The Abbotsford Canucks hosted their annual Family Day game in front of a packed crowd, completing the weekend sweep of the Ontario Reign in their final home game of the month with a 5–3 victory.
Nikita Tolopilo earned his fourth consecutive start between the pipes for the men in green, going head-to-head with Phoenix Copley at the other end. Abbotsford rolled out a full 12-and-6 lineup once again, with Jujhar Khaira slotting in alongside Nick Poisson and Cooper Walker to mark the only change of the afternoon.
The Canucks came out flying, generating multiple quality chances early, but the scoreboard didn’t reflect their dominance. A miscue behind the net left Tolopilo out of position, and Aatu Jämsen capitalized with Ontario’s first shot of the night to open the scoring. Despite controlling much of the play, Abbotsford couldn’t solve Copley in the first period.
The second frame couldn’t have started better for the home side. Just 38 seconds in, Jonathan Lekkerimäki wired one of his signature shots from the right circle, going bar down to tie the game at one. Two minutes later, Nils Åman sent a perfect cross-ice feed to Ben Berard, who buried it into a wide-open right side to give Abbotsford a 2–1 lead.
Ontario struggled to generate sustained pressure, but a late power play shifted momentum. Glenn Gawdin benefited from an unfortunate bounce that sailed over Tolopilo’s head, tying the game at two heading into the third.
The Reign grabbed early momentum in the final frame when Jämsen struck again, sneaking a sharp-angle shot in from the goal line less than four minutes in to give Ontario a 3–2 lead. Abbotsford answered quickly. Six minutes later, Khaira pounced on a loose rebound and buried it to even the score at three apiece.
The Canucks refused to back down. With just under six minutes remaining, Ty Mueller fed Lekkerimäki, who sniped another beauty over Copley’s right shoulder to restore the Abbotsford lead. Shortly after, Mueller circled the net himself and tucked one home with the netminder out of position, extending the lead to 5–3.
Ontario pulled Copley for the extra attacker in the final minutes but couldn’t solve Tolopilo again. The Canucks sealed the 5–3 win, completing the weekend sweep in front of their home crowd.
The two teams won’t have to wait long for a rematch, as the battle shifts to California in just two days’ time.
You must be logged in to post a comment.