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'Arty Party' rolls on as Silovs' shutout leads Abbotsford Canucks to game one win

Arturs Silovs posts second straight shutout, Abbotsford Canucks beat Colorado Eagles 2-0
Ben Lypka
Ben Lypka

The "Arty Party" is transforming into a month-long never-ending extravaganza with no end in sight.

Abbotsford Canucks goalie Arturs Silovs continues to play out of his mind stopped all 22 shots he faced to guide his club to a 2-0 win over the Colorado Eagles in game one of the Pacific Division final.

Since getting yanked in game two of the Pacific Division semifinal against the Coachella Valley Firebirds, Silovs has stopped 76 of 77 shots and has recorded three wins and two shutouts.

Silovs admitted that the team playing in front of him deserves a lot of the credit. The Canucks defensively have allowed him to see most of the shots directed his way and the special teams play continues to be the difference.

"They're doing a great job," he said of his teammates. "Basically we won the game because we won the special teams. It's crazy, you can trust the guys in front because they're going to sacrifice their bodies. It's playoff hockey – you have to sacrifice everything to win."

The aforementioned special teams played a huge factor, even if Canucks captain Chase Wouters doesn't want to jinx the perfect 23/23 penalty kill so far in these playoffs.

"It's been good – knock on wood their a little bit," he said, grinning. "Smitty [assistant coach Jordan Smith] has got us playing our best out there and we're going to keep doing everything we can to keep that momentum on the kill and keep doing it for our group."

One of the game's major turning points came late in the third period when Abbotsford, leading 1-0, was forced to kill a Linus Karlsson roughing penalty. Abbotsford penalty killers managed to stave off Colorado's dangerous power play and actually generate chances of their own. Forwards Arshdeep Bains, Ty Mueller, Phil Di Giuseppe and Wouters played crucial roles to aggressively keep the puck out of the Abbotsford zone.

Interestingly enough, the Canucks' prowess on the penalty kill even convinced Colorado to choose not to pull their goalie despite having a late power play and trailing by a goal. They did so a few minutes later, but defenceman Victor Mancini stole the puck and scored the insurance empty net goal with five seconds left.

The first period was scoreless, with the Eagles controlling the early portion of the game and Abbotsford picking up momentum later on. Colorado had the 7-5 shots edge after 20 minutes.

The game's lone goal scored on a goalie came at 15:25 of the second period when Sammy Blais found Ty Mueller in the slot and he beat Eagles goalie Trent Miner. The power play tally was the first AHL playoff goal in Mueller's career. Karlsson drew the secondary assist on the goal.

The physical tone of game one was heavy, with Colorado's Jason Polin leaving the game in the first period after a devastating hit. Jonathan Lekkerimaki also took a vicious slash in the second period, but he played on. Several players on both sides appeared to be in discomfort at different points of the game.

Canucks head coach Manny Malhotra said the Eagles were a challenging opponent and he expects this series to take a toll on both teams.

"There's a reason they finished first," he said of the Eagles. "They're a very talented group that plays at a high pace. They put us on our heels early in the game. We try to chalk that up to being off for six days, but give them a lot of credit. They took it to us for a while there."

Malhotra said near the latter half of the first period his team began limiting Colorado's quality looks and he praised the play of Silovs for making timely saves when needed. He said the Canucks can match the speed of the Eagles by being positionally sound.

"It's about being in the right spots and being above that speed and not allowing them to transition," he said. "Their D are very active offensively, so it's about just making sure that positionally we're sound and are not chasing plays."

Game one also featured the return from injury of defenceman Jett Woo and Malhotra said he fit in well with the physical style of game one.

"He was a solid veteran presence for us," he said. "Got pucks up the ice really well for us, killed plays defensively and was able to join the rush. He played like the Jett we expected him to be."

Abbotsford out shot Colorado 24-22 in the game and Mueller, Max Sasson and Cole McWard all recorded three shots on goal. The assist by Blais is his ninth point in eight playoff games and he has a point in every Abbotsford playoff game except one. Silovs' playoff numbers are eye-popping, as he has a record of 6-1, a goals against average of 1.50 and a save percentage of .942.

Colorado's Trent Miner also had a strong game in goal and made 22 saves in the loss. Reported attendance on Friday was 6,158.

There was an unusual incident at the end of the game that saw Eagles defenceman John Ludvig grab the game puck and leave the bench with it. Abbotsford Canucks players appeared to want it and asked the ref to retrieve it, but Ludvig went down the hallway clutching it. Players were asked about what occurred, but the ones asked stated that they didn't see what happened.

Abbotsford now takes a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series and the teams meet again inside the Abbotsford Centre on Sunday (May 18) at 6 p.m. The series then shifts to Colorado for game three on Wednesday (May 21). Games four and five, if necessary, go Friday, May 23 and Monday, May 26.

Continue visiting abbynews.com for ongoing coverage of the Abbotsford Canucks' journey in the Calder Cup playoffs.

Ben Lypka

About the Author: Ben Lypka

I joined the Abbotsford News in 2015.
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