It’s do or die for the Abbotsford Canucks on Saturday night as they battle the Tucson Roadrunners. The winner advances to the Pacific Division semi-finals, while the loser’s season comes to an end.
Abbotsford won Game 1 in dramatic fashion. The Canucks held a 4-1 lead with under two minutes to go in the second period, before the Roadrunners cut the lead to two before the second intermission. Tucson made it a one-goal game near the halfway mark of the final frame and had a chance to tie the game on a penalty shot with 34.6 seconds remaining. Arturs Silovs held his crease and made the stop to secure the Abbotsford victory.
Head Coach Manny Malhotra said after Game 1, “Tucson are fighting for their playoff life, and that makes a team very dangerous.”
And dangerous they were.
Tucson played Game 2 like a team whose season was on the line. They got out to an early lead, and with an exceptional 38-save performance from Jaxson Stauber, the Roadrunners never looked back. Despite their best efforts, the Canucks dropped this contest 4-1.
Now, the Canucks find themselves in the exact same position as the Roadrunners was in after Game 1: fighting for their playoff lives.
While it’s easy to get nervous and discouraged after a loss, knowing that your season is on the line the next game, Canucks defenceman Victor Mancini welcomes the challenge:
“I think we’re gonna be really excited. That’s something we want to play for, right? It’s win or go home. Obviously, we would like to win tonight, but to know we have home ice as well, I think that’s really important for us. This loss is going to fuel us to play better on Saturday.”
The same sentiment seems to be running through the Canucks’ locker room. While it’s unfortunate they missed their chance to close it out in Game 2, the team will quickly put this loss behind them and focus on finishing the job on Saturday night.
Mancini’s teammate, Max Sasson, shared a similar point of view postgame:
“You play all year for home ice, and if there were a pivotal Game 3, then it would be on our home ice. That’s kind of the message, and we knew it wasn’t going to be easy. So, we’re upset about tonight, but we can’t do anything about it, and we’re looking forward to Saturday.”
Outside of the result, Abbotsford played much better in Game 2’s loss than they did in Game 1’s win. They registered just 23 shots on goal in their win, but dominated with 39 shots in their loss. It can be easy to get frustrated and discouraged after generating that much offence and only burying one past the goaltender. But Mancini’s mindset is turning that spiked shot volume into a positive:
“I think it is a little bit [frustrating],” Mancini said. “But putting up that many shots, that’s a good sign for us. Obviously we want some of those chances back where we can bury him, but I think the volume is good. And I think Saturday, we’re going to bear down and bury those.”
The Canucks will have another chance to finish the job on Saturday night in the Abbotsford Centre.
With a win, they will advance to the next round and will await a meeting between one of the Ontario Reign, Coachella Valley Firebirds, or the Calgary Wranglers. And with a loss, their season is over.
