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Danila Klimovich scores double overtime winner in Game 1 of the Calder Cup Final

The Vancouver Canucks prospect tallied his second overtime winner of the Calder Cup Playoffs to send the Abbotsford Canucks past the Charlotte Checkers.
Daniel Wagner
Daniel Wagner

The Abbotsford Canucks took a 1-0 lead in the Calder Cup Final against the Charlotte Checkers on Friday night.

It was a thrilling game for the many fans who tuned into the free stream on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, as they got far more than what they didn't pay for, with the game going to double overtime.

Max Sasson opened the scoring for the Canucks on the power play, banging in a rebound after Sammy Blais cut to the slot for a chance off a Kirill Kudryavtsev pass. 

Just a few minutes later, however, the Checkers responded, with the excellently-named MacKenzie Entwhistle firing a dart from distance off the rush. That's one that Arturs Silovs ought to have stopped, but he made another dozen saves in the first periods the Checkers thoroughly outshot the Canucks.

In literally the final second of the first period, however, Oliver Okuliar took a feed from Jesse Puljujärvi for a breakaway and beat Silovs to give the Checkers a 2-1 lead going into the intermission.

Charlotte's dominance on the shot clock continued in the second period, outshooting the Canucks 12-to-7. Early on, it looked like the Checkers were going to completely take over the game, as Justin Sourdif gave them a 3-1 lead with another shot from distance — something that continues to be an issue for Silovs.

22 seconds later, however, Nate Smith got the Canucks back within one with a breakaway goal sprung by Sammy Blais.

From there, Silovs locked things down, stopping every remaining shot he faced in regulation, while the Canucks scored the only goal of the third period.

Ty Mueller weaved through the Checkers' checkers and played a nifty give-and-go with Tristen Nielsen down the right wing and chipped the puck over Kaapo Kähkönen from the top of the crease.

Mueller nearly ended the game in the first overtime on a shorthanded breakaway, but Kähkönen stopped his backhand try.

Then, Mueller seemingly actually ended the game in the second overtime with an own goal in one of the most bizarre sequences you'll ever see. Mueller took a faceoff in the defensive zone and won the draw directly into his own net.

As the Checkers and their fans celebrated winning Game 1, the referees gathered together and overturned the goal, reasoning that the puck never should have been dropped. If you watch the replay, it's clear why: Silovs wasn't set in the Abbotsford net.

As the puck was dropped, Silovs still had his back to the play after taking a drink of water. The Checkers and their fans were irate, but the referees were firm: the linesman should not have dropped the puck, so the play didn't count.

The AHL, folks.

That wasn't the only American League oddity of the game. There was an absolutely bizarre penalty in the second period.

Nielsen appeared to catch Okuliar in the chin with a hit and the Checkers forwards stayed down for a long time. As the Canucks' commentary crew of Brandon Astle and Landon Ferraro pondered whether it would be a two-minute minor or a five-minute major, the referees pulled Nielsen out of the penalty box and instead gave a two-minute minor for interference to Kirill Kudryavtsev.

In any case, Mueller's own goal didn't count, so the second overtime continued, and the Checkers compounded their issues with the dreaded puck-over-the-glass penalty.

That set up Danila Klimovich to be the hero with his second double overtime game-winning goal of the Calder Cup Playoffs.

Klimovich dug the puck out of the corner, curled up the boards, then suddenly realized that the Checkers weren't checking him. He ripped a wicked wrist shot just inside the far post to give the Canucks the Game 1 victory.

He wasn't the only hero, of course. Silovs, as much as he probably should have stopped a couple of the goals that got past him, made a whopping 51 saves in the win for a sterling .944 save percentage. While Klimovich was named the first star in the building and Silovs the second, Silovs really deserved the first star.

The series will remain in Charlotte for Game 2, then return to Abbotsford Games 3, 4, and, if necessary, 5.

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