With regular season kicking off the Canucks are off to a good start. The Canucks have a record of 2-2 with four points, and are currently sitting tied for fourth in the league.
September 17, 2017 marked the official start of regular season for the Calgary Canucks. The Canucks hosted the Olds Grizzlys in the new Ken Bracko arena for the home opener. The first period started off a little slow, but Canucks were first on the board with a power play goal at 19:20 scored by #25 Braydon Jenkins, assisted by #11 Alex Wilkins and #5 Coby Mack. Canucks lead shots on goal in the first period up 8-6 over the Grizzlys. The Canucks came out ready to play in the second scoring another goal at 3:03 by #8 Dylan Williamson from #27 Jordan McConnell and #12 Andrew Marshall. Just minutes later at 4:49 the Grizzly’s finally got on the board making it a one-goal game. The Goal was scored by #10 Estian Coetzee assisted by #18 Brad Girard and #8 Spencer McHardy. Back on a power play the Canucks took advantage of the extra manpower and scored at 10:50. The goal was scored by #6 Scott Nicholson from #25 Braydon Jenkins and #24 Hayden Ursulak. Exhilarated by their lead #8 Dylan Williamson scored his second goal of the game at 12:30, assisted by #6 Scott Nicholson and #27 Jordan McConnell. A fight emerged between the two teams at 14:49 sending a total of 11 players to the penalty box. The Canucks ended the second period with a three-goal lead over the Grizzlys, and outshot the Grizzlys in the period 15-13. The Canucks took three penalties in the third period, but were still able to keep the Grizzlys from scoring despite their lead of shots on net 13-11 over the Canucks. At 7:49 #8 Dylan Williamson scored not only the final goal of the game, but took a hattrick in the home opener making that his third goal. The goal was assisted by #6 Scott Nicolson and #27 Jordan McConnell. The Canucks came out strong taking the win with a final score of 5-1.
Just two days later the Canucks hit the home ice again taking on their cross-town rivals the Calgary Mustangs. The Mustangs were first on the board at 15:12 scored by #14 Damon Porter, assisted by #5 Joshua Kroon and #9 Jordan Marks. Fired up by the goal the Canucks pushed back scoring at 18:58 tying it up at 1-1. The goal was scored by #10 Noah Williams, assisted by #11 Alex Wilkins and #9 Cooper Page. The Canucks lead shots on goal in the first with 14-12 over the Mustangs, but also lead in penalty minutes with six minutes. With the score tied at one the Canucks came into the second motivated to take the lead, and they did just that scoring three goals within two minutes. The first was scored at 7:34 by #12 Andrew Marshall from #8 Dylan Williamson and #11 Alex Wilkins. Just 30 seconds later at 8:03 #22 Josh Giacomin scored the third goal for the Canucks, assisted by #5 Coby Mack and #25 Braydon Jenkins. A minute later at 9:35 #8 Dylan Williamson scored the fourth goal, from #27 Jordan McConnell and #11 Alex Wilkins. The Canucks quickly took a tied game to a three goal lead. But that wasn’t the end of scoring for the Canucks in the second. At 12:33 #8 Dylan Williams scored his second goal of the game, assisted by #27 Jordan McConnell and #12 Andrew Marshall. The Canucks ended the second period with a score of 5-1, leading shots on goal 13-7 over the Mustangs. After an eventful second period things slowed down in the third. Only one goal was scored by the Mustangs at 14:24 by # 11 Yuri Chernichko, assisted by #21 Logan Heimann and #14 Damon Porter. Despite their effort to fight back in the third, the Mustangs were unsuccessful at closing the four-goal lead the Canucks had created. The final score of the game was 5-2, leaving the Canucks undefeated on home ice.
The Canucks and Mustangs met again on September 23, 2017 with the Canucks once again on home ice. After their previous win of 5-2 over the Mustangs the Canucks were hopeful for similar results. The Mustangs got the first goal at 11:08 scored by #20 Jackson Salt, assisted by #8 Tanner Klassen. Although the Canucks had 11 shots on net in the first, they were unable to put a goal on the board. The second period did not show any better luck for the Canucks, as once again their 21 shots on net all fell short of a goal. The Canucks played good defence in the second, giving the Mustangs only five opportunities to shoot, which also all fell short. With the Mustangs up 1-0 the Canucks knew it was now or never coming into the third period. #8 Dylan Williamson scored the Canucks first goal at 2:08 assisted by #27 Jordan McConnell. When the Mustangs got a power play they were able to score their second goal at 5:25, by #12 Chase Miller from #3 Tyler Lentz and #22 Joseph Karpyshyn. Unfortunately the one-goal lead gave the Mustangs a taste of victory, pushing them to score another two goals. The first scored by #12 Chase Miller from 322 Joseph Karpyshyn at 10:05, and the second from #19 Braden Paquette from #18 Daniel Rybarik at 13:00. The Canucks fell short of a comeback with a final score of 4-1 for the Calgary Mustangs.
Sunday night the Canucks hit the road for their first away game of the season as they travelled to Olds for another matchup with the Grizzlys. Things started off in favour of the Grizzlys as #22 James Orban put them on the board after a setup from #21 Jeremy Klessens and #11 Owen Guenter. Though the Canucks lead the Grizzlys 14-11 in shots throughout the first, they were unable tie up the game. At 13:02 in the second period the Grizzlys took advantage of the powerplay to extend their lead to 2-0. The goal was scored by #3 Austin Pickford, assists going to #10 Estian Coetzee and #21 Jeremy Klessens. The Canucks moved within one as #28 Chad Varney scored an unassisted marker, to make it 2-1. With just under 30 second remaining in the period, the Grizzlys once again took a 2-goal lead as #22 James Orban scored his second of the night from #13 Chase Felgueiras. In the second period, the Canucks added another 21 shots to their count but the period closed with them behind by 2 goals. With the Canucks aiming for a comeback in the third there was sure to be lots of action on both ends of the ice. At 3:21 #27 Jordan McConnell put one in the back of the net with help from #8 Dylan Williamson to move the Canucks back within one of the Grizzlys. Just a few minutes later #8 Dylan Williamson shot one past the Grizzlys net minder from a cross ice pass from #12 Andrew Marshall to tie the game at 3-3. With things evened up it was a battle for who would be next on the board. Unfortunately, the Grizzlys were next on the board with a goal from #10 Estian Coetzee assisted by #18 Brad Girard and #3 Austin Pickford. Midway through the period the Grizzlys got a power play goal from #9 Ryley Smith from #18 Brad Girard and #10 Estian Coetzee. Just 1:18 later #37 Mitchell Visser extended the Grizzlys lead to 6-3 with help from #10 Estian Coetzee. The Canucks kept battling and were rewarded when #11 Alex Wilkins scored his first of the season from #8 Dylan Williamson. With time running out the Canucks capitalized on the power play as #12 Andrew Marshall put one in the back of the net from #22 Josh Giacomin to move the Canucks back within one. With the goaltender pulled, the Canucks tried to complete the comeback, however, the Grizzlys scored an empty net goal to make it 7-5. Things got a little heated in the finally second of the game with lots of commotion in the neutral zone.
With the Canucks splitting their first 4 games this season, things are off to a good start. #8 Dylan Williamson currently leads the team in points, with seven goals and three assist for a total of ten points. He also has been awarded player of the game in all four games played. Following close behind are #12 Andrew Marshall and #27 Jordan McConnell who both sit at six points on the season. We are looking forward to a strong season from the Canucks and watching as they improve as the games go on.