Rocket no match for Checkers in Game 1
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They say a team's never in trouble until it loses at home.
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While there's still plenty of life remaining in the Laval Rocket, it has dug itself a potentially significant hole following its resounding 5-1 loss to the Charlotte Checkers Wednesday night at Place Bell in the opening game of the American Hockey League's Eastern Conference final before 9,230 spectators.
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While the Rocket won't be facing elimination when the teams meet again Thursday night at the same venue (7 p.m., RDS), Laval can hardly afford to trail by two games knowing the next three will be played on the road when the series shifts to Charlotte on Sunday afternoon.
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'You can't go down 2-0 going back to their rink for three,' forward Owen Beck said in the quiet Rocket dressing room. 'It's an odd format in that sense. We need to give ourselves some life, some momentum going into their barn for three straight games.
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'If we're not on our game, our season can turn around pretty quickly,' added Beck, who won a Memorial Cup with Saginaw last season and was the tournament's most valuable player. 'At this stage of the year every team's top quality, top-notch. We built so much over this year … with the regular season that we had. We've been generating momentum and trying to have our game at our best at this point of the year. There's so much that has gone into it, you don't want to throw it away with a few poor efforts.'
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Sandis Vilmanis, Justin Sourdif, Oliver Okuliar, John Leonard and Jesse Puljujarvi, into an empty net, scored for the visitors — who reached this round by sweeping the two-time defending Calder Cup-champion Hershey Bears in a best-of-five series.
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While Charlotte was playing for the first time in a week, it hardly appeared rusty, scoring early goals in each period. The Checkers are on a five-game winning streak.
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And while the Rocket should have been on an emotional high after dispatching Rochester in the fifth and deciding game last Sunday on home ice, the team appeared out of sync frequently.
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Oliver Kapanen scored Laval's only goal, nearly six minutes into the second period, narrowing the deficit to 3-1. While the Rocket enjoyed a 31-20 shots advantage, it couldn't solve goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen frequently enough.
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The 6-foot-2, 214 pounder played four full seasons in the NHL, between 2020-24, with Minnesota and San Jose, and has started each of the Checkers' nine playoff games, winning seven while recording one shutout.
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Ottawa Citizen
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'Our best game by far' against Charlotte not enough as Laval Rocket swept from Eastern Conference final
Article content After finishing first overall in the AHL this season, the Laval Rocket entered the playoffs like lions. Article content Following an opening-round bye, Laval won the first two games at Cleveland before defeating the Monsters in four games. And while the Rocket required the maximum five contests, it still outlasted Rochester in the North Division final. Article content But Laval exited the post-season like lambs, swept by the vastly superior Charlotte Checkers in the Eastern Conference final. The last blow came Tuesday night, with Charlotte edging the visiting Rocket 3-2 before 7,317 spectators at Bojangles Coliseum. Article content While it was Laval's most competitive game of the series, it nonetheless found a new way to lose, squandering a 2-0 lead. Article content With the teams apparently headed to overtime for the first time in the series, Jesse Puljujarvi scored the winning goal with 2:03 remaining in regulation time. Article content THE GOAL THAT SENT US TO THE FINALS — Charlotte Checkers (@CheckersHockey) June 4, 2025 Article content There appeared to be indecision on the play between defenceman Zack Hayes and rookie goaltender Jacob Fowler, making his first start against the Checkers after Cayden Primeau was removed in the second period of each of the last two games. Article content Article content Fowler hesitated coming out of his net in an attempt to clear the puck, forcing Hayes to make an errant dive. The puck went directly onto Puljujarvi's stick. With Fowler now far removed from his crease, Puljujarvi scored easily into the empty net for his second goal of the playoffs. Article content 'It really hurts to give up that one,' Fowler told the media in Charlotte. 'The boys played so good in front of me all night. It was just one of those plays. We knew it was going to be a sloppy break like that. I have to make the read off him. When you want to get back in the series that's something I've got to be better on, learn from it and hopefully not make that mistake again. Article content 'It hurts to lose but I'm really proud to have been a small impact on this group,' added Fowler, a late-season addition from Boston College. 'Being down 3-0 on the road, it's hard. We were 2½ minutes away from maybe going to overtime or scoring late. I wish I could have given them a better last 2½ minutes.' Article content Puljujarvi, selected fourth overall by Edmonton in 2016, has 387 NHL games to his credit between the Oilers, Carolina, Pittsburgh and Florida. The Finnish winger played 31 games in the NHL this season, including 26 with the Penguins. Article content It was Charlotte's eighth consecutive playoff victory, while Laval limped to the finish line with a 2-6 record in its last eight playoff games and 6-7 overall. Article content Laval played a strong first period and had a 6-3 edge in shots through 10 minutes. The visitors nearly took the lead in the 13th minute, while short-handed. For the second consecutive game, Alex Barré-Boulet had a breakaway. And for the second consecutive game, he couldn't beat goalie Kaapo Kahkonen.
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THE GOAL THAT SENT US TO THE FINALS — Charlotte Checkers (@CheckersHockey) June 4, 2025 There appeared to be indecision on the play between defenceman Zack Hayes and rookie goaltender Jacob Fowler, making his first start against the Checkers after Cayden Primeau was removed in the second period of each of the last two games. Fowler hesitated coming out of his net in an attempt to clear the puck, forcing Hayes to make an errant dive. The puck went directly onto Puljujarvi's stick. With Fowler now far removed from his crease, Puljujarvi scored easily into the empty net for his second goal of the playoffs. 'It really hurts to give up that one,' Fowler told the media in Charlotte. 'The boys played so good in front of me all night. It was just one of those plays. We knew it was going to be a sloppy break like that. I have to make the read off him. When you want to get back in the series that's something I've got to be better on, learn from it and hopefully not make that mistake again. 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The Canadiens, in 1993, were the last Canadian team to capture the NHL title.
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