While their parent clubs battled in a 7-3 bloodbath down the road in Vancouver, it was a showdown between the affiliates on the farm.

Unfortunately for the Abbotsford Canucks, their roster looked like a depleted wild west scene, missing key players called up to the big club. Luckily, it was Cowboy Night in Abbotsford, so that was fitting.

With Jonathan Lekkerimäki (tweaked something), Arshdeep Bains, Nils Åman, and Aatu Räty all promoted to big club, the lack of star power was evident throughout the night.

While it may not have been a landslide victory like in Vancouver, the Edmonton organization went two for two in the evening as Abbotsford dropped game one of a weekend series with the Bakersfield Condors.

Here’s how it all went down.

With so many heavy hitters missing, Abbotsford had to get creative. Rookie Ty Mueller took the top line with Max Sasson and Danila Klimovich, forming what became the Canucks’ most exciting line of the night. AHL vets Carsen Twarynski and Dino Kambeitz drew back into the lineup, while Cooper Walker and Ty Glover also got the call.

On defence, Christian Wolanin took the night off, while Akito Hirose returned to play top-pair minutes with Jett Woo. Further down on the third pairing, Christian Felton made his professional debut.

With Jiri Patera sidelined by an injury from the last game, Nikita Tolopilo got the start in net, hoping for a solid redemption.

Given the absence of high-end talent, the first period was slow – and we mean slow – burn. It took nearly five minutes for either team to find any sign of life, with Max Sasson registering the game’s first shot on net, an easy pad save for Bakersfield’s Olivier Rodrigue.

Shortly after, Abbotsford went on the powerplay when Kirill Kudryavtsev was swatted in the corner, drawing a hooking call for the game’s first penalty.

But with many of the regulars out, the special teams had a bit of a different look…

PP1 – Ty Mueller, Max Sasson, Tristen Nielsen, Danila Klimovich, and Cole McWard
PP2 – John Stevens, Carsen Twarynski, Nate Smith, Chase Wouters, and Akito Hirose

If you are an avid ‘Farmies” reader, you probably aren’t shocked by the fact that they lacked any real juice on the man-advantage, And that’s precisely how it went down. The new-look units failed to entertain, and the powerplay came and went without generating any real danger.

Shortly after, Tristen Nielsen stripped the puck at his own blue line, finding John Stevens on the rush for Abbotsford’s best chance so far. Rodrigue turned it aside.

For the Canucks’ this marked the team’s most potent offensive chance, which tells you everything you need to know about this opening period.

Just past the period’s midway mark, Carsen Twarynski was whistled for cross-checking, giving Bakersfield’s struggling powerplay (second-worst in the league) a chance.

PK1 – Ty Mueller, Nate Smith, Guillaume Brisebois, Jett Woo
PK2 – John Stevens, Chase Wouters, Kirill Kudryavtsev, Elias Pettersson

With the two kids out on the ice, Kudryatvstev got his stick in the midsection of a Condors’ skater and held on for dear life. Focusing on the call made, he forgot all about the puck, and a Bakersfield forward made a nice drop pass to set up a teammate all alone in the crease. Luckily, Kudryasvtsev made up for his error and dove before the shot to save the tap in goal.

Remember, kids, always stick with the play until the whistle.

Despite a long 5-on-3, the Condors failed to register a shot as the Canucks locked down defensively. Actually, it took them over 15 minutes to finally register their first shot of the game, courtesy of a weak attempt from the wall.

But the ice tilted late, with Bakersfield hemming Abbotsford in for five consecutive shots. Finally:

With under two minutes remaining, Wright grabbed the puck on the wing and snapped a clean shot past Tolopilo to open the scoring.

After an incredible start to the year, clean goals such as these have been commonplace for the Belarusian netminder. Slumps are common, but Tolopilo’s inconsistent play has put the Canucks in a considerable bind over the last stretch of games.

After a 20-minute snooze fest, the Condors held a 1-0 lead.

What the first period lacked in entertainment value, the second made up for in spades.

Bakersfield tested Tolopilo with two quick shots off the opening draw, testing the netminder for the first time since allowing the weak first-period goal.

The saves were short-lived, however.

Minutes later, Elias Pettersson hesitated on a breakout, and his attempted pass deflected off a Condor skate, landing on Caggiula’s stick. Caggiula wasted no time, picking the short-side corner to double the lead.

Plays like this simply come with experience, and Pettersson will learn that this puck needs to be pushed up the ice quickly rather than sleeping on your next play. It’s all just reps.

Abbotsford answered right back.

Following a slick hip check from Christian Felton, Jett Woo sent a bank pass up the ice to Ty Glover, who showcased his speed by driving to the net. His backhand shot was turned aside, but the rebound found Cooper Walker, who tapped it in to cut the lead in half.

Fueled by the goal, the Canucks controlled play for the next few minutes, setting up for their first real stretch of sustained pressure. But despite solid zone time, they couldn’t find another breakthrough.

In fact, it was the Condors who would pick up two of the stretch’s best opportunities. Thanks to the team’s typical defensive miscues as of late, the Canucks conceded not one:

But two odd-man rushes, forcing Tolopilo to deliver big and shut the door.

Late in the period, a surprise surge of emotions erupted out of thin air. Following a Condors’ shot, tempers flared as several places began throwing punches at one another.

First, Jett Woo took on former NHLer Drake Caggiula, with Woo taking the unanimous victory.

Then, the camera panned to Akito Hirose, who was in the midst of his own brouhaha.

Perhaps he did not know, but the AHL has a rule against simultaneous fights. As a result, Hirose and his fighting partner, Max Wanner, were both ejected from the game.

With emotions running high, Abbotsford pushed for a late equalizer, but Rodrigue held firm.

The Canucks entered the second intermission with a 15-10 shot advantage in the period but still trailed by a goal.

Abbotsford kicked off the final frame with an early powerplay, looking to even the score with a fresh sheet of ice.

Midway through the man advantage, Mueller was hauled down, hinting at a potential 5-on-3. The referees had other plans, however, and with the play carrying on, Sasson was gifted the puck in the slot.

But there was no shot on the net from him; instead, his stick shattered into two pieces to squander the opportunity.

Abbotsford was generating good looks and making their best attempts at effective breakouts. They just could not find a solution to finding the back of the net.

What’s a game without an Elias Pettersson train ride? Midway through the period, he delivered the boom with a nasty hip check as the Condors’ forward entered the zone.

After a costly giveaway by Wouters, Berglund danced around Kudryavtsev and snapped a shot past Tolopilo, restoring Bakersfield’s two-goal lead.

From there, Bakersfield parked the bus and played a textbook shutdown game, stifling any Abbotsford attempts to generate offence.

Despite a final push, Abbotsford couldn’t find the back of the net and dropped the series’ first game, 3-1.

Considering the lineup was missing so many key players, Abbotsford’s effort was commendable. While recent games saw the team unravel defensively, they showed decent structure despite some untimely mistakes and came out with a few positives to work off of for tomorrow. Of course, the absence of offensive leaders like Lekkerimäki was felt, especially on the powerplay, which struggled without its usual firepower.

The Canucks and Condors will face off again in game two of the weekend doubleheader on Sunday afternoon. Puck drop is at 4:00 pm Pacific Time at the Abbotsford Centre.