Abbotsford Canucks outshoot the Wranglers with two shootout wins

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The long and winding road for Abbotsford Canucks goalie Ty Young to finally get his first AHL win this season finally ended in Calgary on Sunday (March 1).

Young and the Canucks hung on for a 3-2 shootout win to take two wins from the Wranglers and provide a little bit of life in the team’s attempt to crawl back into the playoff picture.

The 2022 Canucks fifth round draft pick entered Sunday’s game with a record of 0-8-0-0, a goals against average of 4.65 and a save percentage of .849. Young was the victim of not getting a lot of offensive support earlier this season – combined with some rough outings – and found himself with the Kalamazoo Wings of the ECHL for much of the season.

However, he rebuilt his game and his confidence in western Michigan posting a record of 10-9-2, a GAA of 2.53 and a save percentage of .926 in 22 games. Vancouver’s constant goalie injury carousel gave Young another opportunity in Abbotsford and he made good of that on Sunday.

The Coaldale, Alta. product made 36 saves to earn the win and also denied five of six Calgary shootout attempts. It’s his first AHL win since March 29, 2025 and his ninth career league win.

Abbotsford had a great start, with Danila Klimovich scoring just 2:04 into the first period on the game’s very first shot. After a slow start that saw him go scoreless in the first 17 games, Klimovich now has nine goals and is showing flashes of the offensive skill that helped him lead the team in goals with 25 in 2024-25.

The Canucks were out shot 9-4 in the first and Young was forced to make several big stops.

Abbotsford defenceman Joe Artnsen then made it 2-0 at 9:59 of the second period. Chase Stillman set up the rearguard perfectly and he now has two goals this season. The Canucks again were out shot 9-4 in the middle frame, with Young again shutting the door.

The wheels began to fall off late in the third period, with Aydar Suniev breaking the shutout at 14:27. The Wranglers knotted the game up just 84 seconds later when Justin Kirkland beat Young. The Wranglers had chances to score again late, but Young managed to avoid allowing a third goal.

Three-on-three overtime solved nothing, but the Canucks were forced to kill a penalty in the extra period. Shots after 65 minutes were 38-19 Calgary. The shootout followed and had to go six rounds deep. Abbotsford’s Ben Berard and Calgary’s Kirkland were the only players to score in the first three rounds, with Canucks defenceman Jett Woo scoring the winner in round six.

Klimovich led the Canucks with four shots on goal, while Lukas Reichel was a team-best +2.

The win comes off a similar script from Friday’s (Feb. 27) 3-2 shootout win over Calgary.

The teams played a scoreless first two periods, before Berard broke open the game 52 seconds into the third. Calgary’s Sam Morton tied it up at 3:36, but Abbotsford’s Lukas Reichel put the Canucks back up at 9:28. Wranglers forward Martin Frk sent the game into overtime with a goal at 11:13 of the third and nothing was solved until the shootout.

Berard and Stillman scored for Abbotsford, with Canucks goalie Jiri Patera stopping both Calgary shooters to clinch the win. Abbotsford out shot Calgary 42-34 in the game, with both Reichel and Arshdeep Bains recording five shots on goal. Reichel again was a team-best +2. Patera made 32 saves for the win and he now has nine this season.

The wins improve Abbotsford’s record to 20-29-3-3 and they remain in 10th place in the Pacific Division. The Canucks sit 10 points out of the seventh and final playoff spot in the division.

The club returns home for games agains the Colorado Eagles inside the Rogers Forum on Friday (March 6) and Saturday (March 7).