The Abbotsford Canucks kicked off the 2025 Western Conference Final in exhilarating fashion as they defeated the Texas Stars 3-2 in overtime. Guillaume Brisebois and Ty Mueller scored in regulation, while Christian Wolanin sent the fans in Abbotsford home happy as he buried the overtime winner. As for Artūrs Šilovs, he put together yet another impressive performance, stopping 36 of the 38 shots he faced. 

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Šilovs was once again the story as he recorded his ninth win of the post-season. The 24-year-old came up big throughout the game, including late in the third when he helped kill off a penalty with under four minutes remaining. While he may not have been the busier goaltender on the night, Šilovs stepped up and played a key role in the victory.

"The major takeaway, obviously, getting the job done is a big positive for us," said Manny Malhotra post-game. "Again, the term resilient comes to mind for our group, just staying with the process all game long. There was a lot of frustration that set in throughout our game, and obviously, we have to give them credit. They're a very high-skilled team, a high-quality team, and they were able to get some sustained pressure on us. So there's obviously things we want to clean up, but the major takeaway is we got the job done."

As for a skater who stood, that would be Victor Mancini, who once again played in all situations. While he didn't record a point, Mancini was very active and even threw some big hits on Stars players. When asked about his d-partner post-game, Christian Wolanin gave a good description of what makes Mancini a can't-miss prospect.

"He's a great athlete, you know, he's a great skater. He's super strong, not afraid to take some risks. And I find that when we move pucks and just stay simple, the rest of things kind of come for us naturally. So if we just stay in that simple mindset, the things that you know that might pop off the page for him usually just tend to happen naturally, versus going out there and trying to do it. So he's obviously a big prospect for a reason, and you know, my job is as an older guy, just to try and make his job easier."

While there are areas that need improvement, overall, Abbotsford had a strong showing in Game 1. They pressed the entire game and were able to generate 46 shots against a strong Texas team. Now with a 1-0 series lead, the Canucks will need another solid effort on Saturday if they want to make the most of their home-ice advantage in the 2025 Western Conference Final. 

Scoring Summary:

1st Period:

8:58- TEX: Kole Lind (7) from Cameron Hughes and Trey Taylor
18:56- ABB: Guillaume Brisebois (2) from Linus Karlsson and Ty Mueller

2nd Period:

6:32- ABB: Ty Mueller (2) from Linus Karlsson and Arshdeep Bains
12:10- TEX: Antonio Stranges (1) from Trey Taylor

3rd Period:

No Scoring 

Overtime:

5:51- ABB: Christian Wolanin (1) from Nate Smith and Jujhar Khaira

Game 2: Saturday May 31 at Abbotsford Centre @ 7:00 pm PT

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