Reloaded Abbotsford Canucks post 4-2 win over Tucson Roadrunners

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The restocked Abbotsford Canucks have suddenly picked up points in four of five games and turned on the offence in the third period to earn a 4-2 win over the Tucson Roadrunners on Friday (Dec. 19).

Abbotsford got goals from Jonathan Lekkerimaki and Arshdeep Bains less than three minutes apart in the final frame to take down Tucson inside the Rogers Forum.

Abbotsford captain Chase Wouters opened the scoring at 3:15 of the first, but Tucson’s Austin Poganski replied just over four minutes later to tie the game up. Tucson dominated the latter part of the first and ended up out shooting Abbotsford 19-9 in the first, however Canucks goalie Nikita Tolopilo was up for the challenge. Thanks to his efforts the game remained tied at one after one.

Tucson continued controlling the play early in the second and it paid off when Dmitri Simashev scored at 10:25. Abbotsford’s power play connected at 15:05 when Mackenzie MacEachern deflected a Kirill Kudryavtsev shot and the second ended with the two teams tied at two. Tolopilo had another strong period, as Abbotsford was outshot 12-11.

Lekkerimaki and Bains both tallied in the third to help the Canucks cruise to the win. The Swedish sophomore has goals in five straight games and is now tied for the team lead in goals despite playing only eight games this season. Lekkerimaki and Nils Aman both finished at a team best +2. Bains in his return to Abbotsford led all players with two points.

The game marked the Abbotsford Canucks debut for forward Lukas Reichel, who failed to record a shot and finished at -1. Defenceman Jett Woo also made his 2025-26 home debut and recorded seven penalty minutes, including a first period fight with Roadrunners forward Ben McCartney. Tolopilo made 33 saves to collect his third win on the season.

Abbotsford went one for two on the power play and were successfully the one time they were shorthanded.

Reported attendance on Friday was 3,538.

The two teams meet again on Saturday (Dec. 20) at 2 p.m. That game is being billed as the ‘Christmas Game’ and features an appearance from Santa Claus, live brass music and Christmas socks to the first 1,500 fans.

The game is also being streamed for free on FloHockey social media platforms.