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Abbotsford Canucks pick up big wins in Calgary

Posted on by Neons

Calgary's back-to-back wins have the sights set on home ice in the round dance at the head of the Abbotsford Canucks.

The club exorcised some of its regular losing demons in Alberta, beating the Wranglers 3-1 on Thursday (April 11) and Friday (April 12).

The pair of wins propelled the Canucks back into the conversation on home ice in the first round of the AHL playoffs as they moved up to fourth place after picking up four crucial points.

In Friday's game, Ty Glover opened the scoring at 6:40 of the first on a jumper by a Wranglers player, and that goal stood until 7:36 of the second when Calgary's Rory Kerins tied the game.

The game's turning point came when Canucks defenseman Filip Johansson made a great defensive play to prevent a short chance for Calgary. He then advanced the puck and Sheldon Dries found Tristen Nielsen for the game-winner.

Linus Karlsson added an empty net goal for some insurance.

Abbotsford beat Calgary 33-29 and captain Chase Wouters led all Canucks with four shots on goal. Friday was a back-and-forth for Canucks goaltender Zach Savchenko, who made 28 saves for his fourth win of the season. Savchenko made an early exit in her last match on April 7, but made some key saves on Friday to earn the win.

Thursday's game was a similar affair to Friday's.

After a scoreless first, Dries opened the scoring at 6:22 and Nielsen made it 2-0 with a goal that would eventually become the game-winner. Calgary's Jordan Esterle made it one with a power-play goal at 17:01, but Wouters scored on an empty netter to seal the victory.

Abbotsford got a great performance from Nikita Tolopilo, who made 24 saves for his 19th win of the season. Abbotsford outrebounded Calgary 35-25, while Arshdeep Bains, Max Sasson and Dries recorded four touchdowns.

Thursday also marked the AHL debut of defenseman Sawyer Minio. The Kamloops product spent the past three seasons with the WHL's Seattle Thunderbirds and is a 2023 third-round pick of the Vancouver Canucks.

The Canucks and Wranglers travel to Abbotsford next Friday (April 19) and Saturday (April 20) for their final two games of the season at the Abbotsford Centre.

The games are being promoted as “Fan Appreciation Weekend” and both kick off at 7 p.m.

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