Whatever happens tonight, it can’t be worse than Vancouver’s performance against the Colorado Avalanche, right?
RIGHT?!
To be completely honest, I woke up on my day off to drive my wife to work, and our car broke down in the process.
The exhaustion of my daily existence has left me without the required energy to hype up tonight’s attempt by the Abbotsford Canucks to quash their four-game losing skid.
THE OPPOSITION
Tonight's lines for the squad. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/sBu32P3pee
— San Jose Barracuda (@sjbarracuda) November 13, 2021
The Barracuda enter Abbotsford hot off the heels of a pair of games versus the Texas Stars in which the two teams combined for twenty-two goals!
The Barracuda have three regulation wins to the Junior Canucks one.
TRANSACTIONS
We’ll miss you Madison, but happy to see you get the call to Vancouver!
We will be cheering you on with the #Canucks#AbbyCanucks pic.twitter.com/tyNPHIP6gW
— Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks) November 12, 2021
With Tucker Poolman’s two-game suspension for the near-decapitation of Colorado’s Kiefer Sherwood, Bowey earns the first RD call-up of the season. He joins Jack Rathbone, who subbed in for Travis Hamonic, on this current Canucks US road trip.
STARTING ROSTER
Tonight’s lineup for your #AbbyCanucks!
➡️ Petan returns to lineup after being re-assigned by Vancouver Nov. 7
➡️ Brubacher will skate in first game since Oct. 29
➡️ Kannok Leipert will skate in first game since Oct. 30 pic.twitter.com/L2YIrQ28ZK— Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks) November 13, 2021
Don’t feel like reading? Click here for spoilers!!
GAME 10:
1st period:
- San Jose’s Joel Kellman take a holding penalty against John Stevens in the first two minutes of the period
- Junior Canucks to the first powerplay of the game
PP1: Schilling, Di Giuseppe, Petan, Dries, Rempal
- GOAL – ABBOTSFORD – 1-0 Canucks: Sheldon Rempal with his second goal in as many games off a simple cross-ice setup by Nic Petan. After entering the offensive zone, Phil Di Giuseppe (#34) chips the puck past Nicholas Meloche to Petan (#7), who sets up Rempal (#56) for the tap-in at the crease. You wouldn’t know Abbotsford’s powerplay ranks 21st in the league after this one because they made it look easy!
- Carson Focht (#19) enters the offensive zone for a quick shot on net before skating face-first into a high stick.
- GOAL – ABBOTSFORD – 2-0 Canucks: The Abbotsford Canucks make it two-zip with seventeen minutes remaining in the opening frame off a carbon copy of the Rempal goal. Sheldon Dries (#15) kicks off the sequence with a gorgeous backhand pass to Di Giuseppe (#34) at the Barracuda blue line. Di Giuseppe walks down the wing before throwing a backhand pass of his own to the crease, where a racing Jett Woo (#22) taps in the pass for his first point of the season!
- Nic Petan takes a slashing penalty to put the Canucks on their first penalty kill of the game.
PK1: Wouters, Stevens, Juulsen, Sautner
- DiPietro with an early save
- DiPietro makes a save but gives up a dicey rebound chance to San Jose’s Jayden Halbgewachs.
- Di Giuseppe threatens shorthanded and draws a penalty against Sasha Chmelevski.
- Canucks and Barracuda will play fifty-five seconds of 4-on-4 before the Canucks begin a minute and change of powerplay time.
- GOAL – ABBOTSFORD – 3-0 Canucks: Will Lockwood makes it three-zip for Abbotsford with fourteen minutes left in the period. Jett Woo (#22) starts the sequence with a zone entry and evasion of San Jose’s Ryan Merkley before passing off to Lockwood (#10). Lockwood buzzes around the half wall before hitting the brakes to evade Nick Cicek’s er … check. Lockwood throws a shot to the crease, and it appears to ricochet off a San Jose player and past Zachary Emond.
- Emond gets the hook, and Alexei Melnichuk comes in for the save.
- Sheldon Dries (#15) and Phil Di Giuseppe (#34) nearly make it four-zip with a redirect from the slot and a chance from the net-front, respectively.
- I particularly liked this shift by Danila Klimovich (#46) as he enters the zone, rips a cross-ice bank pass, then makes himself available to his teammates all over the high slot.
