Oh, hi! I’m Cody Severtson!
You might remember me from such AHL Gameday Recaps as… Fantastic Five-Point Evening For Jack Rathbone and The Rowdy Road Victory on $2 Beer Night!
A lot has happened on the Farm since our last check-in, so let’s do that…
Right now!
CATCHING UP
Skaters
Since the last recap, the Junior Canucks have strung together a mighty impressive record!
Since February 16th, the Farm has gone 10-6-2-0 for a .611 points-earning percentage! While that doesn’t seem that impressive, it does when you take a look under the hood at who the team has been missing during that stretch!
- Justin Bailey missed 18 of the last 18 GP on IR
- Sheldon Rempal missed 6 of the last 18 GP on a Canucks call-up
- Madison Bowey missed 8 of the last 18 GP on a Canucks call-up
- Phil Di Giuseppe missed 5 of the last 18 GP on a Canucks call-up, and seven of the last 18 GP due to injury
- Noah Juulsen missed 4 of the last 18 GP on a Canucks call-up
- Ashton Sautner missed 15 of the last 18 GP on IR
- Jett Woo missed 8 of the last 18 GP on IR
- Guillaume Brisebois missed 14 of the last 18 on IR
- Nic Petan missed one game on IR and the last 7 of 18 on a Canucks call-up
- Jack Rathbone missed 8 of the last 18 GP on IR and 1 as a healthy scratch due to call-up considerations
- Justin Dowling missed 11 of the last 18 GP on IR and one as a healthy scratch due to back-to-back considerations
For those keeping track at home, that’s six of the team’s top-ten scorers out of the lineup for a considerable run of games.
Fortunately, the Farm’s depth decided to show up on the scoresheets during these absences!
- Devante Stephens’ 6 pts in 17 GP
- John Stevens’ 9 pts in 18 GP
- Chase Wouters’ 6 pts in 18 GP
- Madison Bowey’s 9 pts in 10 GP
- Tristen Nielsen’s 6 pts in 16 GP
- Yushiroh Hirano’s 6 pts in 13 GP
Yes, the scoring rates don’t look all that impressive, but considering all of these players doubled their point totals during this past run of games? I’d say they deserve a bit of kudos!
Goalies
Abbotsford’s goaltending has also been quite stellar (statistically) in my absence!
Spencer Martin was reliable, while Mikey DiPietro put in a considerable amount of work to look more like the Old Mikey than the Mikey that looked absolutely brutal to start this season.
Again, I haven’t watched much lately, so I can’t speak for the goals against, but it’s nice to see Mikey above .900 again!
Playoff Outlook
All in all, the Farm is locked into a Calder playoff spot no matter what.
There is currently an eight-point gap between second-place Ontario and third-place Colorado, meaning the Abbotsford Canucks are almost assuredly playing fourth-place Bakersfield in the opening round of the Calder Playoffs.
The remainder of the season is about consistency, staying healthy, and making sure the Canucks special teams are on point come playoffs.
Presently, the Canucks powerplay ranks third-best in the AHL, while their penalty kill sits middle-of-the-pack in sixteenth.
WHY THE ABSENCE?
Oh yeah, this is why I haven’t been doing stats tracking or hockey recapping lately.
Meet Murphmallow.
Murphy says, “Go recap a game, Dad. I promise I won’t drive mom crazy.”
Time to shake off the rust and see if I still have this whole “writing” thing in me#Canucks #AbbyCanucks pic.twitter.com/N3ArJtMGn4
— Cody Severtson (@CodySevertson) March 31, 2022
It’s been a long time since I wrote anything hockey-related, so expect a lot of egregious grammatical errors!
I guess you could say this recap might be a little … RUFF
HA
HA
HA
I’m so sorry.
STARTING ROSTER
✨Sheldon Magic✨ on the 1st line tonight
➡️Dries enters tonight with 34 goals this season—one goal shy of the league lead
➡️DiPietro makes his team-leading 23rd start of the season
➡️Kannok Leipert returns to the lineup#AbbyCanucks pic.twitter.com/CIeIcHLJqz— Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks) March 31, 2022
- Quite the rough-looking lineup as Trent Cull loads up his first line with Dries, Stevens, and Rempal while defenceman Alex Kannok Leipert subs in as a forward.
