CHARLOTTE – The Abbotsford Canucks have claimed the Calder Cup championship.
Playing on the road in Charlotte at Bojangles Coliseum on Monday night, the Canucks initially fell behind by two goals but staged a comeback with three consecutive goals. Linus Karlsson scored the game-winner at 17:19 of the second period, securing a 3-2 victory for Abbotsford in Game 6.
This marks the first Calder Cup championship in the history of the franchise for their parent club, the Vancouver Canucks.
`They all believe in one another, they believe in our system, they believe in the culture they`ve built. That`s the main reason we are Calder Cup champions,` rookie head coach Manny Malhotra told Canucks Insider.
Sammy Blais and Danila Klimovich also scored for the Canucks. Despite being outshot 30-20, the team got another strong performance from goaltender Arturs Silovs, who was awarded the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the playoff MVP. Silovs recorded 16 wins in the post-season, including five shutouts.
Arshdeep Bains, who entered Game 6 leading the playoffs with 17 assists, contributed two more helpers for the Canucks.
`That was so special,` Bains commented. `Reflecting our team identity all year, we are a resilient bunch. We were trailing 2-0 early. We just kept fighting back in every single game. I couldn`t be prouder of this group.`
John Leonard and Jack Devine scored first-period goals for the Charlotte Checkers. The Checkers were defeated in the best-of-seven American Hockey League championship series in six games. The Checkers had won the Memorial Cup in the 2018-19 season.
The Canucks prevented the Florida Panthers, Charlotte`s parent team, from achieving the rare feat of winning both the Stanley Cup and the Calder Cup in the same year. This `double` has only occurred three times previously, most recently in 1995 with the New Jersey Devils and the Albany River Rats.
