A goalie can only do so much, right?

The Abbotsford Canucks hosted the Calgary Wranglers for the back half of a two-game set, and like it has for much of the season, scoring –  or lack thereof – proved to be a significant factor.

Despite carrying play for the better half of the game, the Canucks could not find a solution to Ivan Prosvetov. Following a 33-save shutout on Tuesday, their go-to netminder got the nod for a second night in a row and stopped 25 of 26 shots faced for a 2-1 shootout victory.

At the other end, Jiri Patera was just as, if not more, capable between the pipes. Making several incredibly athletic saves, he stopped 29 of 30 shots to keep his Canucks within striking distance the entire game.

It just wasn’t enough.

Despite taking the Wranglers to a shootout, the Canucks dropped their sixth straight game as a result of what continues to be a significant scoring drought, having scored just 13 goals over the course of the entire eight-game season.

It’s tough sledding down on the farm, and this game proved much of the same.

The Canucks swapped the lineup once again, bringing in four new forwards into the mix. Danila Klimovich, Jackson Kunz and Josh Bloom, who were all healthy scratches on Tuesday, figured into the mix. Meanwhile, Ben Berard, Vilmer Alriksson, and Chase Stillman drew out. Nils Aman, back from Vancouver, slid in as the team’s top-line centre.

In the net, Jiri Patera got the nod with Ty Young sitting on the bench.

Labate – Aman – Kravtsov
Durandeau – Mueller – Klimovich
Bloom – Khaira – Kambeitz
Ravinskis – Wouters – Kunz

Schuldt – Mynio
Knyzhov – Lee
Arntsen – Daschke

Patera

Scratched: Vilmer Alriksson, Chase Stillman (potentially injured), Robby Drazner, Ben Berard
Injured: Jett Woo, Guillaume Brisebois, Nikita Tolopilo, Cooper Walker

The first minutes brought several minutes of neutral back-and-forth, with no real chances either way.

The home team did collect the game’s best early chance, with Nikolai Knyzhov collecting the pass all alone in the high slot off some nice movement. Building off the strong effort from Tuesday, Ivan Prosvetov played the angle perfectly to steer the puck aside to kick off what would be another stellar evening at the Abbotsford Centre.

Just seconds later, Knyzhov flipped the script to take the first penalty of the game, getting caught with his two hands up high for an easy cross-checking/high-stick call.

Like they had done often on Tuesday, the Canucks killed it with ease, conceding just one shot.

The Canucks may be in the midst of a five-game losing streak, but their penalty kill has been both a positive and a negative.

Negative, as they continue to take too many penalties. Positive, as they continue to kill the majority of them off, running around 85% for the year.

The next few moments did not bring much entertainment, as the Wranglers failed to test Jiri Patera with any noteworthy chances.

Just before the midway point of the period, the Canucks were sent to their first power play of the game.

And the young Sawyer Mynio showed off what he’s got.

It didn’t take long, but Mynio and Nils Aman played give and go before Mynio unleashed his patented one-timer past Prosvetov.

It took him five games to showcase his nasty shot, and now, he’s working on two blasted goals over his last three games. He’s been tasked with some heavy lifting over the last few games. He has shouldered that weight with the poise of a pro and continues to be one of the better stories on the farm.

At this point, Patera saw little action. But as the clock hit the five-minute mark, he was forced to show off his quick reflexes after a shot attempt took a ricochet off one of his defender’s sticks.

At least he found a way to stay sharp and awake.

Moments later, he was forced to suck in a tremendous opportunity, all courtesy of his own defender.

After breaking up a play with his stick, Knyzhov made the dangerous attempt to stickhandle through the pressing offence. It went horribly wrong. Instead, he set up a Wrangler for a perfect chance for the one-timer.

Again, Patera was sharp and awake.

Patera continued to show off his quick acting reflexes early in the second frame. This time, sliding over to stone Dryden Hunt with the Dominic Hasek-esque stop.

One thing you may notice throughout these game highlights is the defensive giveaways. They were often and plentiful in this game.

Going the other way, the Canucks nearly doubled their lead.

With a strong burst up the ice from Chase Wouters, he dropped the puck back to Anri Ravinskis, who nearly potted his first in the American League – he just couldn’t beat the post.

