The Monsters blue line found strength in Game 6 there Jake Christiansen returned to the bottom for the first time since May 3.
Christiansen delivered the overtime winner to force a decisive Game 7 tonight at the Giant Center.
The head coach Trent Vogelhuber Christiansen was paired with a rookie Denton Mateychuk, who was playing just his third game as a professional. The two clicked quickly.
“They look great,” Vogelhuber said.
Christiansen, who is part of the Monsters' 2024 AHL All-Star Classic, tied for fourth in scoring among AHL defensemen in the regular season with 46 points (13 goals, 33 assists) in 62 games.
“It was killing him not to play,” Vogelhuber said. “He would have returned in a week if the doctors had allowed him. He would play with anything. He kept himself in great shape… He was the best partner you could ask for in this whole thing. When you approach like that, you are ready to play when the time comes. We didn't expect rust.”
The 19-year-old Mateychuk, who assisted in Christiansen's overtime victory with his second point in three games, joined the Monsters after his Moose Jaw team lost in the semifinals of the Memorial Tournament on May 31.
“He had his (young) team, emotionally invested all year, the Memorial Cup, and he lost it in a heartbreaking way,” Vogelhuber said. “He is tough, which is unusual for a kid coming out of junior high school. I think that's the biggest difference to reach the NHL, consistently clean execution, and he does that. He kills.”
Christiansen said in collaboration with one of the leading players of the game, “I liked it. I mean, he's a smart player. It's really easy to play with. Nice guy. So hopefully we can build on that and keep going here.”
The Calder Cup Playoffs are about taking chances and stepping up, and the Bears are ahead Henrik Rybinski he did that on monday.
With Pierrick Dube out of the lineup for the third game in a row, the head coach Todd Nelson reworked his plan for Game 6. Rybinski got a chance at the line Alex Limoges again Jimmy Huntington, and provided the opening goal for the Bears. In addition, Matt Strome he pulled for Matthew Phillipswho had played Games 4 and 5.
The Bears lost their leading scorer Ethan Frank injury in the second period of Game 6. His status tonight is unknown.
There have been 7 Game 7s in Calder Cup Playoff history after one team took a 3-0 series lead:
April 10, 1960 – Rochester 4, Cleveland 1
A standing-room-only crowd of 7,762 fans packed the Rochester War Memorial to watch the Amerks defeat the Barons, 4-1, to become the first AHL team to ever win a playoff series after losing the first three games. Pat Hannigan scored the winning goal late in the second half as well Ed Chadwick made 28 saves.
April 30, 1989 – Adirondack 2, Hershey 1 (OT)
Adam Graves scored 10:31 into overtime to give the Red Wings a 2-1 win over the Bears at the Glens Falls Civic Center. Hershey had won 19 of its last 20 games, including a perfect 12-0 run in the 1988 postseason, before Adirondack won the final four games of the series.
May 24, 2011 – Houston 4, Hamilton 3
Eros is the captain Jon DiSalvatore score with 1:13 left in regulation to send Houston to the Calder Cup Finals with a 4-3 victory over the visiting Bulldogs. Hamilton, trailing 3-0 in the series, erased 2-0 and 3-2 deficits in Game 7 before their comeback bid was successful.
May 22, 2013 – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 5, Providence 0
Brad Thiessen followed a 46-save performance in Game 6 with a 34-save shutout in Game 7 as the Penguins became the first team to complete a 3-0 comeback to end the series on the road. Thiessen, who currently serves as the goaltending coach for the Cleveland Monsters, went on to allow four goals on 181 shots (0.70, .978) after being relieved during Game 2.
― with files from Patrick Williams
Source link
