Diwali is known as a festival of lights, and on Friday (Nov. 12) the Abbotsford Canucks stayed true to that tradition by lighting up the San Jose Barrcudas in the team鈥檚 highest offensive output ever.
The Canucks came out red hot on Diwali Night at the Abbotsford Centre, scoring three goals in the first six minutes en route to a dominant 7-1 win.
Prior to Friday, the most goals Abbotsford had scored in a single game was three.
Minutes from puck drop for vs . Cool set up for night
鈥� Ben Lypka (@BenLypka)
Sheldon Rempal (power play goal), Jett Woo and Will Lockwood all tallied in the first, with Scott Reedy scoring the Barracuda鈥檚 lone goal at 18:01 of the first. Vincent Arseneau scored on the power play in the second, while Sheldon Dries, Rempal and Adam Brubacher lit the lamp in the third.
Canucks goalie Michael DiPietro was solid, especially in the second period when San Jose was threatening to make the game interesting. He made 28 saves to collect his second win on the season.
Several Canucks stuffed the stat sheet on Friday, with Phil Di Giuseppe picking up four assists and Dries adding three assists to go with his goal. Woo also had a three-point night. Special teams were improved for Abbotsford, as the power play went two for four and the club killed off eight of nine penalties, including a two-man disadvantage to end the game.
Is it even an game without a Sheldon Dries goal?
鈥� Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks)
Dries leads the home side with 6芒聝拢 goals this season!
Dries continued his torrid scoring pace for Abbotsford and leads the team with 12 points in 10 games. Rempel has collected 10 points in 10 games.
Woo told media that Diwali Night was a hit and gave the team a bit of an extra spark early.
鈥淚t was a great atmosphere, the music was awesome - I think we kind of leaned on that early,鈥� he said.
Woo said it鈥檚 been a great week of practice and the power play especially was effective.
鈥淲e just kept it simple,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou look at the last couple of games, there was a little too much stick handling but we kept it simple and got shots on net tonight.鈥�
What a way to start a game!
鈥� Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks)
Sheldon Rempal's second goal of the season gives the an early lead tonight at !
He added that the penalty kill was also more focused and he was pleased with how his teammates were blocking shots and sacrificing their bodies to make DiPietro鈥檚 job a little easier. He praised the play of Di Giuseppe and Dries who set him up perfectly on his goal.
Abbotsford鈥檚 record now improves to 4-4-2-0 after 10 games, and they sit tied for fifth in the Pacific Division. San Jose drops to 3-4-1-0, and they rank eighth.
The two teams clash again at the AC on Sunday. Face-off is set for 4 p.m.
