6 hours Ago By Ben Lypka
The Abbotsford Canucks first road trip of the season ended with an up-and-down weekend in Colorado against the Eagles. Buoyed by a 29-save performance by Nikita Tolopilo, the Canucks escaped Friday's (Oct. 18) game with a 2-1 shootout win.
After a scoreless first 44 minutes, Abbotsford's Max Sasson broke the double shutout at 4:20 of the third with his first goal of this early season. Just minutes later it looked like the Canucks went up 2-0 when Tristen Nielsen scored on the power play, but a review determined that there was a kicking motion and the goal was disallowed. Instead it was the Eagles who scored on the power play a few minutes later and, after three-on-three overtime solved nothing, the game went to a shootout.
Canucks forward Tristen Nielsen was the only player to score and Tolopilo shut the door completely to secure the win. The Canucks trailed 2-0 after two periods on Saturday (Oct. 19) and Ty Glover made it a one-goal game at 2:22 of the third.
The wheels completely came off later on in the third, as the Eagles scored four goals in less than seven minutes and earned a 6-1 win. Canucks goalie Jiri Patera allowed six goals on 36 shots in the loss. Forwards Tristen Nielsen and Max Sasson were both a -5 on the night.
Abbotsford's power play has also got off to a poor start and has gone 1/19 (5.3 per cent, ranked 30th) to start the season. The penalty kill has been more effective, with a rate of 89 per cent and the team ranks seventh in the 32-team AHL.
Abbotsford is fifth in the Pacific Division after four games and has a record of 2-1-0-1. The club's home opener is set for Friday (Oct. 25), with the San Diego Gulls in town.
Face-off is set for 7 p.m..
