Skip to content
  1. Home
  2. Sports

Abbotsford Canucks, Tucson Roadrunners reignite rivalry in Canucks 5-2 win

Fight-filled contest highlighted by first career AHL hat trick by Canucks veteran John Stevens
Ben Lypka
Ben Lypka

After a sleepy 4-0 loss to the Tucson Roadrunners on Friday (Jan. 12), the Abbotsford Canucks renewed the heated rivalry with their foes from the desert in a fight-filled, entertaining 5-2 romp on Saturday (Jan. 13).

The temperature increased after John Stevens took a tripping penalty following an awkward collision in the boards with Tucson captain Steven Kempfer at 4:07 of the first period.

Kempfer was hurt on the play and the very next shift saw Stevens have to answer the bell and drop the gloves with Tucson’s Ben McCartney.

Two minutes after that fight saw Abbotsford’s Jermaine Loewen fight Tucson’s Curtis Douglas. The rough stuff continued with Tucson’s John Leonard receive a 10-minute misconduct at 13:15 for a dangerous hit involving Abbotsford’s Quinn Schmiemann.

Oh, there was also a goal scored in the first period as Räty scored on the power play at 5:29. Unfortunately for the Abbotsford Canucks it wasn’t the Räty in green and white, as Aatu’s older brother Aku notched his ninth on the season. Abbotsford outshot Tucson 13-7 in the first, but couldn’t beat Dylan Wells early.

The second period saw John Stevens and Arshdeep Bains work some magic. Bains set-up Stevens at 2:53 to tie the game and the duo again connected at 5:06 to quickly give the Canucks the lead. Stevens then dished to Bains at 11:09 and suddenly the Abbotsford Canucks had a 3-1 lead. Tucson’s Hunter Drew added a late goal at 18:32.

The second period was relatively peaceful, with only Bains and Tucson’s Travis Barron being called for roughing.

Tristen Nielsen scored his ninth of the season at 13:52 to give the Canucks a two-goal cushion again and Stevens completed the hat trick with an empty net goal at 19:00. It marked the first hat trick in the AHL for Stevens, who has played 305 regular season games and 11 playoff games in his eight years in the league.

But the game refused to end on a calm note, as Tucson’s Montana Onyebuchi rocked Abbotsford’s Max Sasson with an elbow and Alex Kannok Leipert then dropped the gloves with him at 19:51.

The game harkens back to the genesis of the Tucson-Abbotsford rivalry, a 4-0 win for Abbotsford back on Feb. 10, 2023 that saw three fights and 100 total penalty minutes. Tonight’s game followed that trend with three more tussles and the teams combining for 70 penalty minutes.

RELATED: Abbotsford Canucks, Tucson Roadrunners rivalry explodes in 4-0 win for Canucks

Abbotsford’s Nikita Tolopilo had a solid game in goal, shutting the door in the third period and making 27 saves for his eighth win on the season. Stevens had an excellent night with four points and finished the night with a +4 rating. Bains added three points and both he and defenceman Matt Irwin finished with a +3 rating.

Stevens said after the game that he was not trying to hurt Kempfer, but realized he would have to deal with the aftermath of the injury.

“He’s their captain but obviously I wasn’t trying to do that,” he said, of the injury. “I tried to pick his stick and it was just a dangerous play. I guess having that happen gets you into the game a little bit more, which is fine. But they all have a lot of respect for that guy [Kempfer] and obviously it wasn’t something I was trying to do.”

He added that he felt the team didn’t play bad on Friday, but were just very unlucky. He said consistency is something the team needs to continue to develop with the playoffs looming.

Abbotsford outshot Tucson 42-29 and both Vasily Podkolzin and Sasson recorded six shots on goal. It was also a noticeable return to the lineup for forward Danila Klimovich. The 2021 second round draft pick suited up in just his eighth game this season, but recorded four shots on goal and was effective in his role.

A strong crowd of 5,583 took in Saturday’s game inside the Abbotsford Centre.

The Canucks now sit in fifth place in the Pacific Divison with a record of 19-11-2-1. However, just six points separate first from fifth.

Abbotsford remains home for games against the Ontario Reign on Tuesday (Jan. 16) and Wednesday (Jan. 17). The club then welcomes the San Diego Gulls for games on Saturday (Jan. 20) and Sunday (Jan. 21).

Ben Lypka

About the Author: Ben Lypka

I joined the Abbotsford News in 2015.
Read more