The #CalderCup is back in Cleveland thanks to this OT game winner by @OBjorkstrand! #SCTop10 #BattleTogetherhttps://t.co/OJGfVMvGwD
— Lake Erie Monsters (@monstershockey) June 12, 2016
The city of Cleveland has finally won a championship.
With 1.9 seconds remaining in overtime Saturday, Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Oliver Bjorkstrand buried the game's only goal for the Lake Erie Monsters, completing a four-game sweep of the Hershey Bears and clinching the AHL's Calder Cup in front of a record crowd at Quicken Loans Arena.
Tonight's crowd is officially 19,665, the largest-ever crowd in Ohio hockey history and the second-largest in #AHL playoff history.
— PATRICK WILLIAMS (@pwilliamsNHL) June 12, 2016
After setting an AHL record with his third overtime goal of the postseason and tying a league record with his sixth game-winner, Bjorkstrand was awarded the Jack Butterfield Trophy for AHL Playoff MVP - finishing the playoffs with ten goals and 16 points in 17 games.
Meanwhile, the Monsters were backstopped by a 23-save shutout from Anton Forsberg, who was nearly unbeatable in the AHL playoffs:
After taking the starter's job midway through the AHL Playoffs, goalie Anton Forsberg goes 9-0 with a .949 SV%.
— Corey Pronman (@coreypronman) June 12, 2016
It's the first Calder Cup for the city of Cleveland since 1964, when the Cleveland Barons swept their championship series against the Quebec Aces.
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