Abbotsford Canucks celebrate New Year’s Eve with 5-2 win in Winnipeg

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Winnipeg might not be the most popular destination to spend New Year’s Eve, but for the Abbotsford Canucks the Manitoba capital was once again a good place to say farewell to a year.

The Canucks rode a three-goal second period to earn a 5-2 win over the Manitoba Moose on Wednesday (Dec. 31) and it marks the second time in team history that Abbotsford has defeated Manitoba on NYE in Winnipeg.

Abbotsford also posted a 5-2 win over the Moose in Winnipeg back on Dec. 31, 2022. That game saw captain Chase Wouters score twice and the club got singles from Jett Woo, Nils Hoglander and Justin Dowling. Artrus Silovs picked up the win that year and Arshdeep Bains picked up a pair of assists.

The Canucks have historically owned the Moose throughout the team’s four-plus years of existence and have won the last seven meetings. Manitoba last beat Abbotsford 3-2 back on March 23, 2024. Abbotsford has won 18 of the 25 meetings all-time.

Wednesday’s game didn’t start off with a familiar script to the past, as Manitoba’s Danny Zhilkin opened the scoring at 6:21 of the first when he beat Canucks goalie Nikita Tolopilo with a dribbler through the legs. Canucks forward Danila Klimovich tied the game up at 18:45 after receiving a perfect pass from Bains on the power play. The teams were tied 1-1 after one and Abbotsford held a 12-6 shots edge.

Abbotsford’s Lukas Reichel finally put an end to his pointless slump in the AHL with a breakaway goal at 3:15 of the second and Ty Mueller gave the Canucks a two-goal lead with a power play marker at 5:08. The Moose battle back when Elias Salomonsson scored at 13:49, but Bains restored the two-goal lead to end the second after a nice feed from Mueller at 18:25.

Manitoba out shot Abbotsford 21-7 in the middle frame, but Tolopilo made several key saves to keep the Canucks on top.

The third period was a prototypical road final frame with a lead by the Canucks, as they limited chances from Manitoba and Bains added an empty net goal at 16:36 to seal the win.

Bains and Mueller recorded three points apiece, while Klimovich and Sawyer Mynio had two-point nights. Bains now has six points in five AHL games this season. Special teams were a big part of the story on Wednesday, as Abbotsford went 2/5 with the man advantage and also killed off all six times they were shorthanded. Klimovich and Bains also finished at a team-best +2. The Bains/Klimovich/Mueller line was a new line combination and were effective offensively on Wednesday.

Tolopilo had a solid outing with 35 saves and he now has four wins this season. His save percentage for the season now sits at .911, which is impressive considering Abbotsford’s poor record. The Canucks were playing Wednesday without forwards Jonathan Lekkerimaki, Nils Aman and Joseph LaBate.

Abbotsford’s record moves to 9-16-3-3 and they remain in 10th place in the Pacific Division. The two teams meet again on Friday (Jan. 2) at 5 p.m. Abbotsford time.

The Canucks then return home for games against the Bakersfield Condors on Tuesday (Jan. 6) and Wednesday (Jan. 7).