It wasn’t meant to be for both Canucks teams last night, as the Abbotsford Canucks lost 5-4 to the Colorado Eagles last night in game two of the first round matchup of the Calder Cup playoffs.
Regroup and Reset. pic.twitter.com/rQchKBZi8f
— X – Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks) April 27, 2024
Looking to finish off the series and move on in the playoffs, the Canucks took on the Eagles in Colorado last night in a nine goal affair. It wasn’t the start Abbotsford wanted however as they went down as Nikolai Kovalenko scored just over 13 minutes into the game after a pass was intercepted by Brad Hunt and set up the goal for him. It went from bad to worse in the first period for the Canucks as Tanner Kero put the Eagles up 2-0 a minute later with his first postseason goal of the season. Abbotsford was able to get one back just before the period ended, as Aatu Raty tipped home a goal off of a Tristen Nielsen shot. The first frame of hockey ended 2-1 in favour of the Colorado Eagles.
The second period started horrifically for the Canucks as Callahan Burke scored an unassisted goal for his second goal of the postseason. For the second time this game it went from worse to even worse and the Eagles scored three and a half minutes later as Spencer Smallman scored another unassisted goal to make the game 4-1. Just when fans thought the game was over and done with, the Canucks finally decided to lock in and play some hockey. Just over a minute later, Christian Wolanin scored as he snuck the puck past Eagles goalie to cut the lead in half for the second time this game. Arshdeep Bains assisted and picked up his second point in as many games. Things started looking up for the Canucks as they were awarded a power play late in the second period. The man advantage was enough for Linus Karlsson to rip home a goal late in the period and make the score 4-3 going into the final period. The Canucks knew they needed to do something to keep the game alive and they fought all period to get it. Penalties came and went with neither team taking advantage of the power plays. Then up stood defenseman Akito Hirose for the Canucks who scored an unassisted goal to tie the game just over half way through the third period. Both teams continued to have chances for the rest of regulation but nothing came from all of the pressure and overtime was needed.
AKITO HERO-SE
With the equalizer in tonight's game, Akito Hirose notched his First AHL Career Goal! pic.twitter.com/Ol4bMfh9BD
— X – Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks) April 27, 2024
The Canucks worked hard to tie the game up and send it to OT, however it wasn’t enough as Chris Wagner tipped in a goal from a Brad Hunt shot three minutes into overtime. The final score was 5-4.
With Colorado forcing game three, Vancouver will have to battle hard to move on to the next round of the playoffs. Puck drop is at 1:05pm PST in Colorado.