{"id":914070,"date":"2026-09-29T12:48:37","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T12:48:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/914070\/"},"modified":"2026-09-29T12:48:37","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T12:48:37","slug":"abbotsford-canucks-complete-pre-season-sweep-of-calgary-wranglers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/914070\/","title":{"rendered":"Abbotsford Canucks complete pre-season sweep of Calgary Wranglers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Abbotsford Canucks complete pre-season sweep of Calgary Wranglers<\/p>\n

Published 4:39 pm Monday, September 28, 2026<\/p>\n

The Abbotsford Canucks completed a perfect pre-season with a pair of wins over the Calgary Wranglers inside the Rogers Forum on Sunday (Sept. 27) and Monday (Sept. 28).<\/p>\n

The Canucks posted a 3-0 win on Sunday and finished the sweep by defeating Calgary 3-1 on Monday.<\/p>\n

Canucks forward Vilmer Alriksson set the tone early on Monday and opened the scoring just 79 seconds into the game.<\/p>\n

Vilmer Alriksson opens the scoring at 1:19 for the @abbycanucks<\/a>. They lead @AHLWranglers<\/a> 1-0 here in the second-ever pre-season game in Abbotsford #Canucks<\/a> team history pic.twitter.com\/YwCPVtqQr4<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Ben Lypka (@BenLypka) September 28, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

The 6-6 forward received a lead pass from line mate Sean Chisholm, used his wheels to go around the Calgary defender and beat Wranglers goalie Kirill Zarubin. Alriksson had a strong overall game with three shots and two points. He also finished at a team-best +3.<\/p>\n

2025 first round pick Braeden Cootes made it 2-0 about nine minutes later. Cootes and Bennett Schimek pounced on a Wranglers defender down low, fished the puck free and snuck a shot past Zarubin. Abbotsford had the 13-7 shots edge after 20 minutes.<\/p>\n

Cootes cashes in! \ud83d\udea8 pic.twitter.com\/iqvw9sSRmo<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks) September 28, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Calgary got on the board at 12:50 of the second when Alex Young fooled Canucks goalie Mitchell Weeks on the short side. Weeks replaced Canucks starting goalie Aku Koskenvuo who played the first half of the game and stopped all 10 shots he faced. Abbotsford defenceman Gavin White made it 3-1 at 14:17 of the second, with Chisholm and Tim Rego drawing the helpers. <\/p>\n

The third period saw Calgary make a push and they out shot Abbotsford 13-4, but couldn\u2019t get on the scoreboard. The Wranglers finished with the 30-23 shots advantage. <\/p>\n

Sweep secured \ud83e\uddf9 pic.twitter.com\/7FuQrbDkiz<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks) September 28, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

The Abbotsford Canucks franchise had never played a pre-season game before these two games and Canucks head coach Ryan Papaioannou said the games were important learning tools for himself and the players.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think for me these games were super valuable,\u201d he said. \u201cJust to spend time on the bench with the guys on a dry run and to be able to give some other players a real solid look \u2013 and not have to make these decisions out of practice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Papaioannou and the rest of the Abbotsford Canucks staff will now create the team\u2019s season opening roster ahead of the first game of the regular season in Calgary on Friday (Oct. 2). That game will mark the first AHL game behind the bench for Papaioannou, who was hired in July.<\/p>\n

Monday marked the first time Cootes had put on an Abbotsford jersey. He said he\u2019s looking forward to playing meaningful hockey after a lot of build-up the past few weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was my sixth pre-season game including rookie camp so everybody wanted to play a game that matters,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m just excited for the year to get going.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cootes noted that he felt good on the ice and said he enjoyed the speed and physicality of AHL hockey. He\u2019s expected to make his AHL debut in Calgary on Friday.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Sunday\u2019s game saw the Canucks get goals from Ryan St. Louis, Trey Fix-Wolansky and Chisholm. Ty Young earned the shutout win and stopped all 40 shots he faced. Fix-Wolansky led all Canucks with five shots on goal and Ty Mueller was a team-best +2.<\/p>\n

Abbotsford opens the season with games on the road against Calgary on Friday and Saturday (Oct. 3). The club\u2019s home opener sees them welcome the Coachella Valley Firebirds on Saturday, Oct. 17. <\/p>\n