Just 24 hours after a humbling shutout snapped over a year-long streak of scoring at least one goal, the Abbotsford Canucks faced off against the San Jose Barracuda on Saturday night.ca
With fewer than 20 games left—10 against divisional rivals like San Jose, Bakersfield, and Calgary breathing down their necks—the Canucks’ sixth-place cushion is shrinking fast.
Every point is gold, and after Friday’s stumble, this was no time for another misstep.
Here’s a look at the bulk of their remaining schedule:
  • San Jose – 2 games
  • Bakersfield – 4 games
  • Calgary – 4 games
  • San Diego – 1 game
  • Ontario – 1 game
From slow starts to thrilling dog races to franchise milestones, this one was chaotic and finished with a little dash of everything.
Here’s how the Canucks clawed out two massive points in a game that had it all.
LEt’s check in on how things went down.
Starting lineup
Blais – Räty – Karlsson
Bains – Sasson – Klimovich
Nielsen – Mueller – Wouters
Glover – Smith – Walker
Brisebois – McWard
Wolanin – Woo
Hirose – Kudryavtsev
Silovs
The Canucks showcased the main advantage to having their farm team just down the road, reassigning Arturs Silovs earlier in the day to squeeze him in for deployment.
First period: Slow start
The Latvian netminder was tested early, when the Canucks broke down with their defensive coverage. Walker Duehr was left alone, fresh off being sent down from the Sharks.
Dropping to a knee, he forced Silovs to flash the blocker early for the game’s first save of the evening.
That shot held as the lone chance until the six-minute mark, when Abbotsford finally got on the board courtesy of a rush shot from Linus Karlsson.
But it was the Barracuda who opened up the scoring just moments later.
San Jose goal – 1-0 – Jimmy Shchuldt from Andrew Poturalski and Thomas Bordeleau
Collecting the puck off a d-to-d pass, Jimmy Shchuldt loaded and released the wrist shot to the high blocker side. While it was a nice shot, Silovs likely wants it back, having been beaten from a distance.
With a soft goal behind him, Silovs eased into the game and wound up playing a relatively strong period with 12 saves.
Tempers began to flare late in the final five minutes, and after the Canucks were given the extra minor in a spirited skirmish, the Barracuda took just 14 seconds to get things done.
San Jose goal – 2-0 – Pavol Regenda from Danil Gushchin and Rem Pitlick
Standing in the slot, Pavol Regenda took the Danil Gushchin centering feed to double his team’s lead.
Down by a pair, the home team did not do themselves any favors. Tristen Nielsen took an undisciplined headbutting penalty late in the period, sending the Cuda to a four-minute powerplay.
Thankfully, they managed to fend off the power play, run the clock, and head down the tunnel by two.
Shots: ABB 5, SJ 14
Score: ABB 0, SJ 2
The dog race
After a disappointing opening period, the real entertainment began during the intermission.
Ten pups, all owned by the Abbotsford Canucks players, lined up to race for glory. The races were split between the two intermissions.
Things started strong for Luna Woo, who showcased quick wheels to advance to the third heat and five other pups.
Second period: The Klim Reaper finds an inch
The second period has been the Canucks strongest period, by a mile, this season. And despite being shorthanded, Max Sasson showed us why.
Abbotsford goal – 2-1 – Max Sasson from Linus Karlsson
Chipping the puck up the ice, Max Sasson sprung on a two-on-one and chose “shot” all the way. Looking off Karlsson, Sasson wired the short side snapshot to cut the lead in half early.
The Canucks continued to press, and came inches from tying things.
Tristen Nielsen snuck a pass through to Ty Mueller, who beat Gabriel Carriere with the shot, but had the puck trickle through to hit the post. No one could shove the puck past a scrambled netminder despite crashing the net.
And the Barracuda would make them pay for that, regaining their two-goal lead just minutes later.
