The Baby Canucks might be out of the playoffs just as quickly as they began! That’s the issue when your opening round series is a best of three and you lose the opening game.

The Abbotsford Canucks lost game one of their series against The Bakersfield Condors 2-1 in overtime. Whether you were looking at the stat sheet at the end of the game or able to watch the game, The Baby Oilers outplayed our Baby Canucks throughout the game and it was lucky to even get into overtime.

Backs against the wall tomorrow pic.twitter.com/4IIV7uie4m

— X – Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks) May 4, 2022

Spencer Martin, signed to a new one way contract starting next year and is looking like the new back up for our current starting goaltender, Thatcher Demko, played amazing and gave Abbotsford a chance to steal this game. He faced a barrage of shots all game finishing with forty five saves off forty seven shots. He especially played amazing in the first and second periods as The Baby Canucks were still trying to find their skating legs and barrings.

Vasily Podkolzin, Vancouver’s Russian young gun, opened the scoring in the third period and Abbotsford was less than one minute away from stealing this game, until Bakerfield’s forward, Seth Griffith, scored in the final minute to tie the game and send it into overtime. Bakersfield then got a rare powerplay in overtime and took full advantage when ex-Canuck Tim Schaller set up forward James Hamblin, who scored to win it for The Baby Oilers.

Abbotsford now has to regroup quickly as game two is tonight at 7pm and there’s no second chances. If The Baby Canucks lose tonight, they’re done for the season. Hopefully, the quick turn around will benefit Abbotsford as they won’t have much time to dwell on their missed opportunity. Now they need to focus on game two, where they can carry the momentum and pace that they showed in the third period of game one by setting the tempo and taking the game to The Baby Oilers from the first drop of the puck onward.