Abbotsford Canucks sweep Coachella Valley Firebirds on home opener weekend

Abbotsford Canucks sweep Coachella Valley Firebirds on home opener weekend

Published 12:42 pm Monday, October 19, 2026

A historic second period on Saturday (Oct. 17) highlighted a successful home opening weekend for the Abbotsford Canucks, who earned a pair of victories over the Coachella Valley Firebirds inside the Rogers Forum.

The Canucks exploded for a franchise record six goals in the second period on Saturday and skated to a 7-3 win over the Firebirds in the club’s 2026-27 home debut.

Leading 1-0 after one thanks to a Bennett Schimek goal, the Canucks then got tallies from Gavin White (1:36 and 14:34), Riley Patterson (4:56), Vilmer Alriksson (13:36), Tim Rego (14:57) and Braeden Cootes (15:19). In between all those Canucks goals, the Firebirds got replies from Ryden Evans (13:57) and Logan Morrison (19:10). The eight goals combined in one period is also a Canucks franchise record.

HISTORY MADE AT THE FORUM! Six goals in the second period set a new franchise record 📖 #LetsGoAbby https://t.co/lt6rZixpzf

— Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks) October 18, 2026

The Firebirds added a goal from Julius Miettinen in the third period and the game turned violent two players on each team receiving game misconducts. The second period also featured fisticuffs, with a pair of fights. Abbotsford’s Matthew Steinburg racked up 20 penalty minutes, Coachella’s Nathan Villeneuve recorded 17, while Abbotsford’s Joe Artnesen and Coachella’s John Hayden both had 15.

The Canucks outshot the Firebirds 40-24 and Abbotsford’s power play went 2/5. Schimek, White and Jimmy Schuldt all had three-point nights and White had a team-high seven shots on goal. Abbotsford’s Nikita Tolopilo made 21 saves for the win and the Canucks chased Victor Ostman out of the Firebirds’ crease in the second period. Saturday had a reported attendance of 5,051.

IT’S COOTES O’CLOCK! https://t.co/Wl8f5oGERR

— Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks) October 18, 2026

The rivals met again on Sunday (Oct. 18), with the Canucks earning a 5-4 shootout win.

The first period was all Abbotsford and turned into the Trey Fix-Wolansky show, as the Canucks forward scored at 1:57 and 12:51. Newcomer Jacob Quillan added a goal at 8:29 and the Canucks were up 3-0 after 20 minutes. Quillan was acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs organization along with Brandon Buhr in exchange for forward Aatu Raty on Thursday (Oct. 15).

The Firebirds battled back in the second period and chipped away at the lead with goals from Jani Nyman (4:56) and Miettinen (8:45). Coachella controlled play and also outshot the Canucks 14-7 in the second.

TIC-TAC-GOAL! 🤩 https://t.co/XPhZzSbO1v

— Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks) October 18, 2026

Patterson restored the two-goal lead for the Canucks at 2:42 of the third, but the Firebirds again responded when Lleyton Roed beat Canucks goalie Ty Young at 5:43. Nyman then tied the game at 14:29 with his second on the night to send the game to overtime.

The five minutes of three-on-three solved nothing and the shootout saw Ben Berard and Fix-Wolanky score for Abbotsford. Young stopped two of three shootout attempts to earn the win for the Canucks. Reported attendance on Sunday was 3,208.

The Firebirds held the 37-25 shots edge and also went 2/3 on the power play. Fix-Wolansky and Sawyer Mynio both had two-point nights in the win.

Canucks head coach Ryan Papaioannou said he wasn’t thrilled with his team’s play in the second half of Sunday’s game.

“We started to sit back on our heels a bit,” he said. “We defended our blue line in a totally different fashion than we had the previous five periods and I think we had the mentality of trying not to lose – but again happy we get two points and there is a lot we can pull out of this to learn.”

Cootes continues to be a nice early-season story for the Canucks, as the rookie has six points in six games and is tied for third in the AHL for rookie scoring. Forward Ty Mueller leads the Canucks with seven points in six games. The club’s record now sits at 3-2-0-1 and they rank fifth in the Pacific Division.

The Canucks next host the Calgary Wranglers for a pair of games on Saturday (Oct. 24) and Sunday (Oct. 25). Saturday has a face-off of 5 p.m., while Sunday’s game gets going at 3 p.m.