The Abbotsford Canucks’ last home game of the 2024–25 season ended in heartbreak, as the AHL Canucks took a 4–3 overtime loss in Game 5 of the 2025 Calder Cup Finals against the Charlotte Checkers. Linus Karlsson (2) and Arshdeep Bains scored for Abbotsford, while Artūrs Šilovs stopped 36 of 40 shots faced. With the series now 3–2, Abbotsford will head back to Bojangles Coliseum to try and get one more win.
As expected from a team on the brink of elimination, Charlotte pressed early on. In their lengthy o-zone possession time within the first four minutes of the game, they had two quality chances on Šilovs that were ultimately stopped. With the Checkers’ pressure, Abbotsford was unable to register their first shot on net until 5:38 into the first period. In the first 13 minutes of play, Šilovs stopped eight shots before surrendering the game’s opening goal.
Abbotsford ended up on a 5-on-3 power play after Jesse Puljujärvi went off for tripping, with Rasmus Asplund following him around a minute after for taking down Ty Mueller. With lots of space in the O-zone, Karlsson capitalized on the advantage by scoring yet another one of his trademark tip-in goals from the side of the net.
“For us as a team and as a coaching staff, you look at the number of tough battles he wins. His ability to come out of the corner with pucks. He goes to dirty areas, he gets to the net front. He’s not a fancy player by any means, but he is extremely effective in doing all those little things well, and he gets rewarded for it,” Abbotsford head coach Manny Malhotra said of Karlsson’s play throughout the season.
The AHL Canucks started the second period on the penalty kill after a series of scrums near Šilovs’ net resulted in Sammy Blais heading to the penalty box. While Abbotsford was able to kill this penalty, shortly after, a tough 2-on-1 given up by the AHL Canucks allowed Charlotte to take a 2–1 lead. This didn’t last long, however, as Bains scored on a breakaway during 4-on-4 play less than a minute after. Another two minutes later, it was Karlsson who broke into Charlotte’s zone, firing the puck past Kaapo Kähkönen to give his team their first lead of the night.
With the stakes high, Charlotte continued firing. Rasmus Asplund evened it up for the Checkers on the power play after Mueller was given a two-minute penalty for interference. The score remained 3–3 heading into the third period, with both teams piling chance after chance on one-another. Tension filled the building as the clock began to wear down, with the home crowd holding their breaths as the third period ended still tied 3–3.
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Overtime was all Abbotsford, with the AHL Canucks controlling most of the play. Max Sasson nearly ended the series with a quick shot down the middle, but the puck rang off the inside of the post and out. Things looked great for Abbotsford until the Checkers sent the puck on Šilovs’ net. In an attempt to clear the crease, two Abbotsford players swatted at the puck, but it bounced off both of them and into the net.
“When we decide to play like ourselves and advance play and forecheck the puck back, it works for us. We’ve proven it time and time again, so the fact that we were able to rebound and find our game was a positive again. I’ll continue to say that at this time of year, we can’t wade into a game or dip your toe in. We have to establish our game much earlier and be ready to start.”
“We left it all out there, and it’s obviously unfortunate, but we’ll obviously look at some film and regroup and head down to Charlotte,” captain Chase Wouters added.
Abbotsford’s time as the host city of the Calder Cup Finals has now concluded, with the series shifting back to the balmy city of Charlotte on Monday. The AHL Canucks still carry a 3–2 series lead, but will need to quickly move on from tonight’s loss in order to seal the deal.
Scoring Summary:
1st Period:
12:55 - CLT: Ben Steeves (4) from Jack Devine and Oliver Okuliar
15:04 - ABB: Linus Karlsson (12) from Arshdeep Bains and Christian Wolanin (PPG)
2nd Period:
3:12 - CLT: Brett Chorske (2) from Jesse Puljujärvi
3:53 - ABB: Arshdeep Bains (7) from Max Sasson and Kirill Kudryavstev
5:11 - ABB: Linus Karlsson (13) from Ty Mueller and Jett Woo
12:12 - CLT: Rasmus Asplund (5) from Eamon Powell and John Leonard
3rd Period:
No Scoring.
Overtime:
15:22 - CLT: Jesse Puljujärvi (3) from Matt Kiersted and Justin Sourdif
Game 6: Monday, June 23 @ Abbotsford Centre, 4:00 pm PT
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