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Abbotsford Canucks split series with Calgary Wranglers

Abbotsford and Calgary trade wins in the Abbotsford Centre on the weekend
cancukswin
The Canucks celebrate after scoring a goal on Saturday (Feb. 1).

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.

Aatu Räty tied the game up 49 seconds later and the second period saw Arshdeep Bains, Dino Kambeitz and Max Sasson put the Canucks up 4-1 after two.

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.

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.

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.



Ben Lypka

About the Author: Ben Lypka

I joined the Abbotsford News in 2015.
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