- Midway through the period and the Barracuda finally start generating some shots on DiPietro.
- Sheldon Rempal (#56) with a nasty toe-drag before ripping a shot on San Jose’s Melnichuk
- Will Lockwood (#10) sets up Ashton Sautner (#6) for a shot on Melnichuk, who barely gets a piece of the puck to push it wide of the goal. Sautner then sets up Petan (#7) at the side of the net for a redirect attempt.
- Klimovich (#46), with plenty of time and space down the left wing, opts for the flashy deke and scoring chance instead of a simple shot.
- Devante Stephens takes a shot on Melnichuk well after play is blown dead, and the San Jose Barracuda swarm him around the half wall.
- Cameron Schilling gives Evan Weinger a hard ride into the d-zone half wall, prompting a chorus of woo-ing from the bench.
- DiPietro gives up another sketchy rebound.
- San Jose’s Krystof Hrabik draws a minor interference penalty against Alex Kannok Leipert (#41) after blocking his shot and racing past him for a scoring chance on DiPietro.
PK1: Dries, Di Giuseppe, Sautner, Juulsen
- Juulsen (#47) uses his body to block a colossal slapshot off the opening d-zone faceoff.
- Now Ashton Sautner (#6) drops to the ice after blocking a hard shot!
- And now Sheldon Dries (#15) goes to the ice in a heap after blocking a massive shot with his left ankle.
- DiPietro gloves down the puck as the Abby Canucks help Dries to the bench.
- Dries walks down the tunnel but returns to the bench shortly after that
PK2: Petan, Lockwood, Schilling, Woo
- Canucks jump on a loose rebound and force the Barracuda to their zone for the re-entry attempt.
PK3: Stevens, Wouters, Sautner, Juulsen
- John Stevens gets in the way of a pass and clears for Abbotsford
- Seconds after the Leipert penalty expires, Nic Petan takes a minor penalty for delay of game after flipping the puck over the glass
PK1: Schilling, Stevens, Woo, Wouters
- John Stevens (#16) capitalizes on a turnover by San Jose to generate a shorthanded breakout, killing precious seconds off the Canucks third PK of the game.
- GOAL – SAN JOSE – 3-1 Canucks: San Jose’s Scott Reedy rips a gorgeous top-corner snipe past a screened DiPietro to cut the Canucks lead to two.
- Carson Focht (#19) picks up a Kannok Leipert (#41) rebound for a dangerous backhand chance on Melnichuk with less than two minutes remaining in the opening frame.
- DiPietro with another uncontrolled rebound
- San Jose’s John Leonard dances past Nic Petan for a dangerous scoring chance setup on DiPietro.
- San Jose finishes the opening period outshot twelve to eight, but they put in considerable amounts of work in the second half of the period to claw back within two.
2nd period:
- The second period begins with some classic Atom-style firesale hockey; end to end action with multiple players colliding into each other over and over again in the neutral zone
- Danila Klimovich (#46) with an impressive end-to-end rush that draws a holding penalty against San Jose’s Ryan Merkley.
PP1: Petan, Rempal, Dries, Di Giuseppe, Schilling,
- Underwhelming powerplay from Abbotsford as they lose the zone thirty seconds into the man-advantage
PP2: Focht, Lockwood, Klimovich, Woo, Arseneau
- PP2 struggles to complete a pass as they lose the zone, and the powerplay expires.
- Chase Wouters (#21) drops San Jose’s Joel Kellman with a hit inside the Barracuda zone.
- Vinny Arseneau (#18) takes a hard spill attempting to blow up San Jose’s Jake McGrew with a check.
- A fortunate bounce along the half wall gives San Jose’s Evan Weinger a dangerous rush into the Canucks d-zone. Good guy Ashton Sautner (#6) takes a minor penalty for hooking defending the rush, then checks on Zach Gallant, who took a nasty spill following up on the play.
PK1: Lockwood, Petan, Juulsen, Schilling
- Petan wins the d-zone faceoff, and the Canucks force San Jose to reset from their zone.
- Joachim Blichfeld with a wrist shot that clips DiPietro’s glove and sails wide of the goalpost.
