Eastern Conference Finals Preview: Checkers vs Rocket
May 28, 2025 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Charlotte Checkers News Release
The Checkers took down the two-time defending champion Hershey Bears via a sweep in the Atlantic Division Finals, setting up a matchup against the Laval Rocket in the Eastern Conference Finals.
REGULAR SEASON STATS
Record/Standings
CLT - 44-22-3-3 (2nd Atlantic)
LAV - 48-19-3-2 (1st North)
Power Play / Penalty Kill
CLT - 21.2% (5th) / 86.6% (1st)
LAV - 18.9% (t-12th) / 83.2% (11th)
Offense / Defense
CLT - 3.25 GF/Game (t-8th) / 2.57 GA/Game (t-4th)
HER - 3.18 GF/Game (11th) / 2.47 GA/Game (t-1st)
POSTSEASON PATH
CHARLOTTE
First Round - Bye
Atlantic Division Semis - CLT 3 - PRO 2
Atlantic Division Finals - CLT 3 - HER 0
LAVAL
First Round - Bye
North Division Semis - LAV 3 - CLE 1
North Division Finals - LAV 3 - ROC 2
CLT TOP POSTSEASON PERFORMERS
Rasmus Asplund - Six points (4g, 2a) in eight games
John Leonard - Six points (3g, 3a) in eight games
Kaapo Kahkonen - 6-2, 1.85 GAA, .918 SV%
LAV TOP POSTSEASON PEFORMERS
Alex Barre-Boulet - 10 points (3g, 7a) in nine games
Laurent Dauphin - Nine points (5g, 4a) in nine games
Cayden Primeau - 3-1, 2.03 GAA, .924 SV%
Jacob Fowler - 3-2, 2.46 GAA, .903 SV%
NOTABLES
FINAL FOUR
This marks the third trip to the conference finals in Charlotte's franchise history. The first was in the team's inaugural AHL campaign in 2010-11, when they lost to the eventual champion Senators 4-0. The other was in 2018-19, when they beat the Marlies 4-2 en route to a Calder Cup championship.
NEW OPPONENT
The Checkers and Rocket did not play this season, and in fact have not faced each other since the 2018-19 campaign. Charlotte went 3-1-0-0 in the head-to-head matchups that season and is 7-1-0-0 all-time against Laval.
The Rocket finished this regular season as the league's top team, posting an AHL-best 48-19-3-2 record.
SPECIAL TEAMS HIGHS AND LOWS
Special teams has been a tale of two sides this postseason for Charlotte. The penalty kill has been exceptional, operating at a 92.3-percent success rate and outscoring its opponents when down a man - two power-play goals allowed versus three shorthanded goals, the latter of which is tied for the league lead.
The power play has had a tougher go in the postseason, converting twice on 28 opportunities through eight games. The Checkers could have plenty of chances to get that unit going in this series, though, as Laval finished the regular season as the most penalized team in the AHL. In the postseason the Rocket are averaging 20.11 penalty minutes per game - the second highest mark in the league - while the Checkers are averaging 9.25.
LOCK DOWN
The Checkers are entering the fourth round with the fewest goals against average in the AHL playoffs, surrendering just 1.88 per game. A big part of that stems for Charlotte's stifling team defense, as they are allowing just 23 shots per game - a mark that leads the league and is two whole shots better than the second-ranked squad.
Laval's offense is a formidable one - led by the one-two punch of Alex Barre-Boulet and Laurent Dauphin - and ranks third in the AHL playoffs in scoring - one spot behind Charlotte.
CHARLOTTE PLAYERS TO WATCH
RASMUS ASPLUND
Asplund led all Checkers skaters with five points in the three-game sweep of Hershey - including accounting for both goals in the team's clutch Game 2 overtime win.
JOHN LEONARD
Tied with Asplund for the team playoff scoring lead, Leonard enters the Eastern Conference Finals on a four-game point streak and has found the scoresheet in six of eight games this postseason.
TOBIAS BJORNFOT
With a pair of helpers in the close-out game against Hershey, Bjornfot now has five points in his last four contests.
LAVAL PLAYERS TO WATCH
JOSHUA ROY
Roy led the way with seven points over the course of the five-game series against Rochester and has goals in three straight games.
ALEX BARRE-BOULET
The former AHL goals champ led the Rocket in scoring during the regular season and has only been held scoreless twice this postseason.
DAVID REINBACHER
The fifth overall pick in 2023, Reinbacher picked up four points over the five games against the Amerks.
THE INFO
Tickets for Games 3, 4 and 5* at Bojangles Coliseum are on sale now!
Fans can also save with a Family Special, featuring $10 off per ticket when purchasing between 4-9 here.
On the broadcast side of things, the entire Calder Cup Playoffs can be watched with AHLTV on FloHockey! Click here to get a subscription.
You can also listen live on the Charlotte Checkers App for iOS and Android!
American Hockey League Stories from May 28, 2025
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- Seattle Kraken Re-Sign Forward John Hayden to Two-Year Contract - Coachella Valley Firebirds
- Eastern Conference Finals Preview: Checkers vs Rocket - Charlotte Checkers
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