LAVAL, QC– The Checkers got off to a quick start north of the border in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals and never let off the gas, leveling Laval by a 5-1 score.
The visitors set the tone less than two minutes into regulation when Ben Steeves jarred a puck loose behind the net and fed Sandis Vilmanis out front. Minutes later Justin Sourdif fired a seeing-eye snipe past Laval netminder Cayden Primeau to give Charlotte a 2-0 lead before the midway mark of the first, and the Checkers were off to the races.
Vilmanis kicked off the second by threading a cross-ice pass to Oliver Okuliar for the back-door tap in, and while the Rocket were able to break the ice in the middle frame and start to tilt things in their direction, the Checkers were able to squash any hopes of a rally from the home side – especially behind the strong play of Kaapo Kahkonen, who finished the night with 30 saves and helped Charlotte successfully kill six power plays.
John Leonard converted yet another shorthanded tally just 31 seconds into the third that pushed Charlotte further ahead and Jesse Puljujarvi added an empty netter that served as the final dagger. Tempers flared in the waning moments of the lopsided contest – with 120 total penalty minutes handed out in the final 2:04 of regulation – but the blowout victory was already sealed for Charlotte.