Klimovich ties Abbotsford goal record as Canucks beat Firebirds 4-2

Abbotsford got exactly the kind of spring-night blueprint it wanted: a timely opener, a quick answer after a wobble, and Ty Young settling everything down in net as the Canucks beat Coachella Valley 4-2 in their regular-season finale. Against a Firebirds club that already had a playoff berth locked up and a reputation for surviving the season’s biggest games, Abbotsford looked like a team learning how to win the right way at the right time.

The tone was set early when Danila Klimovich finished a quick passing sequence with Kirill Kudryavtsev and opened the scoring. It was more than a first-period lead. The goal was Klimovich’s 70th as a Canuck, tying Linus Karlsson for the most in franchise history and making him Abbotsford’s co-all-time regular-season goal leader. In 281 regular-season games for the club, Klimovich has now reached a mark that says as much about persistence as it does about finishing touch.

Coachella Valley answered in the second period through Eduard Sale, but Abbotsford did not drift. Chase Wouters restored the edge when he cleaned up a rebound after Jimmy Schuldt and Dino Kambeitz helped create the chance, and Ben Berard added the kind of goal that can change a building. Jumping off the bench, Berard took a neutral-zone pass from Cole Clayton and beat Victor Östman with a slick finish to make it 3-1 after 40 minutes. Joe Arntsen stretched it to 4-1 early in the third, giving the Canucks the sort of cushion that let Young control the rest.

That mattered because this game was a test of response, not just skill. Abbotsford had entered after back-to-back losses to Coachella Valley earlier in April, a 2-0 defeat and a 3-2 overtime loss, and the first period again brought some penalty trouble. This time, though, the Canucks recovered, settled into structure and turned the game into something closer to a playoff rehearsal than a season-closing formality.

Young, making the start opposite Östman, gave Abbotsford the steadying presence it needed. Coachella Valley cut the margin to 4-2 through Charlie Wright and pressed late after pulling its goalie, but Young came through with several clutch saves to close the door. The outing carried extra weight after his first career AHL shutout on March 7, a 4-0 win over Colorado, and it gave Abbotsford another proof point that the crease can hold up under pressure.

The result left Abbotsford at 24-37-4-3 in a season shaped by turnover, 124 transactions and 51 players appearing in games. For a team that spent much of the year rebuilding after last summer’s Calder Cup roster churn, the finale offered something concrete: a historic scorer, a calm goalie and a win over one of the league’s most proven playoff teams.