PK2: Stevens, Wouters, Woo, Brubacher
- Joel Kellman drives past Adam Brubacher (#2) and Jett Woo (#22) for a shot attempt
- DiPietro with another rebound off of a chest save
- A great shift from Chase Wouters (#21) to force a turnover and generate a rush chance for Abbotsford as Sautner’s penalty expires
- Wouters (#21) with a great diving effort to maintain the offensive zone for Abbotsford.
- Klimovich (#45) shows off his hands behind Melnichuk’s net.
- Focht (#19) with a slick centering feed after catching his own rebound
- Jett Woo takes a minor penalty for cross-checking, and the Canucks are heading to their fifth penalty kill of the game.
PK1: Dries, Di Giuseppe, Sautner, Juulsen
- Juulsen fights for a rebound and clears the zone for Abbotsford
- Forty-two seconds into the penalty kill, and Dries (#15) sends Di Giuseppe (#34) deep into the Barracuda zone for a shorthanded breakaway scoring chance!
PK2: Wouters, Stevens, Schilling, (Sautner caught on a long shift)
- Wouters fights to clear the zone for Abbotsford, allowing Sautner to change finally
- Will Lockwood (#10) fights for a loose puck in the neutral zone and draws a tripping penalty against Nicolas Meloche. Adam Brubacher (#2) lays a heavy check at the whistle and falls dangerously into the open bench door.
PP1: Rempal, Di Giuseppe, Dries, Petan, Schilling
- One minute into the powerplay and PP1 generates one cross-slot setup, but that’s it.
PP2: Lockwood, Woo, Focht, Arseneau, Klimovich
- GOAL – ABBOTSFORD – 4-1 Canucks: Vinny Arseneau (#18) regains the most dangerous lead in hockey for Abbotsford off of a simple redirect from the net front. Focht picks up his sixth point on the season with the fantastic no-look feed from the left circle.
- San Jose turns a high-flip from the d-zone into a two-on-one scoring chance as DiPietro makes a nice blocker save on Jayden Halbgewachs.
- Melnichuk flashes the glove on Di Giuseppe (#34) with less than five seconds to go in the middle frame.
- Canucks and Barracuda finish forty minutes of play tied with eighteen shots apiece.
3rd period:
- GOAL – ABBOTSFORD – 5-1 Canucks: San Jose’s Ryan Merkley makes a brutal turnover inside the d-zone, resulting in Sheldon Dries (#15) picking up his team-leading sixth goal on the season.
- Chase Wouters (#21) with a tremendous end-to-end effort off a d-zone faceoff to fight through his check to set up Klimovich (#46) for a dangerous scoring chance.
- Carson Focht (#19) takes a minor penalty for slashing while defending inside the Canucks d-zone.
PK1: Lockwood, Petan, Sautner, Juulsen
- DiPietro with two stops on Scott Reedy from the doorstep.
- Will Lockwood (#10) showing some slick puck control on a shorthanded breakout for Abbotsford.
PK2: Stevens, Wouters, Woo, Schilling
- Abbotsford Canucks PK coasts through this one as Focht leaves the box with fifteen minutes left in the period.
- GOAL – ABBOTSFORD – 6-1 Canucks: Sheldon Rempal (#56) picks up his second goal of the night after squeaking a shot past Melnichuk off a wraparound.
- Barracuda is starting to play with some edge following the Rempal goal.
PK1: Petan, Locwkood, Sautner, Juulsen
- Early clear for the Canucks PK to force San Jose to reset from their zone
PK2: Wouters, Stevens,
- Nothing from San Jose
PK3: Dries, Di Giuseppe, Schilling, Woo
- More nothing from San Jose as Arseneau’s penalty expires
- DiPietro dives to prevent a shot off the inside of the goalpost from crossing the goal line.
- John Stevens (#16) takes a hard hit along the wall from San Jose’s Zach Gallant
- GOAL – ABBOTSFORD – 7-1 Canucks: Ha, Sheldon Dries (#15) picks up his fourth point of the night when he sends a cross-ice pass to the slot that ricochets off the skate of Adam Brubacher (#2) and past Melnichuk. No kicking motion on the play, but the Canucks convert for the extra point!
- Klimovich (#46) controls a turnover through multiple Barracuda bodies.
- With less than three minutes remaining in the third, Arseneau takes his second minor penalty of the night. This time, for slashing.