San Jose goal – 3-1 – Colin White from Walker Duehr and Pavol Regenda
Sneaking past coverage, Colin White hovered in the slot, taking the Walker Duehr feed from below the goal line. With a spinning shot, he beat Silovs to the far side for his ninth goal of the campaign.
But the Cuda took a penalty, sending the home to a powerplay, where their sharpshooter took matters into his own hands.
Abbotsford goal – 3-2 – Danila Klimovich from Linus Karlsson and Sammy Blais
Linus Kalrsson sent the puck toward the net, where it popped out to an open Danila Klimovich from his typical spot on the half wall.
He wasted no time and found the inch of space given at the top corner, picking it for his 19th goal of the season.
With the goal, he tied Jonathan Lekkerimäki for the team lead and put his team within one goal of the second time in the period.
Linus Karlsson drew a penalty and provided two assists to assist in the Abbotsford charge. Despite trailing by a goal after 40 minutes, things were trending in a much better light through the middle frame.
Shots: ABB 13, SJ 23
Score: ABB 2, SJ 3
Luna Woo, the intermission hero
Luna Woo, Jett’s pup, stole the show during the intermission. Despite the slow start in the final heat, she turned on the afterburners to sweep the four-leg race and take home the crown.
Third period: Thrilling finish
San Jose came out strong, forcing Silovs to make a pair of strong saves early on.
The Canucks fed off that momentum And tied things up early.
Abbotsford goal – 3-3 – Tristen Nielsen from Christian Wolanin
Taking advantage of a poor San Jose line change, Christian Wolanin quickly sprang Tristen Nielsen on the counterattack.
Walking in the zone, he rifled one to the top corner to tie the game at three goals apiece and snap a 10-game pointless skid.
With the assist, Wolanin picked up his 100th as a member of the Abbotsford Canucks, the first in organizational history to hit the century mark.
As you’d expect, the pace picked up quickly following the goal, as both teams exchanged rushes.
Perhaps that hectic play got to Silovs, as he got a little overzealous with a clearing attempt to send the puck over the boards for a delay-of-game penalty.
The Barracuda made them pay.
San Jose goal – 4-3 – Colin White from Thomas Bordeleau and Walker Duehr
With too much room in the slot, Colin White took his time to find his spot, eventually sending one to the shortside to beat the Canuck netminder to regain their lead.
That was until the final minutes, when the home team showed off their resilience, tying things for a second time.
Abbotsford goal – 4-4 – Linus Karlsson from Max Sasson and Arshdeep Bains
Thanks to another strong stretch pass, this time from Arshdeep Bains, Sasson broke in and patiently outlasted the sliding defender before sending the puck toward Karlsson at the doorstep.
Jamming away at the puck, he poked the puck past Carriere to tie things at four with his third point of the game.
The goal was fitting, as Karlsson had been orchestrating most of the game’s chances since the beginning of the second period.
After a wild finish, this one needed overtime to find its winner.
Overtime
The first three minutes of overtime were ALL Canucks, as they carried possession for the entire stretch.
Abbotsford goal – 5-4 – Linus Karlsson from Max Sasson and Christian Wolanin
Then, fresh off the bench, Linus Karlsson took the Sasson feed and wired the wrist shot home for his second goal and fourth point of the contest to call the game in overtime.
With the goal, he finishes as the overtime hero and ties Sheldon Dries for the franchise lead in all-time goals.
Final shots: ABB 30, SJ 28
Final score: ABB 5, SJ 4
Final thoughts
What began as a lopsided, lackluster game, ended with a few incredible story lines and a huge two points for the Abbotsford Canucks.
Christian Wolanin became the first player in franchise history to hit 100 assists, and Karlsson tied Dries for the lead in goals and a four-point game.
That’s not to mention Luna Woo taking home the anticipated dog race.
What’s next?
The Canucks are right back at it on Tuesday, as they host the Bakersfield Condors for a midweek two-game series. The puck drops at 7:00 pm PT at the Abbotsford Centre.
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