Abbotsford Canucks post dominant 6-2 win over San Jose Barracuda

The Abbotsford Canucks set the tone in the first game and the power play caught fire in the second to earn a 6-2 win over the San Jose Barracuda on Tuesday (December 20).

It didn’t take long for the Canucks to get on the scoreboard as Kyle Rau opened the game offensively at 3:58 of the first period and just over seven minutes later gave Abbotsford a 2-0 lead by John Stevens.

Di Giuseppe with aggressive forechecking gets the puck and eventually sets Stevens up 2-0 to Abbotsford pic.twitter.com/4h2QmsmCIx
— Ben Lypka (@BenLypka) December 21, 2022

Abbotsford were all San Jose in the first game, knocking out the visitors 10-4 and creating a number of good chances that former Abbotsford Heat goaltender Aaron Dell snuffed out.

San Jose’s Andrew Agozzino potted his ninth to make it a one-goal game at 5:16 in the second half and the Barracuda came out much stronger in the second half, but Abbotsford’s power play eventually salvaged his slump out and scored two goals with the man advantage in the second period.

Lockwood with his 11th as the Canucks score again on the power play to make it 4-1 pic.twitter.com/ZdZhLKjV9h
— Ben Lypka (@BenLypka) December 21, 2022

Justin Dowling made it 3-1 at 9:14 and Will Lockwood buried another power play marker at 2:44 to give the Canucks a 4-1 lead after two games.

Phil Di Giuseppe extended that lead to 5-1 after stealing the puck, used his speed to turn that opportunity into a breakaway, then fooled Dell with a backhand toe drag at 3:32 of the third. Rau added his second of the night at 8:51. San Jose added a late power play goal to make it 6-2 in the final.

Di Giuseppe showed his magic hands with this beautiful goal, 5-1 Abbotsford pic.twitter.com/XZk2xcu6wN
— Ben Lypka (@BenLypka) December 21, 2022

That was just Phil-thy 🤯 pic.twitter.com/Pxu5ZXy4lL
— Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks) December 21, 2022

It was a tremendous offensive night for a number of Canucks, particularly the line of Dowling, Lockwood and Rau. Dowling accumulated four points while Rau and Lockwood both had two. Defenseman Christian Wolanin continued his incredible scoring pace with three assists and now leads the American Hockey League with 28 assists and is third in the league with 32 points.

Di Giuseppe also had a two-point night for Abbotsford, leading the team with four shots on target. Nils Höglander, who came on for Abbotsford on Monday (12/19), scored three shots on his AHL debut. Defenseman Travis Dermott, also making his debut with the Abbotsford Canucks, was +2.

Goalie Arturs Silovs continued his strong play between the hoops for the Canucks, making 22 saves for his 10th win of the season.