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Back to Bojangles: Abbotsford Canucks fall 4-3 in OT to Charlotte in game five

Charlotte defeats Abbotsford 4-3 in overtime, Canucks remain up 3-2 in series as it returns to Bojangles Coliseum
Ben Lypka
Ben Lypka

They say hockey is a game of inches and those tiny degrees of difference were on full horrific display during game five of the Calder Cup Finals in Abbotsford on Saturday (June 21) night.

With the game tied 3-3 at 11:17 of overtime , Abbotsford Canucks forward Max Sasson used his blinding speed to cut to the middle and blow past Charlotte Checkers defenceman Trevor Carrick and wired a shot that beat goalie Kaapo Kahkonen but not the post. 

Sasson was inches away from winning the Calder Cup with that shot and the game continued on.

Just over eight minutes later, it was Charlotte's Jesse Puljujarvi playing a game of croquet by directing a shot from behind the net that first hit Canucks forward Ty Mueller and then Canucks defenceman Guillaume Brisebois and beat goalie Arturs Silovs.

Unfortunately for Puljujarvi, regular play sessions for the Abbotsford Croquet Club only occur on Tuesdays and Thursdays and what he did on Saturday won't count in that club – but fortunately for him he was playing hockey at the time and helped his team win the game 4-3 in overtime.

The accuracy displayed by Puljujarvi put an end to a game that saw Abbotsford hold a 3-2 lead midway through the second, but the club was unable to prevent the Checkers from getting back into the game.

Charlotte's Ben Steeves opened the scoring at 12:55, but just over two minutes later Abbotsford's Linus Karlsson scored on a 5-on-3. The Checkers held a 12-11 shots advantage after 20 minutes. 

Charlotte's Ben Chorske put his team back on top at 3:12 of the second, but again Abbotsford responded quickly when Arshdeep Bains beat Kahkonen on a breakaway following a perfect pass from Sasson at 3:53. Karlsson then scored his second of the game at 5:11 and the Abbotsford Centre felt like it was about to explode.

That feeling burst about seven minutes later when Rasmus Asplund scored a power play goal for the Checkers. Charlotte again out shot Abbotsford 14-7 in the second.

The third period was a bit of a sluggish one for Abbotsford, as they managed just six shots while the Checkers fought for their lives. Both teams failed to score a goal in the third and the game went to overtime. Charlotte held the 9-6 shots edge.

The Canucks went on to control the majority of overtime and out shot Charlotte 8-5, before Puljujarvi and his croquet skills buried their dreams of winning the Calder Cup on home ice.

Abbotsford now leads the best-of-seven series 3-2. The teams now head back to the bodacious Bojangles Coliseum for game six on Monday (June 23) at 4 p.m. Abbotsford time. Game seven, if necessary, would occur on Wednesday (June 25) at 4 p.m. 

Returning to the iconic Bojangles Coliseum is perfectly ok with Checkers head coach Geordie Kinnear, who was pleased with the win but knows there is a lot left to do for his team.

"I think we played better as a whole group," he said. "I talked a lot about composure – and we lost it a little there in the second but I thought they settled back down and we got the win in overtime."

He also praised the play of Kahkonen.

"He's a leader for us," he said. "I thought in overtime he made a couple of key composure saves and then got whistles for us at critical times. That shows his experience and you need that to be able to win."

Despite the win, he said the team is nowhere near finished if they want to win the series.

"We still have a lot of work to do," he said. "You have to win this game to get another chance and we're excited to get back to that. We've talked about making our fans proud and we want to give them another opportunity to see our group – but we still have a lot of work to do."

One big adjustment that Kinnear made was reuniting a talented trio of John Leondard, Asplund and Will Lockwood. He said he used that line during the season when he needed some scoring on the road.

"They enjoy playing with each other and I had a stretch where we used those three together when we're on the road in some of the top buildings," he said. "These are the guys leading the locker room and I've also put them together in an elimination game before."

That line combined for two points and seven shots on Saturday. He said that Puljujarvi has been able to fill a number of roles on his team since coming aboard and this was a big moment for the big Finnish product.

"Everyone has different roles and you need everyone to embrace those roles," he said. "He's been in a role for us that is not necessarily offensive, but more of a physicality role. I'm a big fan of Pully and what he brings to this group so I'm glad he's having fun and scoring some big goals for us."

Canucks head coach Manny Malhotra said turnovers were a big factor in his team's loss.

"That's what this time of year is about – limiting mistakes and then capitalizing on teams," he said. "There were instances in this game where we didn't look like ourselves. We started to roll a little bit and had some momentum during overtime."

Malhotra said it was yet another slow start for the Canucks.

"It was another situation where we didn't quite establish our game early enough," he said. "And we didn't do ourselves any favours with the turnovers and they were able to transition and capitalize."

He said he was pleased with the overtime, but also gave credit to Charlotte for fighting hard.

"They threw everything at us," he said. "Their back was against the wall, but we have to be much sharper starting."

Malhotra said the players were disappointed not to win on home ice.

"That's one of the major factors why the guys are ticked off in the room right now," he said. "It would have been a storybook ending, but we're not a storybook team. We grind and we work for what we get."

He added that he doesn't worry about continually being out shot, as he considers Charlotte a volume shooting team. He did say that he wants his team to limit some of the quality looks they've been getting. The other factor of a team being volume shooting is that means they have the puck a lot more than the opposition.

Canucks captain Chase Wouters said he is confident his team can bounce back from this loss.

"It's a new day tomorrow, the sun is going to come up and we're going to look at some things and reset," he said. "We left it all out there and it's unfortunate but we will regroup and head to Charlotte."

Wouters said the team will treat the Bojangles Coliseum like any other rink.

"It's the same as anywhere," he said. "Ice conditions aside, I think we can find ways to create more and get back to playing our game. We're going to be good. Like Manny said, I'm confident in our group and we will rest and do everything we can to win."

Canucks defenceman Christian Wolanin said he liked his team's play in overtime and that could be the formula to win the next game.

"I liked our overtime and I thought we controlled most of the play," he said. "We had times to win that game and it didn't go. And then off five skates and in... that's just how it goes sometimes."

He agreed that it was disappointing for the team not to win on home ice.

"We wanted to do it in front of our home fans," he said. "That's where the little bit of disappointment comes in our locker room."

Karlsson now has 13 goals to lead the AHL in the playoffs and Bains continues his hot streak of scoring with seven goals in his last seven playoff games. Karlsson and Bains are first and second in playoff scoring with 25 and 22 points respectively.

Puljujarvi was the lone Checkers player to have a multi-point night and four different Checkers players had four shots on goal. Karlsson (eight) and Bains (five) were the top shooters for Abbotsford. Puljujarvi was also a game-high +2. Jujhar Khaira, Phil Di Giuseppe, Nate Smith and Victor Mancini all finished at -2. 

Silovs made 36 saves in the loss, while Kahkonen stopped 29 shots for his 12th win of the playoffs. Abbotsford's record in overtime in these playoffs is now 4-4. Special teams weren't a big factor on Saturday, as both teams went 1/2 on the power play. 

The reported crowd on Saturday was a new Abbotsford Centre record for hockey of 7,470. 

Continue visiting abbynews.com for ongoing coverage of the Calder Cup Finals. 

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