Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Features Writer
Mike Benning had already started overtime of Game 2 of the Calder Cup Finals on Sunday afternoon impressively enough.
A tripping penalty on fellow defenseman Matt Kiersted had left Charlotte shorthanded 16 seconds into the extra period. Already down 1-0 in the series, and facing a potent Abbotsford power play that had already burned the Checkers three times this series, they needed their penalty kill to come through more than ever.
With the Canucks pressing and threatening, Benning fished away a loose puck inside the defensive zone and drove it up ice, where Will Lockwood could take control and burn more time off the clock. That led to a faceoff inside the Abbotsford zone, where a Chase Wouters tripping call put the Checkers on the power play. Then with the Wouters penalty down to 10 seconds, Benning took a Justin Sourdif cross-ice feed to the left point, backed off Abbotsford coverage, found an open lane and sailed a shot past the glove of goaltender Artūrs Šilovs.
“Everyone wants to score, be that guy” Benning said, “I was just trying to contribute my part, and my part was putting the puck in the net. So it wasn’t just me out there doing the work. We need everyone in there, and we got the job done.”
Said Checkers head coach Geordie Kinnear said of the game-winner, “A good shot. Confidence. He would be a guy when the game’s on the line you want it on his stick in the offensive zone, and he’s done it all year for us. He’s that type of player.”
After going into double-overtime in Game 1 on Friday, the Checkers ended Game 2 early in OT to avoid another protracted fight with the stubborn Canucks, who got another dominant performance from Šilovs. Charlotte outshot the visitors, 42-13, and limited them to just six shots in the final 44:02 of play. But the Checkers also repeatedly had top chances shut down by Šilovs.
Game 3 at Abbotsford Centre on Tuesday will arrive quickly, and the Checkers have another demanding week ahead of them with this series now set to go at least five games.
Moreover, Benning, Kiersted and the rest of the Charlotte defense corps had taken on heavy minutes after Tobias Bjornfot left the game in the second period and did not return. Marek Alscher had taken Dennis Cesana’s place in Kinnear’s Game 2 lineup, so at least there was one fresh body. Still, with this series looking more and more like it could be a lengthy one between these two evenly matched clubs, every bit of rest counts. All of the conditioning work that the Checkers have done through the season and Calder Cup Playoffs can really pay off on a hot, humid Sunday afternoon inside of Bojangles Coliseum. The Checkers produced chance after chance that Šilovs shut down, but finally broke through after the second and third periods had gone scoreless for both clubs.
“I think Geordie and the staff here, and even the leadership group, they held they hold everyone accountable,” Benning said. “We’ve worked hard throughout the whole year, and we’re ready for this stuff.”
Benning, a 23-year-old taken in the fourth round of the 2020 NHL Draft by the Florida Panthers, has put together two strong AHL seasons with Charlotte after coming out of the NCAA powerhouse that is the University of Denver. After producing 32 points (nine goals, 23 assists) in 54 regular-season games, he has been dominant in the postseason. His five playoff goals tie him for the AHL lead among defensemen.
Beyond scoring, though, Kinnear has been able to rely heavily on Benning on this playoff run, especially with the team’s blue line having been banged up at different points. Bjornfot also missed time in Game 1, and Charlotte also had to get by without Kiersted for a five-game stretch earlier this postseason.
The Checkers will need more of that from Benning and the rest of the roster. Both teams have a fight on their hands as this series moves west.
“It’s five-game series (now),” Benning said. “Excited to get over there and play some more hockey.”
On the American Hockey League beat for two decades, TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams also currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his outstanding coverage of the league in 2016.
