Abbotsford Canucks close out home schedule with pair of losses

/ Uncategorized / By

Abbotsford Canucks fans saw just a dozen regulation wins on home ice in 2025-26 and the final home stand continued that trend with a pair of losses to the Coachella Valley Firebirds on Friday (April 3) and Saturday (April 4).

The Canucks put together the worst home record in franchise history and finished with a record of 16-17-1-2. Abbotsford was outscored 114-90 in those 36 games and averaged just 2.5 goals per game inside the Rogers Forum in 2025-26.

Prior to this season, the Canucks had never posted a losing record on home ice and the worst season was 2023-24 when they ended up with a home record of 20-13-3-3.

Saturday’s game was a solid effort from the Canucks, but a 2-1 lead evaporated early in the third period when J.R. Avon scored at 3:12. Abbotsford had a glorious opportunity to win the game when the Firebirds were assessed a four-minute power play at 15:40, but the club managed just four shots and couldn’t beat Coachella goalie Victor Ostman.

The game went to overtime and the Firebirds buried their first chance when Tyson Jugnauth beat Ty Young to give his team the 3-2 win.

The teams played a scoreless first period and each recorded six shots in the opening frame. Coachella’s Carson Rehkopf opened the scoring at 6:21 of the second, but Canucks rookie Bennett Schimek scored his second career AHL goal at 9:45 to tie the game up. Abbotsford’s Ben Berard scored about two minutes later and Abbotsford led 2-1 after 40 minutes.

The Canucks out shot the Firebirds 13-8 in the third and 26-25 in regulation, but couldn’t prevent the comeback. Danila Klimovich led all players with six shots on goal.

Berard said the power play missed opportunity was the difference on Saturday.

“That power play at the end, we’ve got to come up with something there,” he said. “We wanted to put something in the net and take the lead so that was disappointing.”

This was a breakthrough season for the Duncan product, who is tied for the team lead with 16 goals. It’s by far his most productive season at this level and he said the time in Abbotsford has helped him develop. His efforts were recognized by Canucks fans as he was voted the team’s unsung hero.

Canucks captain Chase Wouters will go from carrying the Calder Cup to sitting on the sidelines this spring, but fans believed he had a strong season as he was voted both fan favourite and man of the year. He said it’s nice to receive the recognition from the audience.

“I just kind of show up ready to work every day and just to be recognized is a huge honour and something I’m very proud of,” he said.

Wouters said it was a challenging year, but there was still something to take away from it.

“We didn’t get the results this year, but it’s a long year and we have a lot to learn from it,” he said. “But I’m proud of everyone in the room. We pushed to make each other better.”

The captain has already tied a career-high in goals this season with 10 and is three points off his career-high of 28 points. Ty Mueller, who is second on the team in scoring with 35 points, earned most valuable player honours.

Young made 23 saves in the loss and he was backed up by local mortgage broker Alex Kotai, who was used because Jiri Patera was called up for today’s Vancouver Canucks game.

Reported attendance on Saturday was 5,164.

Saturday’s effort was better than Friday’s 2-0 shutout loss that saw Abbotsford muster just 21 shots and fail to generate many strong offensive chances.

After a scoreless first period, Coachella’s John Hayden scored at 4:48 of the second period. The Firebirds dominated the middle frame and out shot Abbotsford 10-3. Cooper Marody added some insurance at 17:27 of the third to seal the win for the visitors.

The Canucks were out shot 30-21 in the loss and Patera made 28 saves to keep the game close. Schimek led all Canucks with four shots on goal. The shutout marked the ninth time this season that Abbotsford has been blanked. Reported attendance on Friday was 4,345.

Abbotsford’s record now falls to 24-37-4-3 and they have tumbled into 10th place in the Pacific Division and 32nd (last place) in the AHL. However, they can make some ground and crawl out of the basement with good results in Calgary next weekend. The club was eliminated from the playoffs on March 22.

The Canucks visit the Alberta city for games on Friday (April 10) and Saturday (April 11). Abbotsford then closes out the season with games in California against the Ontario Reign on April 18 and the Firebirds on April 19.