The Canucks organization just loves winning overtime I guess.
Not only Vancouver, but the Abbotsford Canucks also won in overtime against the Colorado Eagles last night to move onto the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs.
Game 3 of the first round started off very defensively, with both teams not doing enough to get past the goalies however the Eagles were managing to get quite a few more shots on goal than the Canucks. It wasn’t until almost 15 minutes into the game where the Canucks looked to pour on some pressure that made Colorado uneasy. Max Sasson broke out of the defensive zone and found Arshdeep Bains on the receiving end of a cross ice pass, who was able to put the puck in the back of the net for his second goal of the postseason. The Canucks were now up 1-0, and the prospect of making it to the next round was looking better and better. The score remained the same for a majority of the game, with both goalies making some crucial saves to keep both teams where they were.
Abbotsford goalie Zach Sawchenko stood on his head last night, making crucial saves when needed to keep the shutout going strong. The game looked sure to go Vancouver’s way, until a penalty late in the third period saw Colorado go up on a man advantage. On top of this, the Eagles pulled their goalie to go on a 6 on 4 advantage for the power play. The attack heavy play call worked out, as Sam Malinski was able to claw a goal back and tie the game up at 1-1 to ultimately send the game to overtime.
Overtime lasted just under nine minutes, until a pass from Bains found its way through the crowd and deflected off Chase Wouters’ stick into the back of the net. The Canucks won the game 2-1 after the overtime goal.
WHO OTHER THAN THE CAPTAIN 🤩
Have a look at the goal that lauched us right into the the Pacific Division Semifinals! pic.twitter.com/UH1ylksX0M
— Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks) April 29, 2024
The Canucks will now play the Ontario Reign in a five game series, hosting games 3 to 5. The winner will be the first to win three games. The series begins on May 1st, with game 1 at Toyota Arena in Ontario, puck drop is 7:00pm PST. Abbotsford’s first home game of the playoffs will be on Wednesday, May 8th at 7:00pm PST.
NEW LUCKY NUMBER: 3️⃣
Your Abbotsford Canucks are bringing the fight back home for games 3-5 in a Round 2 best-of-5 series battle against the Ontario Reign.
Secure your tickets on April 29 at 10am and get ready to show the world what happens when Abby goes electric.… pic.twitter.com/GdLE0AYokb
— X – Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks) April 29, 2024
With the first round ending, Arshdeep Bains and Tristen Nielsen lead the team in points with 4 points in three games. Sawchenko ended the series with a 2.50 goals against average, and a 0.925 save percentage.