Hockey is funny sometimes. A 4-1 loss to a struggling San Diego Gulls squad feels discouraging on the surface. Yet, the way this game played out sang a different tune. If it weren’t for a quick stretch of penalty woes in the second period, this might’ve been a different narrative with more romance in the title.

Alas, a loss is a loss.

Whether it was fatigue from Friday’s game or the lack of home-opener vibes from the quieter crowd, Saturday’s matchup lacked the buzz we enjoyed from the previous night. But despite the disappointing final score, the Canucks gave the Saturday night crowd some solid moments. They outright dominated the third period and put up a valiant, if late, comeback effort.

However, you need a full 60 to complete wins most times, and a poor stretch of second-period hockey ultimately sealed Abbotsford’s fate with their second regulation loss of the campaign.

Let’s check in to see how it all went down.

Fans were treated to back-to-back nights with a new face in the lineup. After Jonathan Lekkerimäki’s season debut on Friday, Saturday’s top line welcomed Phil Di Giuseppe, who had missed the first five games with an undisclosed injury.

Aside from that, Most of the lineup remained intact from the previous night, including Nikita Tolopilo in net, who earned the start on consecutive nights. With a solid 3-0-0-0 season start and a light workload on Friday, it was a deserved nod for Tolopilo.

Unlike game one, the action didn’t begin with an immediate breakaway for the home team.

What it did have, however, was Abbotsford kicking things off with nearly two minutes of sustained pressure, running through three full line changes while keeping the puck deep in the Gulls’ zone.

Now, two games into his season, Jonathan Lekkerimäki has injected a very healthy and refreshing combination of work ethic and skill into this linemate. During the Canucks’ training camp, Rick Tocchet described him as a “buzzsaw,” and on nearly a shift-by-shift basis, we are given examples of why.

Even when he’s not creating offensive chances, Lekkerimäki’s strong forecheck and dogged pursuit of puck carriers keep the opposition on their toes. Driving the net? Not always his strength. Workhorse in the corners and walls? Absolutely.

After Friday’s high-energy game, the pace in this one felt much slower, with San Diego showing more resilience than the night before. Of course, it was somewhat predictable that they’d come out swinging after laying an egg the previous evening.

Max Sasson brought us the game’s first real scoring chance. Ty Mueller, one of Abbotsford’s quiet stars so far, set up Sasson with a slick backhand saucer pass that Sasson nearly put past the sliding Gulls’ netminder.

Say what you will about the AHL’s two-to-three-game series environment, but one thing that it does provide is a heavy dose of pent-up hatred between the two combatants.

Early into this one, Dino Kambeitz and a Gulls forward engaged in some extracurricular action, which we can only imagine included an exchange of Halloween costume ideas.

This tussle led to the game’s first penalties and a stretch of 4-on-4 play.

During the 4-on-4, Danila Klimovich turned the puck over along the boards in his own zone, sending two Gulls players the other way. This typically wouldn’t be the end of the world, but unfortunately, both Cole McWard and Kirill Kudryavtsev had activated up ice, assuming Klimovich had control.

Tolopilo was left alone and had to make his first big stop of the night on a 2-on-0 break.

That chaotic sequence rattled the Canucks’ composure. The puck cycled around the Gulls’ players until Drew Helleson executed a well-executed threaded cross-ice pass, setting up a prime redirect opportunity.

Somehow, as he’s done all season, Tolopilo got a toe on it to keep things scoreless. For the rookie defensive pair of Kudryavtsev and McWard, this wasn’t their best moment, but Tolopilo bailed them out.

The Canucks would settle down and, thanks to their top line, would go on to regain momentum with a lengthy cycle play that included excellent keeps by Elias Pettersson and Lekkerimäki. With each shot, it felt like they were inches from breaking the game wide open.

But this is hockey. And after minutes of dominant pressure, things usually find a way to swing in the other way. And that’s exactly what happened.

After a pressing shift from the Canucks’ top line, the Gulls caught a break with an odd-man rush. With Abbotsford gassed from playing keep away, Sam Colangelo pounced on a rebound and netted the opening goal for the second night in a row.

Despite the setback, the Canucks’ third line responded by digging in and generating another string of offensive chances. Abbotsford fired nine shots at Oscar Dansk in the opening frame, but none could solve the 30-year-old journeyman netminder.

They closed the period by killing off a tripping penalty against captain Chase Wouters, with the Gulls heading into the intermission with a 1-0 lead and an 11-9 edge in shots.

The Gulls began the second period with a few seconds left on the powerplay and wasted no time testing Tolopilo.

Just as Wouters returned to the ice from his two-minute time out, Jett Woo broke up a play to send him and Räty on a breaking 2-on-1. Deferring the puck toward Räty, he walked in and unleashed a laser release but found nothing but iron.

Nearly five minutes into the second frame, it was time for the home team to enjoy their first looks at the man advantage. Circling the net to push the play forward, Nikita Nesterenko aggressively clutched Elias Pettersson, giving the referees an easy call to send Abbotsford’s struggling powerplay to work.

With the second unit getting the first half, we were blessed with a rare spectacle: a PDG one-timer from the half wall.

