Abbotsford Canucks fans have identified a villain in the AHL's Western Conference Finals and it's Kole Lind?!?
A drama-filled game two on Saturday (May 31) between the Canucks and the Texas Stars saw Abbotsford skate away with a 1-0 victory, but not without a controversial no-goal call, an interesting even-up penalty in the third and a massive melee after the final whistle.
Phillip Di Giuseppe and Kole Lind getting a little fired up in the third period. pic.x.com/UmqhzkWZQj
— Dave Hall (@davehall1289) June 1, 2025
Lind suddenly became public enemy number one inside the Abbotsford Centre after seemingly getting challenged to a fight by Abbotsford's Phi Di Giuseppe at 12:15 of the third. Di Giuseppe dropped the gloves, but Lind declined the invitation. The 7,050 in attendance inside the AC didn't appreciate that behaviour and apparently neither did the refs – who initially called a penalty on Di Giuseppe, but then called unsportsmanlike conduct on both players.
Lind, a former Vancouver Canucks draft pick, was also involved in a messy end of the game situation. He was bumped by Silovs following the final whistle, who was then predictably backed up by his teammates. That led to a number of other altercations throughout the ice and it finished with three Canucks and two Stars players receiving roughing penalties at the 20-minute mark of the third.
OH BABY! #Canucks pic.x.com/OtpgRDxSCU
— Dave Hall (@davehall1289) June 1, 2025
More contention occurred when the Stars scored with 2:46 left. Texas captain Curtis McKenzie poked the puck and Silovs' pad into the net and it was called a goal on the ice. The refs then huddled and it was deemed not a goal. The Stars were obviously very unhappy with that decision.
"I'm not thrilled with the no-goal call," said Stars head coach Neil Graham following the loss. "And at the very least the explanation was very inadequate, in my opinion. In the American Hockey League not everything is review-able, so that's where the decision on the ice is very important. He called the goal on the ice and at that point you need to have conclusive evidence to overturn that call.
They huddled, they made a decision and essentially told me they should have blown it down which they didn't. I have a tough time living with that one. At the end of the day, it's a live play until you blow it. The puck was in the net, no whistle. The league needs to look at it, the league needs to do better."
Hear from Head Coach Neil Graham following Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals 🎥 pic.x.com/8kt8DQTcrc
— x - Texas Stars (@TexasStars) June 1, 2025
Canucks head coach Manny Malhotra said that the right call was made.
"Well the puck was under his pad and his pad was pushed into the net," he said. "That's how we saw it live and obviously the video quickly confirmed that."
Graham also didn't appreciate the Di Giuseppe-Lind offsetting penalty call. He stated he didn't receive an explanation from the official.
"When you see a player drop his gloves and go after one of your guys and then it's an evened-up call – I think an explanation is only warranted," he said. "They believe that our player used words to engage. For me, I don't see the penalty there. It's a tough one."
Malhotra said he was unclear about what happened with that call too.
"I've instructed our guys to play between the whistles," he said. "I'm not exactly sure what happened or what was said in that situation. We need to do a much better job of managing our emotions."
He also said he didn't see what happened at the end of the game involving three of his players receiving penalties at the end of the game.
HIROSE GETS ONE FOR THE GOOD GUYS! 👏 pic.x.com/cAN2RLs1kJ
— X - Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks) June 1, 2025
Outside of all the controversy, the game was decided on an Akito Hirose ricochet point shot that bounced off a few bodies and then trickled past Stars goalie Remi Poirier at 7:39 of the third period. Linus Karlsson and Arshdeep Bains drew the helpers on the goal. Hirose was inserted into the lineup for the first time since May 23 and made the most of his opportunity.
"I kind of saw it when it was around the goal line and was just kind of hoping it got in there and it did so I was happy," Hirose said with a grin. "It feels good to contribute, always good to get a goal but I think the zero on our side is a lot more important."
The man behind that zero was Canucks goalie and Abbotsford folk hero Arturs Silovs. He now has five shutouts in the playoffs and is sporting a .941 save percentage and a goals against average of 1.61. The crowd was chanting his name all night long and he continues to play out of his mind in the postseason.
“It’s really important to win the first two at home, it gives us big confidence.”
— X - Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks) June 1, 2025
Olivia McDonald chats with Artūrs Šilovs post game following his 5th shutout of the playoffs! pic.x.com/nv9N9qr5ZS
Silovs said the Stars should be feeling vulnerable.
"It's already 2-0 in the series and the pressure is on them," he said. "We can play with more confidence and I feel like we're better every single game, so we just go from here."
This place is going nuts as the @abbycanucks take to the ice for game two vs @TexasStars #canucks pic.x.com/6Oj7oqRGXH
— Ben Lypka (@BenLypka) June 1, 2025
The Canucks and Stars played two evenly-matches periods to start the game, with shots 19-19 after 40 minutes. Abbotsford's penalty kill was again huge, especially in the second period after they were forced to kill off three penalties. Texas went 0/4 on the power play, while Abbotsford had just one opportunity and did not score.
The third period saw Abbotsford crank up the offensive intensity, but Poirier made several key saves until the Hirose shot dribbled past him. Abbotsford out shot Texas 29-26 and five different Canucks had three shots on goal. Karlsson's assist was his 13th point in the playoffs and he now sits third in the AHL for points.
The game also featured the return of forward Aatu Raty, who made his first appearance since suffering an injury on May 3 in round two against the Coachella Valley Firebirds. However, Raty re-injured himself early in the first period and had to leave the game. His status moving forward is unclear.
SHUTOUT THE STARS ⭐️ pic.x.com/Z7VG29dHTw
— X - Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks) June 1, 2025
Abbotsford is now up 2-0 in the best-of-seven series and the teams head to the Lone Star State for games three and four on Monday (June 2) and Wednesday (June 4). Both games begin at 5 p.m. Abbotsford time. Game five, if necessary, will also occur in Cedar Park, Tex. on Friday (June 6). Games six and seven, if needed, would occur in Abbotsford.
Continue visiting abbynews.com for ongoing coverage of the Canucks' journey in the Calder Cup playoffs.
