The Vancouver Canucks prospects were back on the ice at the 2024 Young Stars Classic on Sunday afternoon, securing a 4-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets in a matinée between the tournament’s two undefeated teams.
Despite a shaky start, the Canucks found their footing midway through the game to carry the majority of the latter half. With help from their goaltender, Ty Young, and several of the team’s younger prospects, the Canucks snuck away with the gutsy victory to remain the only undefeated team in the event.

Opening lineup

Anthony Romani earned a promotion to the second line, joining Friday night’s goalscorer Max Sasson and fellow recent draft pick Riley Patterson. Sawyer Mynio made his tournament debut after recovering from the flu earlier in the week. Meanwhile, 20-year-old Ty Young got the start in net for his first appearance of the weekend.

First Period: Slow Start for Canucks

The game began with a penalty from Josh Bloom, putting the Canucks’ penalty kill to the test early. Ty Young was sharp out the gate, making several key saves to keep the Jets off the board. Winnipeg applied consistent pressure throughout the period, but Young’s steady performance in net—stopping all 13 shots in the opening frame—kept the game from getting out of hand.
Vilmer Alriksson implemented himself early, delivering a clean open-ice hit on Nikita Chibrikov to set the tone during an otherwise sloppy and sluggish opening period from the home team.
Despite the poor start, the team snuck away with a scoreless tie through 20 minutes.

Second Period: Momentum Shift

The early stages of the second sang a bit of a different tune, with the Canucks top two lines forming the first real stints of applied pressure, collecting several opportunities to score in the opening few minutes.
However, it was the Jets who struck first. Brad Lambert, considered Winnipeg’s top prospect in this event, opened the scoring with a labeled snapshot past Young.
Shortly after, another Canucks turnover led to a Jets power play, where Lambert set up Chibrikov for a one-timer to double the Jets’ lead midway through the game.
Just when the game felt like it was getting away, the Canucks responded midway through the period. Beginning with a Max Sasson chip and chase, the 24-year-old took the puck behind the net before throwing a hard shot-pass toward the net. With Josh Bloom crashing the net, the puck found its way toward the net off his skate, cutting the lead in half.
Moments later, Vilmer Alriksson connected from down low with Elias Pettersson, whose point shot made its way through traffic to beat Winnipeg’s Domenic DiVincentiis.
With life restored life at the South Okanagan Events Centre, the Canucks entered the third period tied, despite being outshot 22-16.

Third Period: Canucks Take Control

Building on their momentum from the late second period push, the Canucks would go on to carry the third period.
Anthony Romani, a recent sixth-round draft pick, showcased where his 58 OHL goals came from last season. After collecting the puck off a quick cycle, he got two cracks at taking a shot, and tucked his second attempt under the bar for his first goal of the tournament to give the Canucks their first lead of the game.
The standout of the match, Vilmer Alriksson, put the game out of reach with a brilliant individual effort. After Danila Klimovich stripped the puck off the boards, he sent the towering Swede in tight before he delivered a slick backhand past the Jets’ netminder.
Suddenly, after a sluggish and sloppy start, the ice was suddenly tilted toward the home team’s end. Ty Young held up his end of the bargain, making several key saves in the third period to shut down the Jets’ late push.
With the goalie pulled late in the game, the Jets pressed, but the Canucks held on to seal the 4-2 victory and remain the tournament’s only undefeated team.

Final Thoughts

It was not the start the team was looking for, but the Canucks displayed resilience and took over the game in the second half. While the top line of Bains, Räty, and Lekkerimäki had a quieter outing in comparison to Friday, it set the table for other younger prospect to carry the load.
Vilmer Alriksson was a standout performer in the game, not only providing two points — including a very soft handed goal — but brought physical elements to the game.
Head Coach Manny Malhotra spoke highly of his game after the game: “Obviously, today was the better of his two games. Last game, he had some quality touches, but kind of felt his way through the game, whereas today, especially towards the second half of that game, he really started to use his size really well. [He] played like a true power forward, and obviously taking pucks to the net when you’re a big man, has its benefits, and he was able to finish.”
Additionally, Ty Young delivered a strong performance, keeping the Canucks in the game when they were struggling early on.

What’s next

The Canucks will look to close out the Young Stars Classic with a perfect record as they face the Calgary Flames prospects on Monday at 2:30 PM Pacific Time. Fans can catch the game live for free on Canucks.com.
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