PK1: Petan, Lockwood, Juulsen, Sautner
- Petan takes a minor penalty for cross-checking, giving the Barracuda an extended 5-on-3 powerplay.
PK1: Stevens, Sautner, Juulsen
- A shot from Halbgewachs sails wide of DiPietro’s net, allowing the Canucks to clear the zone
- Dries steps on for Stevens, followed by Lockwood for Dries
- Sautner/Juulsen stayed out for the final 2:35 of the third period. Impressive work from the veteran duo.
- Time winds down on the third period with San Jose edging Abbotsford in shots on goal, but down on the scoreboard by just a smidge.
RESULT:
Abbotsford Canucks def. San Jose Barracuda 7-1
SCORESHEET:

TAKEAWAYS:
- That’s one way to earn your second regulation win of the season! San Jose looked completely out of this one through the opening ten minutes. Only after a goalie change and a flurry of shot attempts did the Barracuda ever appear “in it.” Impressive performances by the Junior Canucks, top to bottom.
From what I could tell, Ashton Sautner and Noah Juulsen stayed on-ice for the final 2:35 of the game tonight in Abbotsford. Killing off 1:25 of a 5-on-3, 35 seconds of a 5-on-4, and 35 seconds of 5-on-5 before the buzzer sounded.#AbbotsfordCanucks
— Cody Severtson (@CodySevertson) November 13, 2021
- Ashton Sautner and Noah Juulsen played monster games for Abbotsford tonight in a defensive role. With Bowey, Hamonic, and Rathbone recalled to Vancouver, Juulsen and Sautner were used heavily as the pairing for d-zone starts and the PK. Through 60 minutes, they were arguably Abbotsfor’ds most reliable duo.
- Sheldon Dries had an unbelievable game tonight. One goal, three assists, three shots on goal, one colossal shot-block, and he was on-ice for six of the Canucks seven goals tonight. The only goal he was not on the ice for was Arseneau’s goal to regain the Canucks three-goal lead.
- Chase Wouters had a statement game. While he did not end up on the scoresheet, I thought he looked impressive on every shift. I love his tenacity and his work rate to fight for 50/50 pucks in open territory.
- Jett Woo came into tonight’s game with zero points and a minus-three goal-differential at 5v5 through nine games played. With his performance tonight, he now has three points in ten games and a net-zero goal-differential at 5v5. However, his in-zone defensive coverage is still a bit hit-or-miss. Overall, I thought he played well tonight when it mattered.
- Canucks penalty kill stopped eight of nine opportunities from San Jose. At 82%, their PK ranks thirteenth in the AHL.
- Their powerplay went two for four which elevated their powerplay from 21st to thirteenth in a single evening.
- Danila Klimovich, like Wouters, didn’t end up on the scoresheet, but he was a force on every shift. Rewatch any clip featuring his name and watch how calm and smooth he is controlling the puck under pressure. I thought his in-zone coverage looked vastly improved tonight; he appeared to be picking his spots much better and didn’t ever look lost as plays unfolded in the d-zone.
- I will have to message David Quadrelli and find out what the deal is with DiPietro’s rebound control. Uncontrolled pucks were a serious issue in DiPietro’s game against Stockton and appeared even worse tonight against San Jose.
- Carson Focht had a much cleaner game tonight than he did against Stockton. He still needs to work on keeping his feet moving inside the d-zone. The slashing call against him in the third period was a bit soft, but that play doesn’t happen if he keeps moving his feet to challenge the puck possessor.
- I don’t understand playing Devante Stephens as a forward if the coach is hardly going to play him. Just throw Ethan Keppen or Tristen Nielsen out there anyways. At least you’ll get PK utility out of those two.
Cody’s Three Stars
- Sheldon Dries
- Phil Di Giuseppe
- Jett Woo
HM: Chase Wouters
Next Up on the Docket
The Abbotsford Canucks return Sunday for the Barracuda rematch.
Plugs
Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter for your daily dose of memes, sarcasm, stats, and gameday clips from the Vancouver and Abbotsford Canucks!
You can also catch me on Podcast format with Lachlan Irvine over at the Creasecast! Please give us a follow on your go-to podcast platform and rate, like and subscribe to help us out!
And if you’re more of a visual person! You can check out the Creasecast Youtube channel, where we upload all of our podcasts in video form!