Win vs. the Olds Grizzlys solidifies our playoff spot.
On Friday night the Canucks travelled to Olds to take on the Grizzlys. The Grizzlys came out strong with a quick goal from #9 James Gaume at the 2:00 minute mark in the first period. After a tough first half the Canucks battled back scoring 4 goals to finish the first up 4-1. The first goal came at 8:47 with an unassisted goal by #19 Parker Ward. #20 Austin Ehret put the Canucks second goal on the board at 13:12 with assists going to #8 Ryan McKinnon and #19 Parker Ward. Just 48 seconds later #11 Mitchell Scott put one past Kurtis Chapman to put the Canucks up 3-1. With just 3:49 remaining in the first period #22 Josh Giacomin put another on the board with help from #4 Allan MacPherson and #17 Cale Chalifoux. At the end of the first the Canucks were up 4-1 and shots were 18-12 in favour of the Canucks.
The Canucks dominated the play for the rest of game preventing the Grizzlys from making a comeback. The second period was fairly quiet on both ends of the ice as the period finished with the Canucks still up 4-1. Late in the third period #8 Ryan McKinnon scored an empty net goal putting the Canucks up 5-1. Shots at the end of the game were 43-31 for the Canucks. The game star for the night was #8 Ryan McKinnon with a goal and 2 assists.
With the 5-1 win over Olds the Canucks secured thier spot in the AJHL playoffs for the first time in 4 years! GOOD WORK CANUCKS!!
The Canucks hit the road again Saturday night for a battle against the Canmore Eagles. The Eagles struck first with a goal by#55 Colby Livingstone at 3:36 of the first. Mid-way through the period #4 Jarell Pinchuk scored on the power play to put the Eagles up 2-0. Shots at the end of the period were 17-7 for the Eagles.
The second period was action packed for both teams. The Eagles expanded their lead to 3-0 at 1:25 with a goal from #9 Brett Radford. The Canucks battled back scoring their first of the night a few minutes later with a goal from #13 Austin Glenn assist going to #19 Parker Ward. The Canucks were looking to gain momentum from their goal but after taking a crosschecking penalty Eagles forward #9 Brett Radford put another power play goal on the board to put them up 4-1. At 12:22 #9 Ben Assad cut the Eagles lead in half with help from #22 Josh Giacomin. The second period ended with the Eagles leading by a score of 4-2.
Looking to complete the comeback the Canucks came out to play in the third. Penalties seemed to be the downfall of the Canucks as the Eagles scored two more goals on the power play to expand their lead to 6-2. The first goal came at 8:44 with a goal by #17 Braden Saretsky, then 10 minutes later #20 Logan Ferguson put one on the board. The final score was 6-2 for the Eagles. With an assist on the night forward #19 Parker Ward was selected as the Canucks game star.
Family Day in Brooks
The Canucks were in Brooks on Family Day for an afternoon game versus the Bandits. The Bandits were first on the board with a goal by #5 Joe O’Connor on a delayed penalty call. After #9 Ben Assad headed to the box with a double minor for high-sticking, #11 Jeff Malott expanded the Bandits lead with a power play goal at 4:25 of the first. With another power play goal Bandits defenseman #5 Joe O’Connor scored his second of the game at 5:51. The Canucks played hard for the rest of the period but were unable to put one on the board. The first finished with the Bandits leading 3-0.
The second period began with a player in the box for both teams. Almost half-way through the period the Bandits scored another with a goal from #19 Jesse Pereira. At 12:42 Bandits forward #25 Matteo Aiello got a goal putting the Bandits up 5-0.
The third was the Canucks period as #26 Nolan Carothers put one past the Bandits goaltender on the power play, with help from #20 Austin Ehret and #22 Josh Giacomin. With 1:20 remaining in the third #22 Josh Giacomin put another on the board for the Canucks with help from #19 Parker Ward and #25 Michael Spenrath. The final score was 5-2 for the Bandits. Canucks Goaltender #1 Caiden Kreitz was the star of the game with 42 saves on the night.
This weekend the Canucks are playing back-to-back games. On Saturday February 20th the Canucks are heading out of town to take on the Okotoks Oilers, then on Sunday February 21st the Canucks are hosting a home game in Cochrane for a game versus the Whitecourt Wolverines – game time at 2:00 p.m.