Canucks Win In Charlotte

How about that opening game of the 2025 Calder Cup Final? There was a comeback, a disallowed overtime goal in double-overtime, a double-overtime game-winning goal, and an outstanding start to what looks like it's going to be an outstanding finish for the 2024-25 season after the Abbotsford Canucks claimed the 4-3 double-overtime win against the Charlotte Checkers. No one will argue that this game didn't have some intrigue, but it was a contest that featured two teams playing at their best right now. And it was a treat to watch!

Abbotsford opened the scoring when Max Sasson scored a power-play goal at 4:34, but that lead didn't last long. MacKenzie Entwistle scored at the 7:59 mark to tie the game for Charlotte before Oliver Okuliar scored with one second left in the opening frame to send Charlotte into the intermission with a 2-1 lead. Justin Sourdif extended the lead with a long shot that Artūrs Šilovs completely missed with his blocker at 7:08 of the middle frame to make it 3-1, but the Canucks would roar back 22 seconds later when Nate Smith buried a puck to make it 3-2. That score would hold through to the end of the frame, so Abbotsford needed a goal in the third period.

They'd get that goal off the stick of Ty Mueller to tie the game at 8:14, and the two teams would battle to the final horn while being tied at 3-3. That meant we were getting some free hockey on this night despite Charlotte holding a 31-23 edge in shots. One could argue that Charlotte sat back in the third period which may have allowed the Canucks back into this game, but this one was far from being finished as overtime began and Charlotte went back to work.

After whiffing on that Sourdif shot midway through the second period, Šilovs went into lockdown mode as he was absolutely sensational in overtime. Charlotte outshot the Canucks by a 16-3 total in the extra frame, but they could not dent twine behind the Latvian netminder. Part of that shot discrepency came due to the two power-plays Charlotte had in overtime, but they converted on neither. Tuck that detail away for a few more paragraphs.

The game moved into the fifth period of play, and it appeared we had a game-winner on a rather weird play just 3:40 into the frame. Watch this craziness because no one was expecting a goal in this manner.
Ty Mueller would win the face-off cleanly, but pulled it back towards the Abbotsford net where Artūrs Šilovs clearly wasn't ready. If you watch him prior to the goal he's still adjusting his glove, blocker, and helmet moments before the puck goes past him. The officials would discuss the play, and they would eventually rule that the netminder was not ready for play to resume so the goal was waved off.

With a second chance given to them, the Canucks would eventually find a winner seven minutes after the disallowed goal that Charlotte netminder Kaapo Kähkönen likely wants a second chance to stop.
Danila Klimovich's wriste shot from the half-boards gets past Kähkönen at the 10:25 mark, pushing the Canucks to a Game One victory with the 4-3 double-overtime game-winning goal. What makes this one sting just a little more is that Klimovich scored on the only power-play the Canucks were awarded in overtime after Mikulas Hovorka was whistled for a delay-of-game penalty at 8:43.

Some people will point to that disallowed goal as the turning point, but Charlotte head coach Geordie Kinnear saw the outcome differently, telling reporters, "It is what it is, it's playoff hockey. I thought we responded well, but at the end, you look at the scoresheet and it's 2-for-7 and 0-for-5."

Remember how I said to remember that detail above of the two power-plays that netted nothing in overtime for Charlotte? That's the "2-for-7" and "0-for-5" that Kinnear is referring to, and he doubled-down on that thought again, stating, "We had two power plays in overtime, they get the power play and they score the goal. You look at the game as a whole, they're 2-for-7 and we're 0-for-5."

In the end, Abbotsford is now up 1-0 in the Calder Cup Final as they are one win closer to securing their first Calder Cup. I'd expect the Checkers to come out even more aggressively on Sunday for Game Two. They did win the shots-on-net metric with a 54-30 edge, but it clearly wasn't enough with Šilovs stopping 51 of those shots including 23 in overtime. The Canucks will need to be ready, but they did what they intended to do in Charlotte in earning at least a split in these first two games with Games 3-5 being played in Abbotsford.

I'm not normally a Canucks fan, but I'll be cheering for the Canucks as Canada's push to capture all three professional men's hockey trophies in North America continues! If we get a handful of these types of games through the remainder of the Calder Cup Final, we'll be treated to some fantastic hockey no matter who wins!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!