Abbotsford Canucks need to find road warrior mentality to keep season alive
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To keep their playoff run going, the Abbotsford Canucks need two wins in three possible games in what has been the toughest road rink in the AHL this season.
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The Vancouver Canucks ' top farm team dropped a 5-3 decision to the Colorado Eagles on Sunday night before an announced crowd of 6,960 at the Abbotsford Centre, knotting the best-of-five Pacific Division final at 1-1. Abbotsford won the opener at home Friday by a 2-0 count.
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The series now shifts to Blue Arena, the Eagles' home digs located in Loveland, Colo.
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Game 3 is Wednesday, Game 4 is Friday and Game 5, if necessary, would be Monday.
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The Eagles had the AHL's top home record during the regular season with a 26-6-2-2 mark. The Laval Rockets were next best, five points in back of Colorado at 24-9-2-1.
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In the overall standings, Colorado (43-21-5-3) finished atop the 10-team Pacific Division, two points in front of runner-up Abbotsford (44-24-2-2), which is why they have home-ice advantage for this series. Abbotsford was 6-2-0-0 against Colorado in the regular season, including 2-2-0-0 at Blue Arena.
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Abbotsford had the 32-team league's ninth-best road record, at 20-13-2-1.
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'It's what playoff hockey is. If you leave the door open and you make mistakes, the opposition will capitalize on it, and that's exactly what they did tonight,' Abbotsford coach Manny Malhotra told the assembled media Sunday night. 'They didn't change anything about their game. Obviously, they upped their intensity and upped their energy, and were able to capitalize on some defensive mistakes.
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'We'll look through the game again, we'll look to clean a few things up, and then it's about bringing your 'A' game. Obviously, they're going to get a lot of energy and momentum from their home crowd. Nothing changes in terms of our game plan. We have to match and exceed their level of energy and play our game better.'
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"It's what playoff hockey is. If you leave the door open and you make mistakes, the opposition will capitalize."
Head Coach Manny Malhotra addressed the media following tonight's 5-3 loss against the Colorado Eagles.
FULL MEDIA | https://t.co/QvMD5KxPEl pic.twitter.com/ie3We5fg0b
— X - Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks) May 19, 2025
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The Eagles, who are the Colorado Avalanche's affiliate, received a 27-save effort on Sunday from former Vancouver Giants netminder Trent Miner. He was named the game's first star.
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Five different Eagles scored, including one-time Vancouver forward Jayson Megna into an empty net. Abbotsford goals came from centre Chase Wouters, winger Jonathan Lekkerimäki and forward Linus Karlsson. Artūrs Šilovs stopped 16 shots in the Canucks' net.
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Abbotsford and Colorado are two of eight teams still standing in the AHL playoffs. The winner of this series meets the winner of a set between the Milwaukee Admirals and Texas Stars.
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