Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Features Writer
The Checkers are coming home, and they’re dragging the Abbotsford Canucks back to Charlotte with them.
With the Eastern Conference champions facing elimination in Game 5 on Saturday night, forward Jesse Puljujärvi’s behind-the-net double-bank shot goal 15:22 into overtime gave the Checkers a 4-3 win, kept their season very much alive, and forced Game 6 tonight back at Bojangles Coliseum. The Canucks still lead the series, three games to two.
“Credit to the whole group for being mentally, physically tough,” head coach Geordie Kinnear said. “It’s not easy to do.”
Home ice has been good to the Checkers, who are 6-3 at Bojangles this postseason after going 21-13-2-0 during the regular season.
“Keep going,” Puljujärvi said. “Keep building. This is not over yet. It’s been a lot of fun. Good group of guys. This is a special group, and I’m really happy to be part of that. Hopefully we keep building and get a couple more wins back in Charlotte.”
Defenseman Matt Kiersted logged heavy minutes and helped to work the puck down low to Puljujärvi on the overtime winner. Goaltender Kaapo Kähkönen stood out for the Checkers, especially in overtime when he held off several in-tight chances from Canucks forwards.
“Your leaders have to lead,” Kinnear said of Kähkönen, acquired by the parent Florida Panthers on March 6 from Winnipeg. “He’s a leader for us.”
By this point of the postseason, any team is going to be banged up, and the Checkers are no different. That is where their depth has helped. The addition of rookies has helped the Checkers as well, especially with top defenseman Tobias Bjornfot still out. Defenseman Eamon Powell came into the lineup for Game 4 and has contributed two assists in two games. Forward Jack Devine had a goal and an assist in Game 4 and added another helper in Game 5. Brett Chorske contributed a goal on Saturday night.
Despite winning Game 5, nothing is guaranteed for the Checkers. To win the Calder Cup, they will have to overcome elimination two more times. They entered the Calder Cup Finals on an eight-game winning streak before dropping three of the first four games to Abbotsford.
“We still have a lot of work to do,” Kinnear said. “We have another chance. We’ve talked about making our fans proud. We wanted to give them another opportunity to see our group.”