Don’t feel like reading? Click here for spoilers!!
GAME 57:
1st period:
- Chase Wouters redirects a shot on goal from the netfront and draws a crosschecking penalty against Teemu Kivihalme within the first twenty seconds of the first period.
- Good start
PP1: Stevens, Lukosevicius, Dries, Rempal, Rathbone
- Marlies force the Canucks outside, and Abbotsford struggles to re-enter from the neutral zone.
- Sheldon Rempal enters the zone for Abbotsford but blows a tire; Marlies pick up the loose puck and clear.
PP2: Nielsen, Hirano, Bowey, Cutler, Stephens
- Quick puck movement from Stephens to Bowey along the blue line results in Abbotsford’s first powerplay shot on goal.
- GOAL – TORONTO – 1-0 Marlies: Madison Bowey is caught flat-footed at center ice as the Marlies turn around a Canucks breakout attempt and send Joseph Blandisi and Rich Clune into the Canucks d-zone for a two-on-one. Devante Stephens goes prone to try and break up the scoring chance, but Blandisi makes it easy for Clune to tap this one past a sprawling DiPietro. Brutal positioning from Abbotsford here.
- Teemu Kivihalme hits Joey Anderson with a suicide pass, and Noah Juulsen (#47) drills him with a hard hit in the neutral zone that sparks a scrum.
- Juulsen takes two for roughing but draws two roughing minors against Joseph Blandisi.
PP1: Stevens, Lukosevicius, Dries, Rempal, Rathbone
- Abbotsford loses the faceoff draw, and the Marlies force them out of the zone.
- GOAL – ABBOTSFORD – 1-1 TIE: Sheldon Dries (#15) picks up his third powerplay goal in two games with a late tip on a shot from John Stevens (#16)! Jack Rathbone (#3) picks up a secondary assist with the pass to Stevens, his third point in two games.
- A quality shift from Tristen Nielsen (#84) as he chases down a clearing attempt from Sheldon Rempal to negate the icing, then keeps the cycle alive with a drop pass to Guillaume Brisebois (#55) on the blue line before rifling a shot on goal from the right circle.
- During the TV timeout, the Canucks host a milk-chugging and flip-cup game; one dude wins in sub-10 seconds while another guy spills his entire cup of milk over his shirt. Going to be a rough night for that guy!
- DiPietro stretches low to make a huge save after the Marlies’ Antti Suomela makes an incredible through-the-legs drop pass to Alex Steeves at the net front.
- DiPietro, caught far out of his crease, makes another clutch stretch save to keep this game knotted at one apiece.
- Alex Kannok Leipert (#41) throws a crosscheck into Antti Suomela’s chest after DiPietro’s save, and all hell breaks loose around the net! Carson Focht gets into it with Josh Ho-Sang after taking a brutal hit from behind.
- Kopacka takes two for roughing
- Focht and AKL take two for roughing each
PK1: Bowey, Dries, Stevens, Stephens
- Canucks win the faceoff and immediately clear the puck into the Marlies zone.
- GOAL – ABBOTSFORD – 2-1 Canucks: While forechecking on the PK, Sheldon Dries picks off a very questionable breakout pass by the Marlies Alex Steeves, and he sets up John Stevens with an easy tap-in goal to put the Canucks in the lead! Stevens picks up his team-leading fourth shorthanded tally of the year!
- Marlies cycle in the offensive zone but fail to generate scoring chances; Canucks kill the dual roughing minors.
- DiPietro faces a sharp-angle shot and fails to redirect the shot properly, resulting in another dicey scoring chance for the Marlies from the slot.
- Sheldon Rempal (#56) flips the puck out of the d-zone, and Tristen Nielsen (#84) picks up the puck with a burst of speed for a breakaway scoring chance. Talk about making something out of absolutely nothing!
