The Abbotsford Canucks welcomed the Calgary Wranglers on Flaunt Your Flannel Night, skating away with a gritty win in front of the home crowd.
Jiří Patera got the start in goal for Abbotsford, opposite Owen Say for Calgary. Jonathan Lekkerimäki and Ben Bérard returned to the lineup, providing an immediate offensive boost, while the Canucks otherwise rolled out a nearly identical roster.
The game got off to a quick start as Lekkerimäki marked his return just 18 seconds in, backhanding the puck past Say to give Abbotsford the early lead. Momentum slowed shortly after when the Canucks were sent to the penalty kill for two minutes. Although they escaped unscathed, the Wranglers carried the play and heavily outshot Abbotsford for the remainder of the period. Despite the pressure, the Canucks headed into the first intermission up 1–0.
The second period delivered plenty of action in a short span. Cooper Walker doubled the Canucks’ lead three and a half minutes in, burying his own rebound. Calgary responded just over a minute later, as Sam Morton ripped a one-timer from the slot to cut the deficit to one. A few minutes after that, Dryden Hunt capitalized on a misplay, scoring with Patera down to tie the game at 2–2. Arsenii Sergeev went in net for the Wranglers.
Calgary grabbed the lead early in the third when Carter King finished a backdoor feed from David Silye to make it 3–2 Wranglers. Abbotsford answered back quickly, however, as Nils Åman deflected a Jonathan Lekkerimäki point shot past Sergeev, tying the game at 3 with nine minutes remaining.
Both teams pushed for the go-ahead goal down the stretch, but even with a Canucks power play in the final minute and a half of regulation, neither side could find the winner, sending the game to overtime.
Abbotsford began the extra frame with a 30-second man advantage and came close on several looks, but the game ultimately required a shootout.
Shootout Results
Round 1 Lekkerimäki — YES Gridin — NO
Round 2 Bérard — NO Poirier — NO
Round 3 Reichel — NO Suniev — YES
Round 4 Åman — NO Kerrins — NO
Round 5 Alriksson — YES Frk — NO
Abbotsford battled to the very end, earning a hard-fought 4–3 shootout win over the Calgary Wranglers. The two teams will rematch tomorrow before the Canucks hit the road.