Abbotsford (Abbotsford Canucks) – In a tightly contested Calder Cup Finals series that’s seen overtime in both games, the Abbotsford Canucks scored five goals in the third period to beat the Charlotte Checkers 6-1 in regulation.
Arshdeep Bains led the way with two goals and two assists, Linus Karlsson had one goal and three assists, and Artūrs Šilovs stopped 28 of 29 shots he faced while adding a primary assist in the third period. Special teams was a perfect five-for-five on the evening – the power play was two for two and the penalty kill was three for three.
Abby had chances early, but Checkers’ forward Oliver Okuliar opened the scoring at 8:22, tallying his fourth goal of the playoffs.
Abby took a penalty near the end of the first period, but the Canucks’ penalty kill and Artūrs Šilovs were steadfast to close out the first. Shots favoured Charlotte 9-8 at the end of the first, with the Checkers holding a 1-0 lead going into the first intermission.
In the second, Abbotsford’s Sammy Blais capitalized on the power play at 6:43, assisted by Linus Karlsson and Arshdeep Bains, Blais collecting his fifth goal of the playoffs. Abbotsford was three-for-ten on the man-advantage in the series against the Checkers coming into Game 3 and continued to be dynamic on the power play.
Blais’ goal ignited the crowd, the Canucks using the momentum and finishing the middle frame tied 1-1. The Checkers held a 9-7 shot advantage in the second, and Šilovs made multiple saves in the last two minutes of the stanza to keep the game tied.
In the third period, Bains was in a seated position on the ice but stayed focused and shoveled the puck to Max Sasson, who made a cross-crease pass to Linus Karlsson for the go-ahead goal. Karlsson scored net front at 3:58 for his 11th goal of the playoffs and with the goal, Karlsson now holds the record for most goals in a single AHL playoff run by a Swedish player.
On their second power play of the night, Bains scored one by ripping the puck into the crease. It was assisted by Christian Wolanin and Karlsson. The Canucks kept rolling from there; Phil Di Giuseppe scored off the rush for his sixth goal of the postseason, extending Abbotsford’s lead 4-1. Di Giuseppe’s goal was assisted by Šilovs and when Al Murdoch announced the assist, “Arty” chants rang through the arena.
The Checkers pulled the goalie with just less than four minutes remaining on the clock, just enough time for Bains to score an empty netter from just inside the blue line extended for his second of the evening. Tristen Nielsen scored on a breakaway at 17:34, deking Kaapo Kähkönen and going five-hole, the Canucks earning a 6-1 win.
The crowd kept the energy up all night and Abbotsford Head Coach Manny Malhotra said there’s nothing like playing in front of Abby fans.
“I can’t say enough about our crowd. They continue to amaze us. Can’t talk enough about how much energy the guys feed off of from this building. It’s electrifying, it’s a great atmosphere for hockey, and we’re privileged to play in front of fans like this,” Malhotra said.
The Canucks hold a 2-1 series lead, with Game 4 and 5 back at the Abbotsford Centre on Thursday, June 19th at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday, June 21st at 6:00 p.m.
To get your tickets to Games 4 and 5 visit the website here.
