Liam Öhgren wasted no time making his presence felt in Vancouver’s final camp scrimmage, and Elias Pettersson made sure the Penticton crowd got a show before the day was done.
The Canucks wrapped up a 30-minute, continuous-clock scrimmage that ended tied 3-3 before Team White edged Team Blue 4-3 in the shootout. It came on a busy Saturday at training camp, with a group of players also headed to Seattle for the club’s first preseason game later that night, while the rest of camp is set to return Sunday at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
Öhgren opened the scoring by finishing a 2-on-1 with Brock Boeser, looking off Boeser before beating Kevin Lankinen cleanly. He struck again on the next shift, this time from the other side of the ice and once more off the rush, giving Team White a quick two-goal cushion. Ty Mueller then added another in short order after Team Blue got pinned in its own end, and White had a 3-0 lead in a hurry.
Team Blue needed a spark, and Brendan Gallagher helped provide it. He set up Drew O’Connor on a rush for Blue’s first goal, then was part of the buildup as Jake DeBrusk pulled the group back within one at 3-2. Gallagher stood out as one of Blue’s bright spots throughout the period.
Pettersson’s best sequence came midway through the scrimmage. He first had a strong look on a 2-on-1 with Gallagher, trying to beat Chris Driedger short side, but Driedger got enough of it to keep the puck out. Not long after, Pettersson absorbed a clean hit from Cole Clayton in the corner, then answered on his next shift with a clean hit of his own on Clayton that drew a cheer from the crowd.
He kept building from there. Pettersson started to look more dangerous with his pace and puck movement, then scored a highlight-reel goal by batting the puck out of the air multiple times before finally lifting it over Ty Young to tie the scrimmage with less than 10 minutes left.
Both teams changed goaltenders at the halfway point, with Aku Koskenvuo replacing Lankinen for Blue and Young coming in for Driedger for White.
The shootout settled it after regulation ended level. Pettersson was stopped by Young on Blue’s first attempt, while Bennett Schimek scored for White with a backhand.
Ben Berard was denied, and Öhgren nearly scored again before Koskenvuo got his right pad on the chance. Gabriel Chiarot was stopped by Young, Paul Cotter was stopped by Koskenvuo, and then Luke Schenn scored to the delight of the Penticton crowd and his bench.
After another save from Koskenvuo, Team White came away with the 4-3 win.
There were other encouraging notes beyond the goals. Zeev Buium looked calm under pressure and made a couple of clean plays at both ends, including skating the puck out of danger and jumping into the rush.
Tom Willander showed poise and some soft hands, including one sequence where he worked in from the point along the half wall, cut toward the middle, and got off a backhand attempt on Young. Both Koskenvuo and Young also came up with strong saves in the shootout.
For Pettersson, the scrimmage was a noticeable step forward after not standing out on day one and then turning in a stronger showing on day two. For Gallagher, it was the kind of lively performance that suggests he’ll bring energy this season. And for Öhgren, it was a reminder that he can make things happen quickly when space opens up.
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