The Abbotsford Canucks remained above the Pacific Division playoff bubble by bouncing back from a loss on Friday (Jan. 31) with a significant win against the Calgary Wranglers on Saturday (Feb. 1).
Calgary opened the scoring on Saturday, as longtime Canucks killer Martin Frk notched his 16th on the season, but after that it was all Abbotsford.
MAX IS SO BACK ‼️ pic.twitter.com/BsoVORzrgX
— Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks) February 2, 2025
Rookie defenceman Kirill Kudryavtsev added an empty net goal it make it a 5-1 final.
Bains, Kambeitz, Kudryavtsev, Christian Wolanin and Nils Åman all had two points in the victory.
ON HIS KNEE 🔥 pic.twitter.com/pp0BLcJmQE
— Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks) February 2, 2025
Canucks goalie Nikita Tolopilo made 27 saves to record his 12th win on the season. The Belarusian netminder has won five of his last six starts.
Reported attendance on Saturday was 4,657.
The two teams finished with a mirror image of Saturday on Friday, with the Wranglers posting a 5-1 win.
Calgary jumped out to a 3-0 lead midway through the second period, with Bains tallying Abbotsford's lone goal. The Wranglers added two more goals in the final frame.
Canucks get on the board, Wolanin set that up perfectly pic.twitter.com/2FwBzbyOEN
— Ben Lypka (@BenLypka) February 1, 2025
Arturs Silovs made 15 saves in the loss and Abbotsford out shot Calgary 31-20.
Reported attendance on Friday was 4,166.
Abbotsford's record now stands at 23-17-1-1 and they rank sixth in the Pacific Division. The top seven teams qualify for the postseason.
The Canucks next head the road to take on the fourth place Colorado Eagles on Friday (Feb. 7) and Saturday (Feb. 8). The club then returns home for games against the San Diego Gulls on Feb. 11 and 12 and host the Eagles on Feb. 15 and 17.
In other Canucks news, forward Ty Mueller was added to the AHL all-star game as original choice Elias Pettersson (defenceman) remains with Vancouver for the time being. Mueller has had an excellent rookie season for the Canucks with 22 points in 39 games.
The Canucks also announced on Friday that defenceman Erik Brannstrom was dealt to the New York Rangers organization in the J.T. Miller trade. Brannstrom is now a member of the Hartford Wolf Pack.
Scenes from day 1 of the #AHLAllStar Classic! 📸
— Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks) February 3, 2025
Tune in tonight at 6PM PST on @FloHockey, @TSN_Sports or @NHLNetwork to watch Ty play in the All Star Challenge! pic.twitter.com/3nJnWBF8Cm