The Checkers win over the Laval Rocket 5-1

Sandis Vilmanis had a goal and an assist, guiding the Charlotte Checkers to a 5-1 victory over the Laval Rocket on Wednesday night at Place Bell.

The Checkers certainly didn’t come to Laval to play tourists. They will be able to return to the hotel with a 1-0 lead in this Eastern Conference final. The two teams will meet again Thursday evening at Place Bell.

John Leonard, Justin Sourdif, Oliver Okuliar and Jesse Puljujarvi, into an empty net, also scored for the Charlotte team, which took advantage of a few turnovers from its opponents to score.

Kaapo Kahkonen stopped 30 of 31 shots and didn’t really give the Rocket hope during the game.

Oliver Kapanen was the only goal scorer for Laval, who were coming off an excellent performance in the fifth and final game of their series against the Rochester Americans.

After recording a shutout in this game, Cayden Primeau allowed four goals on 19 shots.

Performance to forget

With several players behind Primeau’s net, Adam Engstrom saw his pass hit Florian Xhekaj’s skate while everyone was looking for the puck. Ben Steeves recovered it and passed it to Vilmanis, who opened the scoring.

Laval tried to respond, through Alex Barré-Boulet, but Kahkonen stretched out to close the door. A few minutes later, Sourdif moved into enemy territory and seemed well guarded, but his wrist shot caught Primeau over the right arm.

The Checkers’ forecheck gave the Rocket ‘s defenders a lot of trouble , and the pressure was even felt on the penalty kill late in the period.

Even though they were playing with an extra player, Pascal Vincent’s team conceded two extra players, a post from Leonard and two good shots from Mikulas Hovorka and Kyle Criscuolo, provoking boos at Place Bell.

The visitors continued their momentum after just 1:55 of play in the second period. The Rocket players stared at the puck and didn’t see Okuliar on the other side. The former Sherbrooke Phoenix player had no trouble finishing Vilmanis’s set-up.

The Habs’ farm team slowly found its rhythm and increased the pressure in the back zone. It even served its purpose by tying the game after a Brett Chorske turnover. Sean Farrell passed the puck to Joshua Roy, who made a magnificent pass to Kapanen to cut the deficit to 3-1.

Less than two minutes later, Rafael Harvey-Pinard was left out in front of the net, but Kahkonen made a key save before the Rocket forward missed the target on the rebound.

We thought that the Laval team had gained momentum thanks to a good second period, but they were caught out again early in the final third.

With the Checkers playing shorthanded, Leonard chose the shot on a two-on-one rush and threaded the needle with just 31 seconds left.

Frustration set in among the Rocket players , and poor execution followed. Puljujarvi hammered home the final nail before a scuffle ended the game.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews