The Abbotsford Canucks will be heading back to the Abbotsford Centre with their second-round series tied 1–1 after a 5–4 overtime loss to the Coachella Valley Firebirds in Game 2. Phil Di Giuseppe, Nate Smith, and Jujhar Khaira (2) scored for Abbotsford tonight. Artūrs Šilovs started the game, but surrendered three goals on eight shots against. As a result, Nikita Tolopilo came into the game, stopping 21 of 23 shots against.
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Abbotsford started with the same lineup that got them the 3–1 win in Game 1, with Aatu Räty, Sammy Blais, and Linus Karlsson out for the opening faceoff. Like the game before, Abbotsford surrendered the opening goal within the first five minutes of the period. Gustav Olofsson sent the puck past Šilovs in a play made off the draw, giving Coachella Valley yet another early lead. The Firebrids’ scoring didn’t stop there, as only five minutes after, Ty Nelson found the back of the net to give his team a 2–0 lead.
The game got off to a scrappy start, as Khaira and Ian McKinnon dropped the gloves less than three minutes into the first period. This came as a result of McKinnon's hit on Jett Woo, who left the game and did not return. Räty was also absent from Abbotsford's bench once the third period rolled around, though the reason why is yet to be determined.
The physicality continued after this, as both Abbotsford and Coachella Valley players had to be pulled apart after multiple whistles tonight. After a breakaway attempt by Karlsson, multiple Firebirds hounded Karlsson after the whistle, resulting in a big dogpile by the boards. Karlsson was the only player given a penalty from this scrum. Later on in the first period, Jani Nyman tossed Max Sasson face-first into the boards. Abbotsford was not given a power play, as they also called Sasson for embellishment.
Šilovs has been great during the AHL Canucks’ playoff run, but looked a bit shaky to start tonight’s game. He let in two goals on Coachella Valley’s first five shots, and didn’t quite seem confident when making some of his stops. He seemed to regain his form after facing the Firebirds’ first power play, but let a quick one trickle through him near the end of the first period to give Coachella Valley a 3–0 lead. As a result, Abbotsford replaced him with Tolopilo to start the second period.
Abbotsford flipped the script of the game in the second period after mixing up their lines. They were given a massive offensive boost after scoring two goals within a two-minute span to cut Coachella Valley’s lead to 3–2. They were later awarded a power play about halfway into the second period after Brandon Biro was called for high-sticking, but ultimately couldn’t capitalize.
The AHL Canucks tied the game up in the third period after Khaira shot the puck under the bar. While the goal initially wasn’t called as it appeared to have bounced off the bar, a video review determined that Abbotsford had actually scored. Coachella Valley attempted to regain the lead soon after by taking the puck to the net and jabbing at it to tip it in, but Tolopilo covered it up and kept the score at 3–3. Khaira later added another tally to give his team their first lead of the game, though it was quickly neutralized by a goal from Ben Meyers.
Tonight was Abbotsford’s first time going to overtime in the 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs. This was Coachella Valley’s second overtime match of the postseason, as they started their playoff run with a triple-overtime win against the Calgary Wranglers. It was all Firebirds to start the extra frame, though Tolopilo made save after save off partial breaks, mid-range shots, and more. However, after a botched attempt by Tolopilo to grab the puck from outside of the net, Jacob Melanson snatched up the opportunity and scored the overtime winner.
Scoring Summary:
1st Period:
CV: 3:02 - Gustav Olofsson (1) from Ben Meyers
CV: 7:20 - Ty Nelson (1) from Logan Morrison and Jagger Firkus
CV: 19:22 - Max Lajoie (1) from John Hayden and Jagger Firkus
2nd Period:
ABB: 2:55 - Phil Di Giuseppe (2) from Akito Hirose and Aatu Räty
ABB: 4:17 - Nate Smith (1) from Jujhar Khaira and Cole McWard
3rd Period:
ABB: 6:17 - Jujhar Khaira (1) from Kirill Kudryavstev and Sammy Blais
ABB: 13:10 - Jujhar Khaira (2) from Nate Smith and Sammy Blais
CV: 15:58 - Ben Meyers (1) from Jacob Melanson and Ville Ottavainen
Overtime:
CV: 4:45 - Jacob Melanson (1) from Ben Meyers
Game 3: at Abbotsford Centre: Wednesday, May 7 @ 7:00 pm PT
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