The Abbotsford Canucks closed out their home schedule with a hard-fought battle against the Coachella Valley Firebirds.
Ty Young got the nod between the pipes, squaring off against Victor Östman. The Canucks also shuffled their forward lines, while Nikolai Knyzhov slotted in on the blue line to round out the lineup changes.
The opening frame was relatively quiet, with both teams generating a handful of chances but nothing too dangerous. Abbotsford earned the lone power play of the period, but neither side was able to break through, sending the game into the second period scoreless.
Things picked up in the middle frame. Just over six minutes in, Eduard Salé fired a shot on net that nearly crossed the line. With Ty Young out of position, Carson Rehkopf was quick to pounce on the rebound and open the scoring for Coachella Valley.
The Canucks didn’t take long to respond. A few minutes later, Bennett Schimek found himself all alone and beat Östman blocker side to even things up at one. Shortly after, a shot from Nils Åman took an odd bounce and landed right on the stick of Ben Berard in the slot, who made no mistake to give Abbotsford a 2–1 lead heading into the third.
The Firebirds pushed back early in the final frame. J.R. Avon capitalized on a rebound opportunity, slipping the puck under Young’s right pad to tie the game at two. Both teams pressed for a go-ahead goal in regulation, but neither could find the breakthrough.
In overtime, a costly line change by Abbotsford opened the door for Coachella Valley. Tyson Jugnauth took advantage, finding the back of the net to seal the 4–3 overtime win for the Firebirds.
Abbotsford closes out its home slate and will now hit the road to wrap up the regular season.
