didn’t change in this game, as they fought off a pair of deficits and took back control quickly after giving up the late tying goal.

Max Sasson led the charge with three points and the game-winning goal. Meanwhile, Victor Mancini may have had his best game in an Abbotsford sweater. Not only did he pick up his goal as a member of the Abby team, but he also showcased his strong edge work and Quinn-like maneuvers.

With an incredible 16-1-1-0 run, the Canucks officially lock up the second seed in the Pacific Division and will now take on either Tucson or Bakersfield in round one of the Calder Cup playoffs.

The Tucson Roadrunners defeated the Colorado Eagles, locking up a seventh-place finish. With that locked in, the Canucks will open up their playoff slate on Wednesday, April 23rd, as they host the Roadrunners at the Abbotsford Centre.

We will have all of your Abby Canucks playoff coverage right here at CanucksArmy.