Claimed The Checkered Flag

While the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes fell short in the Eastern Conference Final of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, fans two-and-a-half hours southwest in Charlotte had a ton of reasons to party in a hockey rink as the AHL's Charlotte Checkers captured the Calder Cup for the first time in their history with a five-game series win over the Chicago Wolves! After finishing as the best team in the AHL this past season, the Checkers decided to make it official by winning the Calder Cup with a 5-3 win tonight!

The Checkers, who went 51-17-7-1 record for 110 points, continued their strong play in the playoffs, eliminating the Providence Bruins in four games in the best-of-five opening series, sweeping the Hershey Bears in four games, knocking the Toronto Marlies out in six games, and running over the Wolves in five games. Charlotte trailed in a series only twice in this playoff run as both Toronto and Chicago jumped out to wins in Game One in their series before the Checkers got themselves going. They outscored Providence 14-9, Hershey 19-7, Toronto 22-14, and Chicago 22-14 in their 19-game run through the playoffs. The team went 15-4 in the playoffs despite being 1-2 in overtime games, so the Checkers proved they knew how to get the job done in regulation time as they were 49-0 this season when leading after two periods, including being 11-0 in the playoffs.

Individually, they got scoring from a number of players as six players finished the postseason with five-or-more goals. Andrew Poturalski, who led the team in scoring in the regular season, did the same thing in the playoffs as he captured the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the playoff MVP with 12 goals and 11 assists. 20 year-old Morgan Geekie really put his name on the map with his playoff performance as the Strathclair, Manitoba native scored eight goals and added ten helpers to finish second in scoring. Tomas Jurco and Aleksi Saarela both had seven goals while Nicolas Roy scored six goals and Martin Necas chipped in five markers.

At the other end, Alex Nedeljkovic held the fort admirably, going 10-4 with a 2.34 GAA and a .916 save percentage after being named the AHL's Most Outstanding Goaltender for his work during the season. What may be more impressive is that backup Dustin Tokarski, seemingly forgotten by most, was 5-0 in his eight appearances, posting a 1.74 GAA and a .935 save percentage, allowing just eight goals on 124 shot attempts. Even when Nedeljkovic faltered, the Checkers had a back-up ready to propel them to victory by making key stops. That kind of tandem can't be overlooked with the team dropping just four games in two months of play.

The last time the Hurricanes saw their affiliate win the Calder Cup was in 1991 when they were still the Hartford Whalers. That season, the Springfield Indians downed the Rochester Americans 4-2 to win the Calder Cup with goaltender Kay Whitmore being named as the MVP. AHL hockey had called North Carolina home prior to the Checkers being affiliated with the Hurricanes, but the Carolina Monarchs were rather awful during their short time in the AHL.

The Checkers, for what it's worth, did win an ECHL Kelly Cup - then called the Riley Cup - in 1995-96, so Charlotte has seen a pro hockey championship parade once before. The franchise existed from 1993-2010, made the playoffs in 13 of their 17 years in the ECHL, but only made the final once where they were the victors.

Since the Albany River Rats moved to Charlotte in 2010 to become the Checkers, they've made the playoffs five of nine seasons with their previous best result being that 2010-11 season where went 44-27-2-7 for 97 points before they lost in the Eastern Conference Final to the Binghamton Senators. It's nearly been a full generation since the last time Charlotte had a hockey celebration, and the fans who were around for the ECHL days certainly can celebrate their new AHL successes.

Congratulations to the Charlotte Checkers, the 2019 AHL Calder Cup champions!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!