Abbotsford Canucks sweep San Diego Gulls on home ice

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Don’t look now, but the Abbotsford Canucks could once again be going on a January heater.

For the second time this month, the Canucks have won three games in a row after sweeping the San Diego Gulls with wins on Saturday (Jan. 24) and Sunday (Jan. 25).

January 2025 saw the Canucks drop three games to open the month and following one of those losses in Laval a players-only meeting was held. After that meeting the club rolled off nine straight and eventually won the Calder Cup. Players and management believed that was the turning point of that season and led to the title.

Saturday’s game opened with Jonathan Lekkerimaki dazzling fans with a perfect shot to beat Gulls goalie Calle Clang at 10:20., The Canucks were buzzing the entire period and had the 10-6 shots edge after one.

San Diego’s Yegor Sidorov tied the game up at 9:52 of the second period and the Gulls pushed back with a 10-8 shots advantage.

Abbotsford’s Vilmer Alriksson scored the eventual game winner at 3:28 of the third and Arshdeep Bains added an empty net goal at 19:26 to earn the 3-1 win for Abbotsford. Bains led all Canucks players with five shots on goal.

Canucks goalie Jiri Patera had another strong game and stopped 23 of 24 shots. Despite being on one of the worst teams in the AHL, Patera’s numbers this season are outstanding. He has a record of 8-6-2-0, a goals against average of 2.39 and a save percentage of .918.

Reported attendance on Saturday was 3,916.

Sunday was a dominant performance by Abbotsford from almost the opening whistle, as Ty Mueller beat Gulls goalie Tomas Suchanek at 1:57 of the first period. Abbotsford held an 11-9 shots advantage after 20 minutes.

It was all Canucks in the second period, with Danila Klimovich scoring a highlight reel spin-o-rama backhand at 7:12 and Victor Mancini adding a seeing eye shot from the point at 18:15. Abbotsford again out shot San Diego 14-11 in the middle frame.

The Gulls again made a push in the third period, but Mueller added some insurance after a nice set-up from Lekkerimaki at 10:42 to earn the 4-0 win.

Rookie goalie Aku Koskenvuo had a strong game in goal for the Canucks and made 33 saves to record his first career AHL shutout. The 2021 fifth round pick has looked solid in limited time in Abbotsford. He now has a record of 2-4-0-1, a goals against average of 2.67 and a save percentage of .908.

Mueller had a three-point night to lead the Canucks and newly-acquired defenceman Cole Clayton added two assists. Lekkerimaki led all Canucks with five shots on goal. Mueller also finished the game at a team-high +4, while Bains was +3.

One concern from Sunday is that Canucks leading scorer Nils Aman did not play in the third period. His status moving forward has not yet been revealed.

Reported attendance on Sunday was 3,369. In other news from Sunday, Luna Woo is now a two-time Top Dogs race champion after besting the field in the first and second intermissions. Defenceman Jett Woo’s pooch will aim for a three-peat in 2027.

Abbotsford’s record now sits at 15-22-3-3 and they remain in 10th place in the Pacific Division. The team next hits the road for a game against the Ontario Reign on Wednesday (Jan. 28). The Canucks then travel to Bakersfield to battle the Condors on Friday (Jan. 30) and Saturday (Jan. 31).

The Canucks return home to take on the San Jose Barracuda on Feb. 6.

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