AHL Morning Skate: June 23, 2025

A2-Charlotte Checkers vs. P2-Abbotsford Canucks
Game 6 – Tonight, 7:00 ET
, NHL Network, SiriusXM NHL Network Radio
(Abbotsford leads series, 3-2)

Game 1 – Fri., June 13 – Abbotsford 4, CHARLOTTE 3 (2OT) | Recap/Highlights
Game 2 – Sun., June 15 – CHARLOTTE 3, Abbotsford 2 (OT) | Recap/Highlights
Game 3 – Tue., June 17 – ABBOTSFORD 6, Charlotte 1 | Recap/Highlights
Game 4 – Thu., June 19 – ABBOTSFORD 3, Charlotte 2 | Recap/Highlights
Game 5 – Sat., June 21 – Charlotte 4, ABBOTSFORD 3 (OT) | Recap/Highlights
Game 6 – Mon., June 23 – Abbotsford at Charlotte, 7:00
*Game 7 – Wed., June 25 – Abbotsford at Charlotte, 7:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern

GAME 6 NOTES
The Calder Cup Finals return east for Game 6 tonight after the Checkers spoiled the party in Abbotsford with a 4-3 overtime win on Saturday... Jesse Puljujärvi (3-8-11) scored 15:22 into OT as Charlotte became the first team since the 1974 Providence Reds (vs. Hershey) to stave off elimination and extend the series with an overtime goal in the Calder Cup Finals... Two of Puljujärvi’s three playoff goals have been game-winners... Ben Steeves (4-2-6), Brett Chorske (2-1-3) and Rasmus Asplund (5-4-9) also scored for the Checkers in Game 5... Steeves’ goal was his first since he began the postseason with three goals in his first four games... Kaapo Kähkönen (12-5, 2.13, .908) made eight of his 29 saves during overtime... Jack Devine (1-3-4) has a goal and two assists since re-entering the Checkers lineup in Game 4... Linus Karlsson (13-12-25) netted two goals and Arshdeep Bains (7-15-22) tallied a goal and an assist in Game 5 for Abbotsford, which scored once during a 5-on-3 power play and twice during 4-on-4 play... Karlsson and Bains both have 4-4-8 in the last four games after being held off the scoresheet in Game 1 of the Finals... Bains has totaled seven goals in his last seven games... Artūrs Šilovs (15-7, 2.01, .931) stopped 36 shots in Game 5, his fourth game in the Finals with 30+ saves... In seven starts following a Canucks loss this postseason, Šilovs has allowed 10 goals on 203 shots (7-0, 1.30, .951, 2 SO)... The teams have tied a record with three overtime games in a single Finals series... The Canucks are 6-for-18 (33.3 percent) on the power play in the series after Charlotte opponents were 4-for-41 through three rounds... The Checkers are 4-for-19 (21.1 percent) with the man advantage in the Finals... Charlotte is trying to become the first team since the 1949 Providence Reds (vs. Hershey) to win the Calder Cup after trailing 3-1 in the Finals... Abbotsford is bidding to join the 2002 Chicago Wolves as the only teams to win five series in a single postseason.

There was nothing that the Abbotsford Canucks could do but pack up, rest up and get ready for Game 6 tonight.

“No other choice,” defenseman Christian Wolanin said following Saturday’s 4-3 overtime loss.

Abbotsford made the trip back to Charlotte on Sunday after being denied a Calder Cup celebration on home ice. The Canucks chose to not dissect the setback all that much, with head coach Manny Malhotra continuing to emphasize a look-forward mentality, win or lose.

“That’s been the make-up of our group the whole playoffs,” Malhotra said.

As the Canucks prepare for Game 6 at Bojangles Coliseum, Malhotra will be stressing the need for a better start. He felt that it took time for the Canucks to find their game Saturday. Another slow start, especially in Charlotte, could push the Canucks to the brink themselves.

“At this time of the year, you can’t wade into a game or dip your toe in,” Malhotra said. “We have to establish our game much earlier and be ready to start.”

Going into what will be a hot, humid and intense environment in Charlotte will test the Canucks again. Malhotra will be relying on his team’s leadership group headed by captain Chase Wouters to help guide the team through that atmosphere.

“If I’m honest, the room is kind of running itself,” Malhotra said. “I think that a large part of why we are where we are right now is our leaders’ ability to manage the emotions of the room.”

The Charlotte Checkers have leaned on roster depth all season, and they are not stopping now.

A team beset by several long-term injuries to key players early in the regular season, the Checkers depended on a deep roster to take them to a second-place finish in the Atlantic Division and then through three rounds of the Calder Cup Playoffs. Aidan McDonough, Ryan McAllister, Mitchell Vande Sompel and captain Zac Dalpe are among the skaters who have missed most of the season for Charlotte.

Twenty-three skaters have been penciled into Geordie Kinnear’s lineup this postseason, and all of them have seen action during the Finals. Defenseman Eamon Powell and forwards Jack Devine and Brett Chorske were all Game 1 scratches against Abbotsford; they all recorded points in Game 5.

“Not high draft picks or highly touted, but they’ve come in and been major contributors to our group,” Kinnear said of his reserves. “What makes our group special are those guys that have stepped up all year. They deserve a lot of credit.”

― with files from Patrick Williams