Flames Young Stars Crush the Canucks in Penticton

The Calgary Flames dominated the Vancouver Canucks, with a 6-2 victory in Penticton. Spencer Foo and Brett Pollock each had 2 goals, while Nick Schneider stopped 25 of 27 shots that he faced. The Flames now have 1 win and 1 loss through 2 games at the tournament.

The Line Up

First Period

Nick Schneider was good right from the outset, as the Canucks fired a bunch of shots on net early in the game and he denied them all.

Less than 5 minutes into the game, there was a beautiful goal from the top line. Andrew Mangiapane made an artful zone entry and then dealt a slick pass over to Mark Jankowski, who found Spencer Foo in front, for a 1-0 lead. The Flames’ top line has a tremendous amount of skill and it was definitely on display in the first.

Less than 2 minutes later, Zach Fischer got the puck in the slot and wired a wrist shot past Dipietro for a 2-0 Flames lead.

Halfway through the period, the Canucks got on the board. Aaron Irving let a shot go through traffic which Schneider had no chance of seeing, putting the Canucks within 1.

That would be it for scoring in the first period. Spencer Foo almost found his second goal of the period, but he rang a shot off the post in close. Hunter Smith was doing his thing and had a huge fight on a late first period powerplay.

The Flames took a 2-1 lead to the dressing room, with a 13-8 lead in shots.

Second Period

The Flames got caught scrambling midway through the second and the Canucks’ LaPlante banged in a rebound to tie up the game.

They bounced back very quick though. Adam Ruzicka picked up his rebound off the wraparound and slid the puck past Dipietro. Ruzicka had a strong game, showing good chemistry with Matthew Phillips.

The Flames got a 4 minute powerplay after Phillips was high-sticked. Spencer Foo blasted a bullet from the point after a nice passing play between Dillon Dube and Rasmus Andersson to put the Flames up 4-2.

The Flames led 4-2 after 2. Shots after 2 were 29-15 for Calgary after they fired 16 shots in the frame.

Third Period

Brett Pollock scored a beautiful goal to put the Flames up 5-2. Pollock went end to end, dangled a Canuck and flipped the puck up over Dipietro. After a quiet first pro year, Pollock has looked quite good in the first couple games of this tournament.

The Canucks pulled their goalie with 8:26 to go in the third period while on the powerplay. Brett Pollock eventually found himself on the breakaway there and potted his second of the game into the empty net for a 6-2 lead.

That would be it for the scoring, as the Flames took a 6-2 victory over the Canucks, with Nick Schneider stopping 25 of the 27 shots he faced.

Flames 3 Stars

Notes On Various Players

Next Up

The Flames face the Jets tomorrow morning, hoping to leave Penticton with a winning record.

by samwell9