The Abbotsford Canucks celebrated their 2025 Calder Cup championship during their home opener.
Emotions were high for the Abbotsford Canucks as they set to welcome the Ontario Reign for their first home game of the 2025-26 AHL season. The reigning Calder Cup Champions began the night with a ceremony honouring the winning roster from the previous season, as the Abbotsford crowd roared for players present, players since sent up to Vancouver, and players who have moved on to other organizations. The championship banner was raised to the rafters of the Abbotsford Centre, a permanent mark of the team’s historic achievement just a few months prior.
As for the on-ice performance, it was less than stellar for the home side. Ontario (AHL affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings) hemmed the Canucks in their own zone once the puck was dropped in the first. Andre Lee scored his first of two on the night with the Reign’s first shot on Canuck netminder Nikita Tolopilo, in a goal that was akin to the Nashville Predators’ game-winner against Thatcher Demko the night prior.
The two teams would exchange shots for the rest of the opening frame, with the Canucks taking the edge 10-7 in testing Reign goaltender Pheonix Copley. Trailing 1-0 for much of the first period, Duncan, BC, native Ben Berard scored on the power play with 13 seconds remaining to tie the game late, assisted by Kirill Kudryavtsev and Vitali Kravtsov.
The lone goal of the second came from Taylor Ward for Ontario, who would go on to score again early in the third period, putting the Reign up 3-1 as Ward was able to bypass the blocker side of Tolopilo twice. Ward would also get an assist on the night, as Lee scored on an Ontario power play minutes later. This goal came after an extended break, as Tolopilo went down in his crease after extending himself across the blue paint, making a save. He was checked on by the Canucks trainers, though he stayed in briefly before the Reign took the 4-1 lead. Jiri Patera replaced him in net, though he would only face one shot for the remainder of the game.
Mackenzie MacEachern would net his second of the season on the power play late in the third, briefly cutting the lead to two for the visitors. With Patera headed to the bench, the Canucks gained an extra attacker in the dying minutes of the third, as Ontario shot towards the empty net. One puck had rolled its way into the blue paint, though Victor Mancini rushed back to clear it off the goal line, as the remaining crowd in the Abbotsford Centre erupted for the impressive defensive effort. Despite this, Glenn Gawdin would get an empty-netter in the final minute, and the Canucks would fall 5-2 to open their first homestand of the season.
Though the scoreline was heavily skewed in Ontario’s favour, there were flashes of brilliance for the Canucks. The third line of Vilmer Alriksson, Dino Kambeitz, and the returning Jujhar Khaira stood out with a heavy forecheck, and special teams were shining for the Canucks, going 2/3 on the power play and 5/6 on the penalty kill. Still, the main sticking point against the Canucks’ momentum was the penalty calls against them, as positive swings in Abbotsford’s direction were often cut off by a referee’s whistle.
“There’s parts throughout the game that we played the way we wanted to.” Abbotsford Head Coach Manny Malhotra said after the game, “But it’s difficult to be successful when you get six penalties.”
Malhotra also commented on Tolopilo’s status, saying everything was “day-to-day,” along with Ty Mueller and Danila Klimovich, both Canucks regulars who were scratched for the opening night in Abbotsford.
The Canucks will look to bounce back against the Reign Sunday afternoon and prepare to host the Calgary Wranglers and the Henderson Silver Knights during this six-game homestand. Abbotsford falls to 2-3 on the season, and carry over a three-game losing streak from their visit to the Laval Rockets the previous weekend.
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