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AHL Abbotsford Canucks

Matt Irwin Scores Twice Including Overtime Winner in 4-3 Win Over Calgary

December 29, 2023 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Abbotsford Canucks News Release


The Abbotsford Canucks began their five-game road trip on Thursday as they travelled to Calgary to face the Wranglers.

Sheldon Dries centered Tristen Nielsen and Vasily Podkolzin, while Linus Karlsson looked to continue his hot streak. He lined up with Arshdeep Bains and Max Sasson, while Aatu Räty, Chase Wouters and Marc Gatcomb stayed together. Aidan McDonough, John Stevens and Ty Glover completed the forward group.

Christian Wolanin and Jett Woo partnered together on defence, while Matt Irwin paired with Nick Cicek. Quinn Schmiemann and Cole McWard filled out the lineup, while Artūrs Šilovs started in goal. Dustin Wolf started in net for the Wranglers.

Ben Jones would grab the only goal of a offensively driven opening period, grabbing his team leading 11th of the season seven minutes into the contest. The team's put up a combined 27 shots through 20 minutes, with Calgary outshooting the visitors 15-12.

Abbotsford would find an equalizer just over a minute into the second period, coming from Matt Irwin. He connected with his defensive partner Cicek at the blue line, before walking in and firing a slap shot over Wolf's shoulder. The effort would be the Victoria native's first on the season and first as a Canuck.

Just after the halfway mark, Podkolzin would give Abbotsford their first lead. Bains and Wolanin set up a slapshot at the blueline by Wolanin which was steered aside by Wolf, with the rebound falling to Podkozlin below the faceoff circle. The Russian winger would bury the second effort, putting the Canucks in front with his eighth of the season.

Calgary would find an equalizer in the final minutes before the intermission, as Dryden Hunt's seventh of the year knotted the game up at 2-2 as the two sides broke for the locker rooms. Abbotsford outshot the hosts 16-9 in the middle frame, and were leading the overall shot count 28-24 through 40 minutes.

As the third period continued on, the importance of the go-ahead goal grew and grew, and was eventually grabbed by Cole Schwindt. His seventh of the season put Calgary on top, however their lead would last for just 15 seconds.

Quinn Schmiemann tracked down a loose puck and blocked a clearing attempt from inside the Wranglers zone, with the puck falling to Max Sasson. Sasson fired a shot goalwards, which rattled off the goal stick of Wolf and into the net for the game tying goal. The tally was Sasson's ninth goal of the year and second point of the night, and would send the contest into Overtime.

Tristen Nielsen brought the puck across the Wrangler's blue line and circled towards the corner, when he spotted an in-coming Matt Irwin entering Calgary's zone. He backhanded the puck towards the veteran defenceman, who then fired a snap shot past Wolf's blocker. The puck rang around the back of the cage, as Irwin wheeled away in celebration.

Irwin's second of the night came just under two minutes into Overtime, and secured a 4-3 road victory over the Division leading Wranglers for Abbotsford's fourth consecutive win.

With a pair of goals in the contest, Thursday was just the second time in Irwin's professional career where he scored multiple times (October 14th, 2014), scoring twice as a San Jose Shark against the Washington Capitals. Max Sasson and Christian Wolanin also had multiple points, scoring a goal and an assist, and then a pair of assists respectively. Artūrs Šilovs stopped 30 of Calgary's 33 shots, while Wolf turned aside 34 of the 38 Abbotsford efforts on the evening.

Up next for the Canucks will be a rematch in Calgary on Friday evening, with that contest getting underway at 5:00pm PST. Then the Canucks will finish their road trip with a stand alone game in Bakersfield before wrapping up with a back to back series in Coachella Valley. The team then returns home for a six game home stand featuring games against Tucson, Ontario and San Diego.

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