- Danila Klimovich gets into it with Antti Suomela away from the play and draws a slashing penalty against the Marlies’ Marc Johnstone.
PP1: Stevens, Lukosevicius, Dries, Rempal, Rathbone
- Dries (#15) wins the faceoff out to Rempal (#56), and he rips it off the post and out of play!
- Rempal (#56) blazes past three Marlies defenders for a shot that flies high over Talor Joseph’s glove side.
- Rempal takes a crosscheck from Philippe Myers to give the Canucks a 6-on-4 advantage as DiPietro races to the bench!
- Jack Rathbone (#3) threads a one-timer pass to Stevens (#16) on the two-man advantage, but Stevens flubs his one-timer attempt.
PP1: Rempal, Dries, Lukosevicius, Hirano, Rathbone
- Another scoring chance off the faceoff draw, as Yushiroh Hirano (#71) rips a hard shot into Joseph’s chest!
- PP1 displays some crafty passing for a last-second setup on the two-man advantage!
PP2: Nielsen, Stevens, Cutler, Stephens, Bowey
- PP2 generates a couple of shot attempts, but time winds down on the 5-on-4 powerplay as this game returns to 5-on-5.
- Forechecking inside the offensive zone, Carson Focht (#19) chips the puck up to Chase Wouters (#21), who quickly cuts towards the net for a shot into Joseph’s glove.
- Rich Clune draws a crosschecking penalty against Jett Woo, then somehow takes an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty immediately after.
- 4-on-4 to close the final 24 seconds of an action-packed opening frame!
- Canucks enter the offensive zone on a 4-on-2 rush opportunity, but Dries (#15) misses Stephens (#24) at the netfront with his pass.
- The wild opening period comes to a close with the Canucks having outshot the Marlies ten-to-eight after twenty minutes!
2nd period:
- Marlies swap netminders, with Billy Christopolous taking over for Talor Joseph to start the second.
- Marlies controlling play inside the Canucks d-zone through much of the opening four minutes.
- An aggressive pinch in the neutral zone by Jack Rathbone (#3) opens up the left wing for Curtis Douglas to cut into the offensive zone for a dangerous shot on DiPietro.
- A relatively uninspired shift from Danila Klimovich (#46) culminates in a very selfish tripping penalty in the neutral zone.
PK1: Brisebois, Stevens, Juulsen, Dries
PK2: Bowey, Alfaro, Wouters, Stephens
- A hand pass draws a whistle and a neutral zone faceoff with less than thirty seconds remaining on the PK.
PK3: Cutler, Bowey, Rempal, Stephens
- GOAL – TORONTO – 2-2 Tie: Klimovich’s penalty expires, and seconds later, Dmitry Ovchinnikov bats in his first career AHL goal to tie this game at two. Once again, another uncontrolled rebound from DiPietro sees him swimming in the crease, resulting in the game-tying goal. Oof. Marlies are outshooting the Canucks twelve to two through the opening ten minutes and change.
- Guillaume Brisebois (#55) fans on a pass to Noah Juulsen (#47) behind DiPietro’s net, leading directly to two dangerous scoring chances for Toronto.
- Nielsen (#84) catches a Marlies’ clearance attempt and begins a dangerous cycle for Abbotsford inside the offensive zone. Yushiroh Hirano (#71) displays great patience below the hash marks and finds Madison Bowey (#4) moving in off the blue line for a shot on Christopoulos.
- Brandon Cutler (#48) wraps around Christopoulos’ net, and his pass redirects out to Hirano (#71), who rifles a shot off the goalpost.
- GOAL – ABBOTSFORD – 3-2 Canucks: Sheldon Rempal and Noah Juulsen catch the Marlies sleeping on a five-man line change and regain the lead for Abbotsford! Slick shot from Rempal as he sneaks one under Christopoulos’ blocker side. I’m sure the Marlies coaching staff will love that line change without possession!
- Philippe Myers heads to the box for roughing with less than six minutes remaining in the middle frame!
PP1: Rempal, Dries, Lukosevicius, Stevens, Rathbone
- Rough powerplay results in time mostly spent inside the d-zone attempting to break out.
