Powerless plays for the Abbotsford Canucks

The Abbotsford Canucks finished up a five-game homestand on Wednesday, Jan. 25 with a loss against the Toronto Marlies. Facing off against the Calgary Wranglers and the Toronto Marlies, the Abbotsford Canucks saw stiff competition against two teams that are currently at the top of their respective divisions. Starting on Jan. 18 with a disappointing series of three games in four days against the Wranglers, the Abbotsford Canucks doubled their home losses for the season.

Beginning with game one at Abbotsford Centre on Wednesday night, things got off to a rough start when Artur Silovs let in two goals early in the first period that should’ve been easy saves. The shaky start turned into what was overall a weak run for the Abby Canucks, with Calgary taking the W in all three games despite a whopping 18 total power plays for Abbotsford. Surrey-born Arshdeep Bains tied things up in the second period of the first game on Jan. 18, leading to an overtime that lasted all of seven seconds before it ended in a 3-2 loss for Abbotsford. The 2nd and 3rd games didn’t get much better for the Canucks; losing 5-4 in a shootout on Jan. 20, and again losing on Jan. 21, 5-3.

Not all was bad; in a moment of redemption, Abbotsford ended their four-game losing streak with a resounding 4-0 shoutout against a tired-looking Toronto on Jan. 24. This high point was quickly dashed in game-two the next day, when Toronto seemed to find their footing and upped the intensity, delivering a 3-2 loss for Abbotsford to end their time on home ice. Silovs redeemed himself from the shaky start by keeping Abby in the final game against the Marlies, stopping 29/32 shots, and earning third star of the night.

Despite the losses, the Canucks did play well. Tristen Nielsen skated well and was a key playmaker, scoring one goal and an assist on the 20th against Calgary. Linus Karlsson scored two goals in the five games, and remains in the top five rookies in the year. Where Abby lost it was scoring and making the best of the power plays. Over the course of Abbotsford’s five-game homestand, they racked up a total of 29 power plays — and only scored four goals with the man advantage.

Truthfully, Abbotsford seemed to spend a lot of time passing the puck on their power plays, trying to set up the perfect tip or shot, but ended up allowing the Calgary and Toronto defences to set up for quick penalty kills. The teams the Canucks would be potentially facing for the Calder Cup — Colorado Eagles, the Ontario Reign, and Tucson Roadrunners — are good matchups for Abbotsford, and have taken games off Abby because of the slip ups that they still had facing Calgary. With playoffs fast approaching, this inability to capitalize on opportunities and strengthen up their offense could spell trouble for the team.

This week, our Abby Canucks started a long road trip, continuing the streak and taking two losses against the Tucson Roadrunners at the end of the month. Losing 6-2 on Jan. 28, and then fell 5-2 on Jan 29. Tough losses to start the road trip. Luckily, Abbotsford faces the San Diego Gulls next, who are last in their division — it could be a free win. Then comes a double header against the San Jose Barracuda, who sit seventh in the division. While not really in a playoff position, the Barracuda could steal some points from the Canucks and send them to a lower playoff seed, stripping them of home ice advantage. Abbotsford’s next home games are next week on Feb. 10 and 11 against the Tucson Roadrunners.

Anisa Quintyne — Culture Editor

Potatoes and Pink: Julia Dovey’s upcoming book explores online harassment, narcissistic parenting, and sibling rivalry

Local author gives the details on her latest book, and some advice for aspiring authors

and I immediately rushed home and begged my parents to buy me a computer, any computer, that ran Word.” query sucks, it’s going in the scrap pile. Look up successful queries, model yours after them.”

UFV Alum Julia Dovey is publishing her second book, Potatoes and Pink on March 1. A literary fiction and romance novel represented by BWL Publishing, Potatoes and Pink follows Mindy Adams, a novelist and janitor, who is contacted the day after her mother’s funeral by her old university nemesis, Diane Dew, with a strange request. Dovey stated in an interview via email that the novel explores “concepts of online harassment, sibling rivalry, and growing up with a narcissistic parent. I was inspired, oddly, by a random YouTube drama involving an obsessive online stalker.”

Potatoes and Pink is Dovey’s second novel, following Lipstick Tattoo which was published May 2022. Dovey is a copywriter, video editor, book editor, and novelist who hails from a “very artsy fartsy household” in Aldergrove. Now living in Abbotsford, Dovey is also presenting writing workshops at the Chilliwack Cultural Center this winter and spring.

But a writer is not without the guiding hand of an English teacher and words of inspiration. “My first key experience was reading a positive comment from a high school substitute teacher (whose name I’ve since forgotten, and to whom I dedicated my first book) on my short story assignment,” said Dovey. “Something clicked,

Dovey also credits UFV’s creative writing program as a game changer in her writing, as she explained; “Another key experience: reading a comment on my play in first year playwriting, telling me to submit to the Louden Singletree. Then, later on, having an impromptu stage reading of the play at the Louden Launch, and hearing people laugh at the jokes I’d written (...) teachers, you have immense power in that pen of yours.”

Then there’s the age old question: is there advice you have for young writers aspiring to publish? To which Dovey provided a helpful list of advice, browsing the many stops an author might come across when mapping out their publishing journey.

1. Don’t worry about being rejected

The first thing to keep in mind is that rejection is part of the deal, according to Dovey. “Having a well-written book is only half the battle (...) a friend of mine sent over a hundred queries before finding a publisher.” Be willing to take it in stride and keep moving forward.

2. Have a fantastic query

Dovey cites a strong query letter as the key to getting the attention of publishing agents. “It’s your foot in the door. Your book could be literally perfect, but if your

3. Schmooze like your life depends on it

Just like many other career paths, connections and networking are vital. “Success comes from knowing the right people, and having those connections. I got in contact with my publishing house because my friend put in a good word for me,” said Dovey. “Agents keep an eye out for queries that say “I met you at…” or “I was referred to you by…” so get out there and network!

4. Work that social media, and know your market

Dovey believes that social media fluency is a critical skill for authors hoping to get published. “It’s part of the author’s life these days. If you become an author, you’ll need to build up a following.” Dovey, who herself started with about 20 Instagram followers and now has over 700 across her Instagram and TikTok accounts, says including a social media marketing strategy can be a great way to make your query stand out.

5. Plot out your book

Beloved fantasy author George R.R. Martin once said that “There are two types of writers, the architects and gardeners. The architects plan everything ahead of time. The gardeners dig a hole, drop in a seed and water it. They kind of know what seed it is (...) but they discover as it grows.” Dovey referred to this concept, stating “so many new writers insist they’re gardeners, but I would bet most are actually architects.” Dovey highlights the importance of mapping out your plot on a beat sheet, and making sure you see it through to the end. “You need to finish, otherwise, you’ll only practice writing beginnings.”

When Dovey isn’t writing, she says her “favourite thing to do these days is make silly videos to post on my writer’s Instagram and Tiktok.” You can find Dovey on both social media sites at @Julia_Writes_Things