The Abbotsford Canucks are closing in on clinching home ice in round one of the AHL playoffs for the first time in franchise history.
The club took a major step in securing that possibility with a two-game sweep of the Manitoba Moose in Winnipeg with wins on Thursday (March 30) and Saturday (April 1).
Abbotsford needs two points in the final five games to guarantee a finish of at least fourth and earn the right to host round one of the playoffs inside the Abbotsford Centre. The Canucks can finish as high as third if they are able to pass the Colorado Eagles for that spot.
Jett Woo, how do you do? 😎 pic.twitter.com/JAgsCVvyAY
— X - Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks) April 1, 2023
Saturday saw the Canucks play an excellent road game and defeat the Moose 2-1. Defenceman Jett Woo continued his strong recent play and opened the scoring with a power play goal at 18:46 of the first period and Canucks goalie Spencer Martin turned aside 23 shots in the first period alone.
Carroll’s first point as a pro 🥇
— X - Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks) April 1, 2023
Andy Carroll and Kyle Rau grab the assists on Arsh Bain’s 12th goal of the season, giving Carroll his first point in @TheAHL 🥳 pic.twitter.com/TwfRD1VJO0
Abbotsford applied the pressure in the second period and Arshdeep Bains added his 12th on the season at 1:43 of the second period to make it 2-0. The Canucks had the 18-4 shots advantage in the middle frame.
Manitoba got on the board at 2:16 of the third when Daniel Torgersson finally beat Martin, but that was all he would allow. Martin made 40 saves to pick up the win and Abbotsford was outshot 41-38. Canucks forward Marc Gatcomb led all players with six shots on goal.
Coming home with back-to-back W's ✈️ pic.twitter.com/KETFr0Php3
— X - Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks) April 1, 2023
The club also posted a 4-2 win over the Moose on Thursday.
Abbotsford captain Chase Wouters got the Canucks on the board at 8:15 of the first period after efficient forechecking from himself and line mate John Stevens. They pressured the Moose defence and Stevens set up Wouters in the slot. Woo then put Abbotsford up 2-0 at 11:05 of the first with a shot from the point.
Good forechecking by Stevens leads to a Wouters goal, 1-0 Abbotsford in the first pic.twitter.com/jDhRN2HviE
— Ben Lypka (@BenLypka) March 31, 2023
Woo off the face-off makes it 2-0, he has looked good in the second half of this AHL season. (also fans) pic.twitter.com/2eCvh8BnHx
— Ben Lypka (@BenLypka) March 31, 2023
Manitoba’s Leon Gawanke made it 2-1 just 19 seconds later and period ended with Abbotsford up 2-1. The Canucks also had the 6-5 shots advantage.
The second period saw Manitoba apply pressure and tie the game up at 10:33 when Jeff Malott beat Canucks goalie Arturs Silovs. But just 71 seconds later Danila Klimovich scored what would be the eventual game winning goal. Klimovich jumped on a rebound and blasted it past Moose goalie Arvid Holm. The Vancouver second round draft pick now has 13 goals.
Klimovich jumps on a rebound and puts the Canucks up 3-2, he now has 13 on the season pic.twitter.com/pRp55Ac3i0
— Ben Lypka (@BenLypka) March 31, 2023
The third period saw Manitoba have an early goal called off due to goaltender interference, but Silovs stood on his head for the final frame and made some big saves. Linus Karlsson added an empty net goal, his 21st, to seal the deal. Silovs made 25 saves for the win. Stevens added three assists and both Woo and Wouters had two point nights. Justin Dowling led all Canucks with five shots on goal.
Abbotsford’s road regular season schedule is now done and they finish the 2022-23 campaign off with five straight games at the AC. The Canucks host the Ontario Reign on Friday (April 7) and Saturday (April 8) and then close off the season with games against the Calgary Wranglers on April 12, 14 and 15.