- Devante Stephens (#24) actively putting in work to take a tripping penalty against the Marlies. Bizarre play from him here, haha.
- DiPietro with a clean save on Curtis Douglas during Stephens’ play.
PK1: Brisebois, Bowey, Wouters, Alfaro,
- Wouters wins the draw to Brisebois, who immediately clears the puck into the Marlies zone.
- A point shot trickles towards DiPietro, who jumps on it to earn the Canucks a full line change.
PK2: Bowey, Stevens, Juulsen, Dries
- Bobby McMann sends Josh Ho-Sang into the offensive zone behind Madison Bowey for a tight shot on DiPietro.
- Marlies lose possession inside the Canucks zone as Stephens’ penalty expires.
- Time winds down on another action-packed period with the Marlies outshooting the Canucks sixteen to ten.
3rd period:
- Rough luck as Chase Wouters takes a slashing penalty two minutes into the finale twenty.
PK1: Bowey, Stephens, Dries, Alfaro
- Devante Stephens blocks a shot high and the Canucks first PK group clears for a full change
PK2: Brisebois, Juulsen, Stevens, Rempal
- One more late chance for the Marlies on the powerplay that ricochets off DiPietro’s post and wide!
- Antti Suomela strips the puck off of Madison Bowey inside the Canucks d-zone and generates a dangerous scoring chance.
- GOAL – TORONTO – 3-3 Tie: Some brutal d-zone coverage from the Canucks results in the big man, Curtis Douglas, tying the game at three for Toronto. Marlies win possession along the boards, and Hirano and Juulsen are slow to react to Brandon Cutler (#48) leaving the slot to assist Brisebois (#55) in his chase of Josh Ho-Sang behind the net. DiPietro also shows why it’s risky to go down as early as he does.
- Brisebois (#55) dishes to Juulsen (#47), who hammers a slapshot off the goalpost
- Brandon Cutler (#48) strips Nick Robertson of the puck and sets up Tristen Nielsen (#84) at the net front. Nielsen has Christopoulos down and out and throws his shot off the post! TRAGIC!
- DiPietro with some elite chaos/60 to keep the game knotted at three as Josh Ho-Sang leads a breakaway chance for the Marlies!
- Peep Rathbone’s backchecking effort to keep stride with Ho-Sang’s breakaway rush
- Marlies enter the d-zone on a 3-on-3, and DiPietro tracks the puck well to make a stop on Antti Suomela.
- Sheldon Rempal attempts to send John Stevens into the offensive zone on a breakaway, but Teemu Kivihalme runs a bit of interference. Canucks to the powerplay with less than six minutes remaining in the third.
PP1: Rempal, Dries, Lukosevicius, Stevens, Rathbone
- Rathbone rifles a shot that deflects off a knee and out of the zone; Abbotsford resets from the neutral zone.
- PP2 takes over as Rempal (#56) sends Nielsen (#84) into the offensive zone for a rush chance!
PP2: Bowey, Stephens, Cutler, Nielsen, Hirano
- Nielsen (#84) takes a hard check from behind despite not having the puck; Marlies clear the zone shortly afterwards. Fans are not happy with the non-call.
- Powerplay expires, as Hirano (#71) takes a high-sticking penalty on Joseph Blandisi.
- The call is completely warranted but a tough pill to swallow after a powerplay that featured two questionable hits from behind on Abbotsford skaters.
- The new guy, Matt Alfaro (#44) with an impressive shorthanded rush that draws a slashing penalty against Alex Steeves!
- 52 seconds of 4-on-4
- Impressive 52 seconds of 4v4 as Wouters, Cutler, Juulsen and Brisebois dominate with possession inside the offensive zone!
- 4-on-4 ends, and the Canucks head to 1:08 of powerplay time!
PP1: Rempal, Dries, Lukosevicius, Stevens, Rathbone
- Curtis Douglas picks up a blocked shot and ties up the puck behind DiPietro’s net, leaving less than twenty seconds on the clock before Abbotsford regains possession.
- Time winds down on the third with the Canucks and Marlies going even on shots on goal with ten apiece.
