The Abbotsford Canucks set a new franchise record during their 2026–27 home-opener on October 17. Vancouver’s AHL-affiliate put together a record-setting six-goal second period en route to their 7–3 win against the Coachella Valley Firebirds. Abbotsford had never previously scored that many goals in a single period before.
The six second-period goals came from a wide collection of players, though defenceman Gavin White made the biggest impact by finding the back of the net twice. Adding to Abbotsford’s goal total in the second frame were Riley Patterson, Vilmer Alriksson, Tim Rego, and Braeden Cootes. Bennett Schimek opened the game’s scoring in the first period. Defenceman Jimmy Schuldt also recorded three assists in the effort.
After the game, new Abbotsford Head Coach Ryan Papaioannou spoke to the media about his team’s home-opening effort.
“A lot of balance up front tonight. I think any team, any level, if you’re going to be good, you need contributions from all four lines. And I think we expect all four lines to play the same. Everybody has the right to carry pucks and make plays, and it’s something we’re trying to instill in them. We don’t want guys that are on the so-called fourth liners to play like they’re on the fourth line. Make plays, score goals.”
Heading into their home-opener on Saturday, Abbotsford had just one win in their first four games of the season — that being a 4–3 victory against the Colorado Eagles on October 10. They dropped their first two games of the season against the Calgary Wranglers, both by a score of 4–2, before losing in a shootout to the Eagles the season after.
Abbotsford continues their current home-stand with a rematch against Coachella Valley tonight at 4:00 pm PDT. They’ll play at home next weekend as well, facing the Wranglers at the Rogers Forum on Saturday at 5:00 pm PDT and Sunday at 3:00 pm PDT.
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