Believe it or not, that earlier Patera save represented the only shot faced in the first half of the period. Unlike the opening period, the Wranglers carried play, despite seeing no shots toward the net.

Credit to the Abbotsford defence, which kept them to the perimeter the entire half despite being hemmed in for most of the frame.

That pressure continued in the back half. Only this time, they pressed hard with chances on the netminder.

Incredibly, it took 16 minutes for the Canucks to get their first shot of the period. They were thankful to somehow hold on to the lead despite being heavily outplayed and outshot.

And it wasn’t without one last highlight reel save, as Patera slid over on the cross crease play, robbing Sam Morton with the glove.

Abbotsford had some serious thanks to give in the dressing room, as they left their netminder to hang with a 9-2 shot differential through 20 minutes in the second.

But Patera is on a tour to remind Canucks fans that he is still here, and he’s ready to be in the conversation for promotion should the need arise.

We can only imagine what Manny Malhotra had to say to his team between periods.

But it had to be something along the lines of “just get some shots.”

If that’s the case, the team listened and picked up their best chance since the opening frame, thanks to a terrific heads-up cross-ice pass through the parted seas from Aman to Vitali Kravtsov.

It may not have gone in, but a chance is a chance. At this point, they’d take whatever they could get.

And they continued to press.

But then, just as the ice appeared to tilt, the Wranglers finally solved Patera.

Danila Klimovich, who has been battling healthy scratches over the last few games, elected for the lazy drop pass directly to the enemy.

Rule #1 of the “things you don’t do” handbook.

Grabbing the gift was David Silye, who found an open Daniil Miromanov, who went top corner on Patera to even the score in the third.

Manny Malhotra likely had some words for the struggling forward on his way to the bench, and we did not see him for much of the third period.

The Canucks pushed forward and nearly regained their lead off the stick of Jimmy Schuldt.

Following a strong drive by Dino Kambeitz, the puck popped right out to the top of the circles, where Schuldt found himself all alone with a sprawled-out netminder. But missed the wide-open net and his chance at his first goal as a member of the Canucks.

Goaltenders have been the team’s strong suit in the season so far, and Parera continued to show us why. Off another cross-ice play, the netminder slid over for yet another high-grade save to keep the score even at one.

The Wranglers have proven to be incredible shot-blocking machines, getting in the way of various Canucks shots as the period ticked away to its end.

For the second time this season, the Canucks would head to overtime. But it wasn’t without one last bit of heroics from Patera.

With just one second remaining on the clock, he slid over to throw out his blocker for the save of the game.

By night’s end, he put up an incredible highlight package.

Now, to grab a win.

The Canucks enjoyed a pair of odd-man rushes in the extra frame, but could not connect for the game-winner – or even a shot.

Meanwhile, Patera continued his tricks to make five saves in the overtime stretch.

But this one needed a shootout.

The game proved to be a bit of a Canuck sandwich, with the home team holding play for the first and third, only to be severely outplayed in the second.

However, an Abbotsford Canucks game is once again covered by terrific goaltending, with Jiri Patera making several ten-bell saves.

Although the shot totals were there, the Canucks once again struggled to find the back of the net and have now scored just 13 goals across eight games. That total sits 29th in the league.

Jimmy Schuldt – It’s probably time to hand out some flowers to Jimmy Schuldt, who continues to ride shotgun alongside young defenders. Since the start of the year, he has enjoyed minutes alongside Kirill Kudryavtsev, Tom Willander, Victor Mancini and now Sawyer Mynio. So, in other words, he’s the go-to guy for Manny Malhotra to take their young defenders under his wing.

Sawyer Mynio – For a second straight night, Sawyer Mynio receives a star. He continues to look right at home while playing heavy minutes as the primary option in all situations. Tonight, he added a goal to his performance and was deemed the third star of the game in the building.

Jiri Patera – Deemed the second star in tonight’s game, this game belonged to Jiri Patera. He made 29 saves, which included several incredible post-to-post efforts to rob the Wranglers of any potential goals. Once again, the Canucks simply could not generate enough offence to deliver the win their netminder deserves.

The Canucks’ hectic homestand continues, as they get set to host the Henderson Silver Knights for a weekend set. Game one is set for Saturday at 7:00 pm PT at the Abbotsford Centre.