Overtime:
- Wouters, Alfaro, Rathbone start for Abbotsford; Robertson, Suomela, Duszak for Toronto.
- Nick Robertson loses possession, handing Jack Rathbone a breakaway opportunity! Unfortunately, Rathbone fumbles puck control on the approach and fails to generate a shot on goal.
- GOAL – TORONTO – 4-3 Marlies: Wellp. Matt Alfaro (#44) strips the puck from Alex Steeves to set up Bowey (#4) for a scoring chance, but the Marlies pick up Bowey’s rebound and score off the ensuing rush. Josh Ho-Sang scores his 15th goal of the season with a no-look wrister, five-hole. Brutal.
RESULT:
Toronto Marlies def. Abbotsford Canucks 4-3 in Overtime
SCORESHEET:
TAKEAWAYS:
- So the Abbotsford Canucks lost to a Trinity Western University EBUG on Wednesday night, then allowed a comeback victory from a team icing both a USports EBUG and an ECHL tendy the next… good stuff!
- The Marlies’ speed was giving the Canucks defence fits all night. But, the Canucks cycle pressure in the offensive zone was oppressive. Marlies had no answer for the Canucks setup. Shame they hit so many posts. Rempal, Nielsen, Hirano, and Juulsen all finished the game with scoring chances that narrowly deflected off posts.
Look, I have to be up in seven hours to take Murphy to my work for the day, so I can’t stay up too late analyzing a pretty embarrassing home loss. So I’ll be quick, and I’ll throw some hot takes in here since the Vancouver Canucks are pretty much toast for playoffs to add to the doom and gloom!
- Jett Woo: unnoticeable. He doesn’t push the needle when he’s on the ice. At least Guillaume Brisebois can find a shooting lane. I don’t see any value here.
- Danila Klimovich: uh, really ugly game from him. A lot of coasting on his edges, reaching with his stick to “engage,” and puck watching…my god, the puck watching. His penalty that he took tonight was born out of a poor shift that saw him miss three passes and lose sight of the puck twice while attempting a breakout. He clearly possesses an NHL quality shot, but the kid needs to up his engagement level, or he isn’t going to amount to much.
- Jack Rathbone: was trying to do way too much out there tonight. His aggressive neutral zone pinches prompted several odd-man rushes for the Marlies. When his aggression works, it almost always results in scoring chances. But, when it doesn’t, the optics are always worse because of how plodding his d-partners are. Bowey, Juulsen, and Woo don’t have the skating or the reaction time to read when one of Rathbone’s pinches is about to fail. I think Boudreau would be able to find a place for Rathbone’s playstyle, but the Canucks right-side is just as bad at skating as Abbotsford’s.
- Carson Focht: yep.
- Michael DiPietro: playstyle looked like his first year’s form. He abandoned the Curtis Sanford/Ian Clark “shuffle” tight-to-the-post system tonight. Flopping like a fish on almost every save tonight. He settled down in the third, but he was all over the place through the opening forty minutes. The kid is athletic as hell and resets pretty well, but the swimming approach usually results in him being down too early. Tonight, that approach handed Curtis Douglas the game-tying goal.
- Tristen Nielsen is arguably the most interesting forward prospect the Canucks have in the AHL. Great skating, energy, engagement, and vision. He was constantly threatening on his shifts. I’d like to see him get some PK reps, especially with Bailey, PDG, Petan, and Lockwood out long term. I think he has the speed and the IQ to excel in that role.
- Alex Kannok Leipert: looked pretty good as a forward! Not sure what that means!?
The not-prospects
- Sheldon Dries: pretty good
- John Stevens really earning that NHL two-way deal with his production this year
- Sheldon Rempal: pretty good
- Noah Juulsen: good physicality, and I appreciate Guillaume Brisebois for dishing him as many slapshot opportunities as he does.
Cody’s Three Stars
- John Stevens
- Sheldon Dries
- Tristen Nielsen
Next Up on the Docket
The Canucks return this weekend for a double-header against the visiting Laval Rocket!
Plugs
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