The Abbotsford Canucks looked to bounce back when they landed in San Jose to take on the Barracuda for night one of their back-to-back.

Nikita Tolopilo drew back into the crease after missing a few games with an injury, taking on Jakub Skarek at the other end of the ice. Dino Kambeitz also made his return to the lineup, slotting in alongside Chase Wouters and Nick Poisson, while Victor Mancini stepped in next to Jimmy Schuldt to anchor the first pairing on the blue line.

Both teams opened the game with pace and urgency, trading chances and shutting plays down in equal measure. But the story of the first period quickly became the penalty box. A costly roughing call on Joseph LaBate handed San Jose their first power play, and the Barracuda capitalized roughly eight minutes in. Moments later, Vilmer Alriksson was sent to the box, and San Jose struck again—this time courtesy of Jimmy Huntington.

Abbotsford managed to kill off a third consecutive penalty but struggled to generate any sustained offense because of it. A brief scrum sent a few more players to the sin bin, but the Barracuda carried their 2–0 lead into the intermission.

The Canucks came out firing in the second. Just 90 seconds in, Ben Berard found space over Škarek’s shoulder during a 4-on-3 advantage, cutting the deficit in half. With San Jose back in penalty trouble shortly after, Ty Mueller buried a slick backhand to tie the game at two.

Momentum stayed with Abbotsford. Only two minutes later, Sawyer Mynio intercepted a Barracuda pass and sprung Chase Wouters on a clean breakaway. The captain made no mistake, flipping the script and giving the Canucks a 3–2 lead. Mynio racked up three points in the period, and Berard dropped the gloves with Oliver Wahlstrom to complete a Gordie Howe hat trick in just 20 minutes of hockey.

San Jose responded midway through the frame when Pavol Regenda slipped in a back-door finish to knot things up 3–3. Abbotsford continued applying pressure, disrupting plays and peppering shots on net, but with just over three minutes to play, Tolopilo made a big stop on Filip Bystedt only to have Igor Chernyshov bury the rebound, restoring the Barracuda lead.

With just over two minutes left, Abbotsford pulled the goalie in search of the equalizer, but Regenda sealed the game with an empty-netter with 30 seconds gone in the 6-on-5 push. The Canucks fell 5–3 to San Jose in a penalty-heavy matchup.

The teams will be back at it tomorrow night as Abbotsford wraps up their four-game road trip.