With September coming to a close the Canucks are sitting in a 4 way tie for 5th in the South with a 3-4 record in the first 7 games of the season.
Meeting up with the Okotoks Oilers for the first time this season, the Canucks hit the ice at the Ken Bracko arena looking for a win. Things didn’t start off in the Canucks favour as #8 Ben Sanderson put the Oilers on the board mid-way through the first with help from #22 Blake Wells and #2 Kylor Wall. After 20 minutes of play the Canucks were unable to even things up. Shots on net were 11-6 in favour of the Oilers. At 4:23 into the second the Oilers extended their lead with a power play goal from #11 Quinn Olsen, assists to #26 Hoon Kim and #7 Nick Blankenburg. #18 Carter Huber made it 3-0 Oilers with another power play goal assisted by #14 Kyle Gordon. Once again on the power play #14 Kyle Gordon extended the lead for the Oilers after a set up from #2 Kylor Wall and #6 Carson Beers. With lots of ground to make up the Canucks were aiming for a good comeback. #24 Hayden Ursulak put the Canucks on the board with a power play goal, assists on the goal went to #12 Andrew Marshall and #28 Chad Varney. The period came to a close with the Oilers holding onto a 4-1 lead. In the third the Canucks hit the ice looking to make an impact. #5 Coby Mack made it 4-2 after a set up from #11 Alex Wilkins and #24 Hayden Ursulak. At 13:48 into the third #8 Dylan Williamson moved the Canucks within one with help from #12 Andrew Marshall. Things just didn’t work out as time expired before the Canucks were able to make a full comeback. Final score was 4-3 Oilers.
Heading to Camrose for game one of the AJHL Showcase on Friday, the Canucks were set to match up against the Fort McMurray Oil Barons. The Oil Barons were first on the board as #29 Jackson Verstraete scored from #4 Lucas Yovetich and #22 Trevor Schroder. The Canucks bounced back as #8 Dylan Williamson scored on the power play from #27 Jordan McConnell. Before the period ended the Oil Barons regained the lead as #21 Jack Hamly put one in the net from #24 Taner Miller. At the end of the period the score was 2-1 Oil Barons with the Canucks leading in shots 15-14. In the second, #20 Shane Fraser extended the lead for the Oil Barons with a goal assisted by #5 Curtis Roach and #24 Taner Miller. Though outshooting the Oil Barons 21-12 in the second period the Canucks were unable to get one past the netminder. At 6:53 of the third, #25 Will Conley made it 4-1 for the Oil Barons with assists going to #5 Curtis Roach and #24 Taner Miller. Just past the mid-way mark of the third, #10 Noah Williams and #22 Josh Giacomin set up #24 Hayden Ursulak who put one in the back of the net to make it 4-2. Less than 2 minutes later #14 Tommy Tanner made it 4-3 with his first goal of the season from #9 Cooper Page and #22 Josh Giacomin. With the game within reach the Canucks pulled the goaltender in the final minutes of the game in hopes of taking the game to overtime. Although making a final push #16 Nicholas Leeseberg scored on the empty net to give the Oil Barons a 5-3 lead. Final shots on net were 50-38 in favour of the Canucks.
For game 2 of the AJHL Showcase the Canucks were set for a match up against the Whitecourt Wolverines. The Wolverines were first to strike getting a goal at 4:21 from # 29 Liam Motley, assisted by #15 Tyr Thompson and #20 Tanner Foster. With the Canucks unable to get one on the board the period closed with the Wolverines leading 1-0. To start the second the Wolverines extended their lead to 2-0 as #20 Tanner Foster scored. Mid-way through the period there was a momentum shift as #27 Jordan McConnell put the Canucks on the board after a set up from #8 Dylan Williamson and #5 Coby Mack. Just 38 seconds later #13 Cooper Johnson scored to tie the game. Assists went to #10 Noah Williams and #22 Josh Giacomin. After 40 minutes of play the game was tied 2-2. Just 11 seconds into the third the Wolverines once again took the lead with a goal from #15 Tyr Thompson, assisted by #26 Jaedon Leslie and #29 Liam Motley. The Canucks continued to battle and were rewarded as #18 Blake Stevenson got one past the Wolverines net minder from #19 Zach Russell. As the rest of the period unfolded neither team was able to settle things and the game went into overtime. With the Canucks putting on lots of pressure #28 Chad Varney was able to put one in the net to win the game for the Canucks, after a set up from #22 Josh Giacomin.
Up Next for the Canucks, the Canmore Eagles are in town on Tuesday, October 3rd. Then Friday the Canucks will face off against the Okotoks Oilers for a rematch of last week's game, before heading to Canmore for game 2 against the Eagles.
Go Canucks Go!