The Abbotsford Canucks‘ struggles continued, as they dropped their fourth straight game, this time to the Calgary Wranglers.

Despite a valiant effort and a standout performance from rookie Jonathan Lekkerimäki, the Canucks couldn’t overcome their penalty troubles and fell to the Wranglers by a score of 3-2.

Jonathan Lekkerimäki was a one-man show for Abbotsford, leading the offensive charge with a goal and countless scoring chances. He was dynamic from the opening faceoff, showcasing his speed, skill, and relentless release.

However, none of his efforts were enough to overcome the Canucks’ lack of discipline.

Abbotsford took six penalties throughout the game, including three consecutive minors in the second period. Not only did the Wranglers capitalize on the power play, but wasting all that time on the penalty kill severely stunted their chances of making a second-period push.

Despite a late push and nearly doubling Calgary’s shots, the Canucks couldn’t find the equalizer, leaving them searching for answers as their losing streak extends.

Let’s check in on the action.

Sasson – Räty – Lekkerimäki
Blais – Mueller – Karlsson
Bloom – Wouters – Klimovich
Nielsen – Smith – Kambeitz

Arntsen – McWard
Wolanin – Woo
Hirose – Kudryavtsev

Tolopilo

The Abbotsford top line jumped out of the gate buzzing, with the Swedish star being sprung on a clear-cut break within the game’s first few seconds.

Despite the backhand-to-forehand move, he couldn’t get the puck all the way up, getting stymied by Waltteri Ignatjew’s glove.

Credit to Max Sasson for the solid backcheck, which initiated the pressure and eventually led to the forced shot and turnover around the boards.

That line’s very next shift, Sasson drew a slightly weak penalty to send his team on the powerplay. Even if they weren’t scoring (yet), they were making their mark on each and every shift.

We counted five shot attempts for Lekkerimäki on said powerplay. But to the Wranglers’ credit, they were blocking attempts from everywhere and every angle. And, unfortunately for Artem Grushnikov, that meant every part of the body.

Being the rugged defender he is, Grushnikov would return shortly and hardly miss a shift.

Despite some decent zone time and a few strong chances, their two minutes were unsuccessful.

But the top line wouldn’t be held off the board for long.

Breaking into the zone, Aatu Räty collected the puck as the trailing F3 before finding Jonathan Lekkerimäki with the perfect cross-feed. A sniper of Lekkerimäki ilk won’t miss that opportunity often, and this time, he cashed in on the 19th goal of his rookie season.

Oh.

That was technically just his second shot of the period, but it felt as if he had 10 up to that point. He was all over the ice through the first 20 minutes.

Over at the other end, things were relatively quiet. The Wranglers outworked for most of the first half despite a few early chances.

That was until Räty took an unfortunate tripping penalty, which gave the home team the first-man advantage.

There, they finally tested the net, forcing Nikita Tolopilo to make his third and best save of the night.

Even on the standard bumper play, he was playing sound hockey to start the night.

Abbotsford’s top line was tremendous all period and continued to pepper the Wranglers’ net, working a cohesive offensive game.

When all was said and done, Lekkerimäki finished the period with a goal and three official shots.

It was the Canucks, well, the top line after 20 minutes as they went down the tunnel sporting a 1-0 lead.

This time, it was the Wranglers’ turn to churn out some offence in the first few ticks.

Thanks to a heads-up stick by a Wrangler forward to keep the puck in play, Tyson Barrie received the cross ice feed and drove the middle, forcing Tolopilo to flash the glove.

From there, the Canucks ran into some penalty troubles, collecting back-to-back-to-back penalties. That’s three consecutive.

And the third time was the charm, as Calgary finally made the Canucks pay for their mistakes in the final of the three.

Working the 5-on-3, Rory Kerins collected the puck behind the net before cutting to the blue paint with a power move around Aatu Räty.

All things considered, it was a decent stretch for the visiting team, though. Despite taking three straight penalties, they managed to keep the Wranglers to just three shots.

But the Canucks took a fourth penalty later in the period and despite holding them off for most of the period, they lost their lead.

With the penalty narrowly expiring, the Wranglers continued to press until Parker Bell collected the puck at the blueline.

He put a stickless Jett Woo in a lasso, freezing him while standing flatfooted. With Woo cleanly beaten, Bell walked in and fired the wrist shot to the short side, beating Tolopilo clean for their first lead of the night.

That string of infractions severely dipped their ability to create consistency in the period. That dominant top line for Abbotsford in the first felt like a distant memory, as they were glued to the bench and watched the team kill penalty after penalty.

Suddenly, what began with a pure dominant opening frame, the pendulum swung toward the home team, and they found themselves down after 40 minutes.

Wouldn’t you know, the Canucks picked up where they left off?

Just one minute into the final frame, Tristen Nielsen was called for the team’s fourth tripping minor of the game and sixth penalty in total.

Thankfully, it was a flawless kill, and to keep the game’s theme going, Calgary took a penalty of their own as their powerplay expired.

Lekkerimäki and Karlsson nearly linked up with the Swedish connection, with the veteran redirecting the youngsters’ slap pass. That proved to be the best chance of the two-minute stretch.

But the Wranglers used the momentum of the kill to their advantage. With the penalty freshly expired, the home team broke into the zone and, thanks to a missed shot, was gifted a scrambled opportunity.

Brett Davis was the beneficiary, who pounced and potted his first AHL goal through the legs of Tolopilo.

On another powerplay, the Canucks got a string of high grade chances. As you’d expect, both were orchestrated by Jonathan Lekkerimäki.

First, a beautiful and thoughtful cross-ice dish was sent to Sammy Blais, who rang the puck off the crossbar.

The second was a dangerous shot from the slot, bested by Ignatjew’s glove.

But with the second unit on the ice, the Canucks got themselves within one goal.

Right off the offensive zone draw, Danila Klimovich collected the puck and rifled one to the top corner for his 16th goal of the season.

It was so quick that the camera missed the shot entirely.

Unlike the second, the third period was all Canucks. The issue was that they double-shifted their star line on several occasions, which nearly got them in trouble. With Lekkerimäki caught out on an extended shift, the Wranglers looked to take advantage, leading to a heavy Wrangler offensive zone presence.

Although a little scattered, Tolopilo was up to the task, giving his team a chance to push for the late equalizer at the Saddledome.

And, of course, Lekkerimäki led that push. The sharpshooter remained on the ice for much of the final five minutes.

But it simply wasn’t enough.

Despite a heavy push and 38 shots toward the net, the Wranglers held the score, forcing a fourth loss in a row on their Pacific Division foes.

Jonathan Lekkerimäki. No notes. From the opening draw, quite literally, this game was all Lekkerimäki. He was as dynamic as you could have asked and was all over the ice at all times. With the exception of the second, where the Canucks put themselves into a penalty bind, he was deadly and finished with a goal, seven shots and about 1000 shot attempts.

These two will wrap up their doubleheader on Saturday night, officially ending Abbotsford’s five-game road swing. The puck drops at 5:00 p.m. PT at the Scotiabank Saddledome.