Abbotsford Canucks: A night of firsts
After two away series against the Calgary Wranglers and the Colorado Eagles, where they went 1-3, the Abbotsford Canucks were back home for their home opener on October 17 at Rogers Forum.
They faced off against the Coachella Valley Firebirds for their first matchup of the season and it was a game of high scores and high penalty minutes. Abbotsford looked like a completely different team from last season.
Bennett Schimek opened the scoring at 3:49 in the first on the power play. The goal was assisted by Ilya Safonov and Jacob Quillan.
Quillan is a new addition to the Abbotsford roster, just arriving in Abbotsford the day before the game.
In post game, Coach Ryan Papaioannou was asked about Quillan and his thoughts on how quickly he adjusted to the team, he stated; “Yeah, I don’t think he expected to play when we talked yesterday….[but] I think you play your best when you just jump in.” And that is what he did.
When Quillan was asked about his thoughts on the game and his new team he stated; “We had a couple big plays in the first period and got momentum and carried that over to the second period, and then the floodgates just opened. So that was nice.”
Quillan was a solid presence on the ice stepping up to show that he can contribute and is a good fit for the Abbotsford Canucks.
Schimek and Jimmy Schuldt found their rhythm in the second period creating a solid assist dynamic supporting 2 goals in the opening minutes of the period. The first with Gavin White at 1:25 in the second. This was White’s first goal as an Abbotsford Canuck and his first of the season.
The next goal was with Riley Patterson at 4:57 in the second. This was Patterson’s first goal of the season and first goal as an Abbotsford Canuck.
Vilmer Alriksson scored the fourth goal of the night at 13:36 with an assist from Cole Clayton and White would gain his second point of the game.
White’s luck continued on the ice with his second goal of the night assisted by Schuldt and Ty Mueller.
When Papaioannou was asked about his thoughts on White’s 2 goals he joked; “Probably could have been four.” But went on to say; “I thought he was good. Like he’s fortunate to get himself in close on a couple chances, and guys who can move like him along the line, they’re going to get opportunities to score, and it’s nice to see.”
When White was asked about his game he stated; “Yeah, I felt like I was just seeing a lot of net tonight. I don’t know what it was, but hopefully that happens for the rest of the season.”
Tim Rego got his first goal as an Abbotsford Canuck and his first of the season at 14:57 in the second. His goal was assisted by Mueller and Joe Arntsen. This would put Mueller up to 7 points this season.
Braeden Cootes kept up his point streak with a power play goal at 15:19 in the second. His goal was assisted by Sawyer Mynio and Kole Lind. Cootes is now sitting at 5 points in 5 games in his rookie season.
The Abbotsford Canucks scored 6 goals in the second period making it a franchise record for number of goals scored in a period. There were a total of 8 goals scored between both teams in the second.
The third period saw only 1 goal scored, which was by Coachella Valley. Though the third didn’t see much scoring action, the physicality ramped up. Between both teams they secured 108 penalty minutes. Coachella Valley took 55 penalty minutes, and Abbotsford took 53.
Last season much of the challenges came from not playing the full 60 minutes, however, Abbotsford remained dominant throughout the entirety of the game securing a 7-3 victory in their home opener.
The Abbotsford Canucks and Coachella Valley Firebirds will have their rematch tomorrow afternoon at 4 pm at Rogers Forum.
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