Alex Nedeljkovic wins AHL Calder Cup Championship
The Charlotte Checkers are Calder Cup champions for the first time in franchise history and nine OHL graduates helped them pull it off.
After dropping Game 1 of the series to the Chicago Wolves, the Checkers roared back with four straight wins, three of them on the road to become just the fifth team in league history to win an AHL Championship after dropping Game 1 on home ice.
For the first time in team history, the @CheckersHockey are #CalderCup champions.
Recap: https://t.co/62fUgTJfV2 pic.twitter.com/8fkceIe37w
— AHL (@TheAHL) June 9, 2019
AHL Goaltender of the Year Alex Nedeljkovic (Niagara IceDogs) was a difference-maker, turning aside 26 shots in Saturday’s series-clinching 5-3 road win to finish the playoffs with a 2.34 goals-against average, .916 save percentage and a 10-4 record.
The Charlotte Checkers played to an overall playoff record of 15-4 after a first place regular season finish of 51-17-7-1 for 110 points. The eliminated the Providence Bruins (3-1), Hershey Bears (4-0) and defending champion Toronto Marlies (4-2) before eliminating Chicago in five games to secure their first championship.
The championship is the first on ice in the city of Charlotte since the Charlotte Checkers won an ECHL title in 1996.
For full coverage of the 2019 AHL Playoffs visit theahl.com.
