Checking In On The Checkers: Calder Cup Playoffs

But first, they’ll need to get there, and with no first round by, they have a long road ahead. The Checkers face off against the Springfield Thunderbirds in the first round, with Charlotte hosting all three games. The Checkers held the advantage in the regular season series and wasted no time getting on the scoreboard. Marek Alscher scored 5:05 into the period. He took his shot from just above the faceoff dot, beating Vadim Zherenko on the glove side; goalie Cooper Black got the assist. But the scoring in the first didn’t stop there as Jack Studnicka, Nolan Foote, and Noah Gregor all scored, giving Charlotte a commanding 4-0 lead going into first intermission. Assists on the three goals went to Studnicka, Benning (x2), and Steeves. 

A goalie change for Springfield didn’t stop the bleeding as the Checkers put up three more goals. This time from Studnicka, Vilmanis, and Bjornfot, with the assists coming from Steeves, Smith, Devine, Pinho, Mastrosimone, and Sawchyn. Charlotte’s defense suffocated the Thunderbirds for two periods as Black saw only ten shots through forty minutes. It was a real Bobrovsky-style playoff game for the young goalie, not a lot of action in the first half, and then plenty of it in the back half. Springfield was finally able to get some pressure in the third and denied Cooper the shutout as Julien Gauthier scored within the first five minutes of the final period. Studnicka scored his second of the game in the final minute of play, with assists from Foote and Huard, capping off a 4-point night for him. Charlotte set a franchise record for most goals in a playoff game, winning 8-1. 

After the game, a couple of the players & HC Geordie Kinnear, who talked to the media, spoke about losing some of the emotional intensity after the score became so lopsided. They also talked about playing with confidence and playing the right way. Something that the Florida Panthers speak about consistently is playing the right way, so it’s good to see that mentality with their AHL affiliate. Matthew Tkachuk has spoken in previous years during the playoffs about how Florida wants to build their game for Game 7 of a series. Following the win, Kinnear echoed a similar sentiment on his team moving forward. He said, “Just move the needle. Each game that goes along in the playoff it gets a little more ramped up, so we’ve got to put this one to bed and be ready to go for Friday.” For all the guys who made NHL debuts this year or got a good stretch of time with the main club, they couldn’t have asked for a better start to their Calder Cup Playoff run.

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