Although it sailed high and wide, seeing the veteran emulate Lekkerimäki was entertaining. But Abbotsford’s unit ranks 28th leaguewide (8.0%), and this attempt did little to change that.

With another unsuccessful powerplay in the books, the Canucks took a penalty of their own.

Luckily, they had their secret weapon in the form of Nikita Tolpilo, who has grown a nice reputation for bailing his team out when needed. He made a pair of good saves during the penalty-killing stretch to keep his team in the game.

But he could only do so much.

San Diego doubled their lead after a ring-around pass set up a Gulls’ rush, and with the trailer left unguarded, Roland McKeown blasted one point-blank past Tolopilo.

From here, the Canucks were unravelling, and despite a few chances, particularly this Nate Smith opportune, things only went from bad to worse.

With a hint over two minutes left, Wouters took his second penalty of the game, getting caught flat-footed and hauling down a Gulls rushing skater.

But it didn’t end there.

Seconds into the penalty kill, Woo was whistled for cross-checking while attempting to clear the crease. While it looked like an incidental play, the Gulls’ forward sold it well, leaving Abbotsford down two men for an extended 5-on-3.

I’m sure you can guess what happened next.

The Gulls capitalized, running a five-forward system and working the puck around until Harkins hammered a one-timer, making it 3-0.

Harkins struck again, pouncing on his own rebound to seal the deal, and just like that, the game slipped away from the Canucks.

That’s hockey, folks.

With time to regroup, Abbotsford came out determined to claw their way back into this game. Lekkerimaki and Räty were doing their part, nearly connecting on a quick chance, but the puck hopped just out of reach.

Danila Klimovich, who played his best game of the season on Friday (in our opinion), carried over that strong momentum. Moments after the Lekkerimäki opportunity, Klimovich received a Sasson pass and was left in a prime location to get his team on the board. And he, the fans and all the viewers watching from various FloHockey social channels all thought he did with a short side snipe.

Unfortunately, it actually hit the side of the net to fool everyone in the process.

On his next shift, he worked the cycle game and walked the perimeter before sending a shot toward the net to ensure some chaos in front of the net. Unfortunately, no one could connect with a rebound.

On his next shift, he picked up the puck in the corner, drove to the slot, and fired another close-range shot off the iron.

He couldn’t buy one tonight, but the effort was there, and he was buzzing.

As the Canucks piled on the pressure, Lekkerimäki was on a mission to give his team something. Anything…

But despite the attempts, not even he could get his team on the board.

Midway through the period, another penalty took the wind out of their comeback sails.

But wait?

With a hard-fought board win by rookie Ty Mueller, Wouters was sprung for a shorthanded breakaway. Despite managing a weak attempt, the defensive pressure was enough to warrant a shorthanded penalty shot.

Wouters made no mistake on the penalty shot, breathing some life into the crowd as he put Abbotsford on the board.

With a glimmer of hope, the Canucks pulled Tolopilo with just under five minutes left, going all-in for the comeback.

With the extra man, Max Sasson looked off Lekkerimäki and spun a shot toward the net. With chaos ensuing in front of the net, PDG pounced to lift the puck above the shoulder of a discombobulated Dansk but rang it off the crossbar.

Lekkerimäki, who led with five shots, took one last blast on a late powerplay, but Dansk squeezed the puck shut, denying him his first goal of the season.

Much like we saw on Friday, the third period was an outright dominant performance, with the better half of the time spent in the Gulls’ zone. Yet, despite a 13-1 shot advantage, the Canucks could not beat the Gulls’ netminder and dropped a 4-1 decision on home soil.

Ultimately, the Canucks’ penalty troubles sealed their fate. The scoreboard read 4-1, but this game would have sung a much different tune without a late second-period collapse. Abbotsford controlled large parts of the game and outshot San Diego 30-24 but walked away with just a weekend split to push their record to 3-2-0-1.

Combining both weekend games, here are our three stars.

Third Star: Nikita Tolopilo – He wasn’t challenged much on Friday, but he made timely saves in both games when asked, including some big stops Saturday before the penalty troubles ended his perfect season. Stopping 39 of 44 shots, Tolopilo remains an important catalyst to this Abbotsford core.

Second Star: Danila Klimovich – With two points (a goal and an assist) and eight shots over the weekend, Klimovich showed off his offensive creativity, highlighted by a wicked shot from the half-wall on Friday. In addition to the offensive numbers, he looked engaged and dangerous throughout, keeping San Diego’s defence on their toes. Manny Malhotra’s influence on his play already appears to be paying dividends.

First Star: Jonathan Lekkerimäki – This wasn’t just the easy ‘cop-out’ answer. The rookie co-led the team with eight shots, adding an assist on Friday, and while his stat line was modest, his energy and skill shone through. He was skilled, energized, and engaged, and with Räty, he created constant pressure and left fans excited for what was to come.

The Canucks have a quick turnaround, hosting the Tucson Roadrunners on Tuesday, October 29th, for their first weekday back-to-back. The puck drops at 7:00 pm Pacific Time at the Abbotsford Centre.