The Abbotsford Canucks erased a rough first period and came back from 2-0, 3-1 and 4-3 deficits to post a 5-4 overtime win over the San Jose Barracuda inside the Abbotsford Centre on Saturday (March 8) night.
The win is especially valuable as the AHL playoffs loom large next month.
Saturday's first period was all San Jose, as the Barracuda scored twice and out shot the Canucks 14-5.
Sasson shorthanded makes it 2-1
鈥� Ben Lypka (@BenLypka)
Max Sasson got Abbotsford on the board at 1:19 of the second period with a shorthanded goal, but San Jose restored the two-goal lead just four minutes later. Danila Klimovich connected on a power play goal at 9:06 to make it a 3-2 game after two. Klimovich now has 19 goals and is tied for the team lead with rookie Jonathan Lekkerim盲ki.
Klimovich on the power play roofs it, 3-2
鈥� Ben Lypka (@BenLypka)
Tristen Nielsen ended a 10-game scoring drought at 3:52 of the third to once again tie the game up, but San Jose snatched the lead back with a power play goal at 8:50. Abbotsford refused go away though and Linus Karlsson knotted the game back up at 17:22 to send the game to overtime.
Wolanin takes advantage of a bad SJ line change and Nielsen scores
鈥� Ben Lypka (@BenLypka)
The extra frame was all Abbotsford and Karlsson was the hero again at 3:09. He now has 18 goals on the season.
Despite being badly out shot in the first period, the Canucks fired 30 shots at the San Jose goalie compared to 28 on winning goalie Arturs Silovs. The Latvian netminder has won his last five AHL starts and nine of his last 10 in Abbotsford.
Karlsson for the win, what a comeback
鈥� Ben Lypka (@BenLypka)
Karlsson had a four-point night and he has now recorded 31 points in 26 games this season. Max Sasson had three points and Christian Wolanin added two assists. Sasson, Wolanin and Jett Woo were a team-best +3 in the win.
GOT THAT DAWG IN EM 馃槫
鈥� Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks)
The win comes off a 3-0 loss to the Barracuda on Friday (March 7).
Barracuda goalie Gabriel Carriere was the difference and made 35 saves in the win. Friday marked the only time this season that Abbotsford has been shut out.
The Canucks did out shoot the Barracuda 35-24 in the loss. The game also featured both teams receiving a penalty shot, but both attempts were unsuccessful.
Nikita Tolopilo made 21 saves in the loss and he was called up by Vancouver on Saturday and did practice with the NHL club.
Final.
鈥� Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks)
Abbotsford's record after the weekend moved to 29-23-2-1 and they are in sixth place in the very tight Pacific Division. Abbotsford is just two points up on the seventh place Tucson Roadrunners and four points up on the eighth place Bakersfield Condors. The top seven teams qualify for the playoffs.
The Canucks next host the Bakersfield Condors for games with big playoff implications on Tuesday (March 11) and Wednesday (March 12). The home stand continues with games against the Calgary Wranglers on Saturday (March 15) and Sunday (March 16).
Abbotsford Canucks General Manager, Ryan Johnson, announced today that the club has acquired forward Jujhar Khaira from the Syracuse Crunch in exchange for future considerations.
鈥� Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks)
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In other Canucks news, the team acquired forward Jujhar Khaira in a trade from the Syracuse Crunch for future considerations. Khaira, 30, is a Surrey native who was chosen by the Edmonton Oilers in the third round of the 2012 NHL Draft.
He went on to play 337 games in the NHL with Edmonton, the Chicago Blackhawks and the Minnesota Wild and collected 80 points. He has nine points in 18 games with the Crunch this season. Last season he recorded 18 points in 22 games with the AHL's Iowa Wild.
Khaira played his junior hockey with the BCHL's Prince George Spruce Kings and the WHL's Everett Silvertips. The 6-3 forward has 84 points in 173 AHL games over six seasons.
