A Canadian Checkmate

Based on the run that the Charlotte Checkers had been on before meeting the Abbotsford Canucks in the Calder Cup Final, I don't think anyone would have been surprised if they had ran roughshod over the Canucks. Having swept Hershey and Laval in back-to-back series, they hadn't lost a playoff game since May 9 to Providence on a 3-2 decision in overtime. The problem was that the Canucks had defeated some very good teams along their journey to the Calder Cup Final, and those experiences had them playing excellent hockey while being up 3-2 in the final over Charlotte. Tonight's game would either see this series pushed to a seventh game or we'd see the Calder Cup on the ice!

As you can see by the lede photo, there's no hiding the fact that the Abbotsford Canucks were in a celebratory mood at the end of this game, but it seemed like that might be a tough ask following their start to the game. Head coach Manny Malhotra alluded to the Canucks' poor starts in playoff games after the Game Five loss, stating, "It was another situation where we didn't quite establish our game early enough. And we didn't do ourselves any favours with the turnovers and they were able to transition and capitalize."

Well, that same thing happened in Game Six with John Leonard scoring 2:49 into the contest and the Checkers doubling that lead at 13:14 when Jack Devine found the back of the net. Down 2-0 early on the road is not a situation that a lot of teams want to find themselves in, but the Canucks got to work and cut the deficit in half on the power-play when Sammy Blais scored with 2:22 to play in the opening period. Perhaps there was still hope for Canucks fans after that goal?

Whatever was said in the intermission kept the momentum rolling for the Canucks as Danila Klimovich netted his fourth goal of the postseason at 3:44, and this game was squared up at 2-2! Abbotsford continued their stronger play in the middle frame as time continued, and it felt as though the Canucks were getting their chances. That would be realized with 2:41 remaining in the period when Linus Karlsson scored his playoff-leading 14th goal to put the Canucks up 3-2! Check out this sequence that led to Abbotsford taking the lead! The Canucks spent a full minute in the offensive zone and finally came away with the goal from Karlsson on a broken play and a cross-crease pass. That was a shift that had shots, rebounds, blocks, puck recoveries, point shots, missed clearings, puck cycles, and some non-calls, and the end result was a minute of entertaining hockey that saw the Canucks take the lead. That was simply incredible!

The third period was where the eventual Jack A. Butterfield Trophy winner would show his game as goaltender Artūrs Šilovs made 11 of his 28 saves in the final frame, and, more importantly, he and the Canucks kept the Checkers off the scoreboard. While the Canucks wouldn't find any additional offence, that late goal in the second period was more than enough as the seconds ticked down to zero, giving the Abbotsford Canucks a 3-2 win in Game Six, a 4-2 series win, and the right to celebrate the 2025 Calder Cup championship!

As mentioned, Šilovs was crowned as the Calder Cup MVP as he went 16-8 in the playoffs with a 2.01 GAA, a .931 save percentage, and five shutouts. His sixteen wins tied the AHL record for wins in a single postseason, and head coach Manny Malhotra became the first rookie head coach to win a championship in the AHL since 2013 when Jeff Blashill did it with the Grand Rapids Griffins. With their victory, Abbotsford became the second team in AHL history to win a Calder Cup by winning five playoff series, joining the 2002 Chicago Wolves.

Perhaps the bigger story that no one has mentioned is that Abbotsford denied two teams a share of a history. Had the Charlotte Checkers won the Calder Cup, they would have been the second NHL-AHL affiliation to win championships in their respective leagues in the same season, tying the 1975-76 and 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens and Nova Scotia Voyageurs as the only affiliation to have completed the feat. In defeating the Checkers, the Canucks keep a uniquely Canadian piece of hockey history intact! How cool is that?

Officially, that will put a cap on another hockey season as we move into the offseason for all leagues at this point. Canada brought home two of the three major professional men's hockey championships in the ECHL's Kelly Cup thanks to the Trois-Rivières Lions and in the Calder Cup thanks to the Abbotsford Canucks. There were two other major professional trophies where Canadian teams fell just short in the NHL's Edmonton Oilers and the PWHL's Ottawa Charge, so it was a pretty good season for professional Canadian hockey.

With hockey coming to a close for the 2024-25 season, take it easy, enjoy the summer, and forget about hockey for a while. Yes, there are drafts and free agency and trades and all that stuff still happening, but you can get caught up on most of that in fifteen minutes with coffee in the morning. Go have a summer, folks, because that's precisely what I'm going to do whenever possible!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!