One year ago today, the Abbotsford Canucks played in their first-ever Calder Cup Final game.
Welcome to the 2025 Calder Cup Throwback Series. Throughout the course of April, May, and June, we’ll be looking back at some of the biggest moments in the Abbotsford Canucks’ Calder Cup championship run from 2025.
One year ago today, Abbotsford officially took part in their first-ever Calder Cup Final, winning Game 1 of their series against the Charlotte Checkers by a score of 4–3 in double-overtime. This gave the AHL Canucks a quick 1–0 series lead despite playing in Charlotte. This was only the second time Abbotsford started a series on the road during this playoff run, with their four-game win against the Coachella Valley Firebirds in the second round being their first.
While Abbotsford opened the scoring less than five minutes into the game thanks to Max Sasson, who scored his fifth goal of the post-season, the AHL Canucks ended up chasing the score throughout the bulk of the game. MacKenzie Entwistle found the back of the net to tie things up for Charlotte, before Oliver Okuliar scored in the final second of the first period to give the Checkers the lead. Justin Sourdif scored in the second period to bring Charlotte’s lead up to 3–1.
It didn’t take long for Abbotsford to answer back once Charlotte scored their third of the game. Nate Smith potted his fourth goal of the playoffs less than 30 seconds after Sourdif’s goal, bringing Abbotsford within one goal of a tie. During the third period, it was Ty Mueller who tied things up, sending Game 1 to overtime. After a scoreless first overtime period, Danila Klimovich scored on the power play to win the game for Abbotsford.
While Charlotte did put three goals past Artūrs Šilovs, the goaltender was still undisputedly one of his team’s most notable players in this game. The Checkers managed a grand total of 54 shots on goal through all five periods of the game, 16 of which came during the first overtime frame. Charlotte also failed to score on all five power plays they were awarded throughout the game.
Photo Credit: @AbbyCanucks - XFollow along with the 2025 Calder Cup Throwback Series below.
Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.
Latest From THN’s Vancouver Canucks Site:
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
The Hockey News