Abbotsford Canucks at Coachella Valley Firebirds Series Preview
October 20, 2022 – American Hockey League (AHL) – Abbotsford Canucks News Release
Following last week’s California road trip to open the season, the Abbotsford Canucks sit at 1-1-0-0 heading into their third and fourth games of they year. Their opponent? A first ever matchup against the Coachella Valley Firebirds.
The two will square off Friday afternoon at 3:00pm at the Kraken Community Iceplex in Seattle. Then Sunday features a rematch between Abbotsford and Coachella Valley at Climate Pledge Arena, the home of the NHL’s Seattle Kraken, at 6:00pm.
Starting the season on the road due to the ongoing construction on Coachella Valley’s new Acrisure Arena in Thousand Palms, California, the Firebirds will play the first nine weeks of their inaugural season on the road. Playing four games at their “home away from home” in Washington, the Firebirds will look to continue their hot start before beginning their 16-game road trip.
Coachella Valley started off with a pair of victories last week in Calgary, pulling off 6-5 and 3-1 wins over the Wranglers. Firebirds winger Kole Lind leads the league in points per game, putting up six points (3G and 3A) in the opening two games.
Netminder Joey Daccord played the entirety of both games, making him just one of three goalies to have a 100%-win rate while starting two or more games.
As for Abbotsford, the Canucks are rolling off the back of a comeback overtime victory Saturday night in Bakersfield against the Condors. Falling to Ontario the night before, the Canucks sit at 1-1-0-0 and in a tie for 5th place in the Pacific Division. Linus Karlsson leads Abbotsford in points with three (1G and 2A), including his game winning goal in overtime in Bakersfield.
“I’m really happy with how we responded after the first game. Right from the start we were willing to battle and it’s nice to see us be rewarded for that.” – Jeremy Colliton commented on the Saturday’s comeback victory during practice this week.
Friday and Sunday will make up for half of the four games played between Coachella Valley and Abbotsford this season, with the Canucks hosting the Firebirds in two weeks’ time at the Abbotsford Centre.
Sheldon Dries is expected to make his season debut with Abbotsford this weekend after spending time to start the season with Vancouver on their east coast road trip. Noah Juulsen will also be returning to the Abbotsford lineup after being called up to the NHL mid-week, and Phil Di Giuseppe cleared waivers on Thursday allowing him to make his first showing with the Canucks this season following his activation from the injury list.
Both Friday and Sunday’s games will be available for viewing on AHLTV, and will be the last time to watch the team before their home opener on October 28th.
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