The Abbotsford Canucks kicked off 2025 on the road against their Pacific Division rivals, the Calgary Wranglers.

Unfortunately for the Canucks, the Wranglers came into the New Year as the top team in the American League, sporting a 21-9-1-0 record, with 13 of those wins coming on home soil.

While the odds were stacked against the visiting team, the Canucks had at least one thing going for them: each game between the two sides had been decided by one goal this season (1-1-0-1)… It wasn’t much, but it was enough to instill some hope in their chances.

With both teams seemingly shaking off New Year’s Eve festivities, the game started slowly but increased in intensity as the night carried on.

Despite a strong effort from Arturs Silovs and some late-game heroics, the Canucks ultimately fell short in a 4-2 decision to ring in the new year with a losing record.

Let’s see how things went down.

Blais – Aman – Karlsson
Bains – Mueller – Klimovich
Räty – Smith – Wouters
Glover – Stevens – Kambeitz

Pettersson – Friedman
Wolanin – Woo
Hirose – Kudryavtsev

Silovs

The biggest headline heading into the game was the absence of Jonathan Lekkerimäki, who was kept out of the lineup for reasons still unclear. Cole McWard also missed the game.

This left the Canucks with a bit of a shuffle, as Sammy Blais was bumped up to the top line alongside Nils Aman and Linus Karlsson, with Aatu Räty dropped to the third line to join Nate Smith and Chase Wouters.

Getting the start was Arturs Silovs.

It was a sluggish start for both sides, as the pace mirrored a collective New Year’s hangover. While the Canucks and Wranglers managed 17 combined shots in the frame, sustained offensive pressure was hard to come by.

The first real test of the game came midway through the period, when Calgary’s Adam Klapka toe-dragged around Kirill Kudryavtsev and went one-on-one with Arturs Silovs. The Latvian netminder stretched out his blocker to make a crucial save, setting the tone early.

Silovs stayed sharp, scrambling moments later to glove down an aerial puck that nearly found its way into the net.

While not as strong, the Canucks had their chances, too, enjoying two late power plays. Although, they failed to generate anything meaningful against Devin Cooley.

The most chaotic moment came when Silovs nearly mishandled a dump-in while on the penalty kill, losing track of the puck in his pads. Thankfully, disaster was avoided, and Silovs did not lend the earliest “misplay of the year” candidate on day one of 2025.

The period ended with Elias Pettersson taking an elbowing penalty, sending the Wranglers to a power play to start the second.

The second frame began much like the first: slow and choppy. The Wranglers controlled the pace for most of the period and even enjoyed a stretch of nine consecutive shots on Silovs.

The Abbotsford netminder stood tall, though, making key saves to keep the game scoreless.

The period began with Ty Mueller breaking off on his own while shorthanded, nearly posting the first goal of the year 2025.

He grabbed another chance in his very next shift.

From there, it was all Wranglers, as Silovs was forced to make several saves and save his team from disaster.

Surviving the pressure long enough, the Canucks finally broke the deadlock on the power play late in the period. Kirill Kudryavtsev manned the point and sent a shot toward the net, where Sammy Blais was perfectly positioned to tip it past Cooley for his second goal of the season and the first Canucks goal of 2025.

Of course, the Wranglers responded almost immediately.

Breaking up the middle was former Canucks’ product Hunter Brzutewciz, who took it to the net and slid the puck back up the middle to find Rory Kerins, who buried his 20th goal of the season with a quick shot.

After nearly 40 minutes of sleepy hockey, the pace picked up in the final minutes, with both teams trading goals and setting the stage for an exciting third period.

Hoping to feed off that late momentum from the second, Abbotsford earned an early power play in the final frame but failed to capitalize (again). Their best chance came seconds after the penalty expired.

Following a Akito Hirose blocked shot attempt, the puck fell to Ty Glover, who took one whack at it before it fell onto the stick of Aatu Räty, who thought he had given his team their second lead of the match.

Sliding over was Cooley, however, who flashed the glove to make the save of the game and keep the game evened at one goal apiece.

That missed opportunity proved costly. Back-to-back delay-of-game penalties, just three seconds apart, gave Calgary an extended 5-on-3 power play, and the Wranglers made Abbotsford pay.

With the man advantage and the Canuck defence collapsed in tight, Martin Frk delivered a laser shot to the top corner, giving Calgary the lead for the first time in the game.

Kerins, who had assisted on the power-play goal, wasn’t done yet.

Thanks to a breakdown in defensive coverage, he received a picture-perfect pass from William Strömgren and redirected it past Silovs for his second goal and third point of the game, effectively putting the game out of reach for Abbotsford.

The Canucks mounted a late push with Silovs pulled.

Arshdeep Bains showcased great individual effort in setting up Christian Wolanin at the point. Wolanin’s quick shot beat Cooley cleanly to bring Abbotsford within one.

By then, the damage was done, however, and the Wranglers would find one last empty net goal to double up on the Canucks on the first day of 2025.

Third Star: Christian Wolanin – Wolanin played a crucial role in attempting to spark the Canucks. In addition to his third-period goal, he led all players with six shots. Could we see a Christian Wolanin promotion with a lack of puck movers in Vancouver?

Second Star: Sammy Blais – Blais not only scored the game’s opening goal but was a physical presence, battling hard and setting the tone for Abbotsford’s energy.

First Star: Arturs Silovs – Despite allowing three goals on 28 shots, Silovs kept Abbotsford in the game for much of the night. His standout saves, especially during Calgary’s 9-shot run in the second period, were key in keeping the game close.

The Canucks head east to face the Laval Rocket for a two-game series. Game One is set for Friday, January 3rd, with puck drop at 4:00 PM PT.