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Abbotsford Canucks heading to Western Conference Final after playoff blowout

Rob Williams
Rob Williams
|
May 26 2025, 11:45 pm
Abbotsford Canucks heading to Western Conference Final after playoff blowout
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The Abbotsford Canucks are moving on in the Calder Cup Playoffs.

The AHL affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks picked up their biggest win of the season Monday afternoon, defeating the Colorado Eagles 5-0 in Game 5 of their best-of-five third-round series.

Linus Karlsson (2), Phil Di Giuseppe (2), and Cole McWard scored for Abbotsford, while Arturs Silovs made 30 saves to pick up the shutout.

The Canucks got off to a slow start before Karlsson’s power-play goal put Abbotsford ahead. Arshdeep Bains found Karlsson in the high slot, as the 25-year-old winger collected the puck and put an accurate wrist shot on net, silencing the Colorado crowd.

Just one minute later, Di Giuseppe doubled Abbotsford’s lead after Jett Woo intercepted a pass in the neutral zone.

Bains picked up his second assist of the game when he found McWard cruising through the neutral zone. It set up a two-on-one, with the Canucks defenceman electing to shoot.

The fourth goal of the game came in the first minute of the third period, with both teams playing four-on-four. Ty Mueller set up Karlsson with a drop pass.

Di Giuseppe scored his second of the game into an empty net, sealing Colorado’s fate with the 5-0 goal.

The Canucks will move on to play the Texas Stars in the AHL’s Western Conference Final. The Laval Rocket and Charlotte Checkers will face off in the Eastern Conference Final.

It’s the first time in 10 years that the Canucks’ AHL affiliate has reached this far in the postseason. The Travis Green-coached Utica Comets reached the Calder Cup Final in 2015, when the likes of Jacob Markstrom, Sven Baertschi, and Brendan Gaunce were leading the way.

The Canucks have never had an AHL affiliate win the Calder Cup.

Abbotsford entered the playoffs red hot, as the Manny Malhotra-coached club won 17 of its last 20 regular-season games. They knocked off the Tuscon Roadrunners in three games of their best-of-three first-round series, before defeating the Coachella Valley Firebirds in four games of their best-of-five second-round series.

The conference finals, as well as the Calder Cup Final, are best-of-seven series.

The Canucks have home-ice advantage in the conference final, with Game 1, Game 2, Game 6, and Game 7 taking place at the Abbotsford Centre. Game 3, Game 4, and Game 5 will be played in Texas.

The series begins on Thursday.

AHL Western Conference Final schedule

  • Game 1 at Abbotsford Centre – Thursday, May 29, at 7 p.m.
  • Game 2 at Abbotsford Centre – Saturday, May 31, at 7 p.m.
  • Game 3 at Cedar Park, Texas – Monday, June 2, at 5 p.m.
  • Game 4 at Cedar Park, Texas – Wednesday, June 4, at 5 p.m.
  • *Game 5 at Cedar Park, Texas – Friday, June 6, at 5 p.m.
  • *Game 6 at Abbotsford Centre – Sunday, June 8, at 6 p.m.
  • *Game 7 at Abbotsford Centre – Monday, June 9, at 7 p.m.

*if necessary

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