(Photo: Charlotte Checkers)

Bloomfield Hills’ Krushelnyski ends longest game in AHL history with OT winner

By @StefanKubus – 

Wednesday night’s second-round Game 4 between the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and Charlotte Checkers saw the puck dropped at 7:03 p.m.

Lehigh Valley struck first in the opening frame, while Charlotte’s Patrick Brown (Bloomfield Hills) tied it up early in the second period.

And then it stayed that way until 1:09 a.m.

It took a fifth overtime period, but Bloomfield Hills native Alex Krushelnyski finally ended what became the longest game in AHL history at 6:48 of the extra frame. Krushelnyski beat Plymouth Whalers alum Alex Nedeljkovic, who stopped 51 of 53 shots he faced on the night in the loss. At the other end, Lehigh Valley netminder Alex Lyon made an astonishing 94 saves in the marathon game.

The goal marked Krushelnyski’s second of the postseason.

Coincidentally, the previous record for the longest AHL game was also played between the affiliates of the Philadelphia Flyers and Carolina Hurricanes, as the two clubs battled to 2:58 of a fifth overtime on April 24, 2008. The Flyers’ affiliate also won that contest, a 3-2 decision.

The 27-year-old Krushelnyski, who played his college hockey with Colorado College, is the son of former Red Wings forward and assistant coach Mike Krushelnyski. The elder Krushelnyski also won four Stanley Cups over the course of his career, three as a player with the Edmonton Oilers (1985, 1987, 1988) and one with Detroit as an assistant coach (1997).