Abbotsford Canucks open 2026 with loss to Manitoba

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The historical dominance of the Abbotsford Canucks in Winnipeg came to a crashing halt on Friday (Jan. 2).

For the first time since March 23, 2024, the Manitoba Moose downed the Canucks and posted a 4-1 victory in Winnipeg.

The all-time series between the teams has now seen Abbotsford win 18 of 26, but Friday’s game saw the Moose attack early and completely control the opening period.

Manitoba’s Mason Shaw opened the scoring at 6:22 and Moose forward Parker Shaw gave them a 2-0 lead at 17:41. The shots on goal were extremely lopsided, as Manitoba had a 17-7 edge. Canucks goalie Jiri Patera played excellent in the first period and prevented the game from getting out of hand early.

The Canucks stepped up in the second period and were finally rewarded when rookie forward Anri Ravinskis did his best Matthew Tkachuk impression and drove to the net with a wrap-around finish at 17:37. The tally was the Latvian forward’s first-ever AHL goal and he used his height and strength to beat Moose goalie Thomas Milic.

Abbotsford had the 7-6 shots edge in the second, but that 2-1 margin would be as close as the Canucks would get.

Manitoba’s David Gustafsson put the game to bed at 13:32 when he found himself wide open and was then set up perfectly by teammate Walker Duehr. Former Abbotsford Canucks forward and Calder Cup champion Phil Di Giuseppe added an empty net goal at 15:45 to add a little insurance. Di Giuseppe now has eight goals this season and ranks third on the Moose in that category.

Abbotsford was out shot 30-23 and Patera had a solid game with 26 saves. Canucks forward Juhjar Khaira had a team-high five shots, with Ty Mueller adding four. Abbotsford players Joe Arntsen, Chase Wouters and Kirill Kudryavtsev all finished the game at -2.

Offence continues to be an issue for Abbotsford, as the team has scored 66 goals in 32 games so far this season. They are tied for the league-worst in goals per game at 2.06. The Canucks did lose forward Arshdeep Bains for this game, as he was called up following an injury to Vancouver’s Marco Rossi.

Abbotsford finishes the four-game road trip at 1-2-1-0 and now have a record of 9-17-3-3. They rank 10th place in the Pacific Division and are nine points out of the seventh and final playoff spot in the division.

The Canucks return home for games against the Bakersfield Condors on Tuesday (Jan. 6) and Wednesday (Jan. 7). The club then welcomes the Calgary Wranglers for games on Saturday (Jan. 10) and Sunday (Jan. 11).