Rocket lose 3-2, swept by the Checkers

Jesse Puljujarvi broke the deadlock late in the third period, and the Charlotte Checkers beat the Laval Rocket 3-2 on Tuesday night to advance to the Calder Cup final.

Puljujarvi took advantage of a miscommunication between defenceman Zack Hayes and goaltender Jacob Fowler to send the puck into an empty net. There was just 2:04 left on the clock.

The Montreal Canadiens’ farm team tried everything to force overtime, but they were unable to level the score with a sixth player on the ice.

The Rocket, the best team in the American Hockey League this season, thus sees its run to the Eastern Association final come to an end in four games.

In the case of the Checkers, they recorded their eighth consecutive victory and now await the winner of the Western Conference Final between the Texas Stars and the Abbotsford Canucks.

Les Lavallois put in a much better performance than in the previous three duels, playing with the lead for the first time in the series. However, they let the home team rally thanks to some costly turnovers.

Joshua Roy and Owen Beck threaded the needle in defeat. After coming on twice in relief of Cayden Primeau during this final, Fowler got his first start of the series. The Americans allowed three goals from 26 shots.

Justin Sourdif and MacKenzie Entwistle also got things moving for the Checkers, who were coming off a sweep at the expense of the Hershey Bears, two-time defending Calder Cup champions.

Kaapo Kahkonen was again effective in key moments, turning away 23 pucks.

Unable to close the books

With their season in jeopardy, it came as no surprise to see the Rocket playing with great energy at the start of the first period. The Checkers, however, resisted well.

The two teams then played a real game of chess, during which the chances to score did not come by the ton.

Rafaël Harvey-Pinard and Lucas Condotta were denied by Kahkonen in quick succession, while Puljujarvi was denied by Fowler in the enclave. Then, during a numerical disadvantage, Alex Barré-Boulet took advantage of a miscalculated rebound from the boards by defender Trevor Carrick to break free, but he was unable to open the scoring.

By dint of taking their chances, Lavallois finally found a way to take the lead for the first time in this series. Roy won his battle in the enclave and skilfully deflected a shot from Gustav Lindstrom’s point to hit the target with just 45 seconds remaining.

Momentum was often the issue during the series and the Rocket maintained it early in the second period. Sustained pressure from Roy and Brandon Gignac allowed Beck to accept a pass from Noel Hoefenmayer to double his side’s lead.

Unfortunately for Pascal Vincent’s side, they shot themselves in the foot.

Just 1:40 after Beck’s goal, Harvey-Pinard was guilty of a turnover in the attacking zone to the advantage of Sourdif, who came in overhit. Sourdif made the right decision and fired home to cut the deficit to 2-1.

The Rocket were able to work for five minutes with an extra player, following the major penalty awarded to Riley Bezeau for checking Lindstrom over the head, but their lack of execution hurt them. Sean Farrell committed a turnover in the centre and on a two-on-one build-up Entwistle deceived Fowler in the same way as Sourdif.

The Checkers gave their opponents a little warning in the fifth minute of the final third, but Wilmer Skoog’s shot hit the post to Fowler’s right.

As the pressure mounted, both sides played cautiously, although some attacks ended up close to both goalkeepers’ nets. The score remained unchanged until Puljujarvi’s heartbreaking goal.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews