REGULAR SEASON STATS
- Record/Standings
- CLT - 44-22-3-3 (2nd Atlantic)
- HER - 44-20-7-1 (1st Atlantic)
- Power Play / Penalty Kill
- CLT - 21.2% (5th) / 86.6% (1st)
- HER - 17.7% (19th) / 83.6% (t-8th)
- Offense / Defense
- CLT - 3.25 GF/Game (t-8th) / 2.57 GA/Game (t-4th)
- HER - 3.25 GF/Game (t-8th) / 2.93 GA/Game (14th)
HEAD TO HEAD
- Feb. 23 - HER 2 @ CLT 0
Feb. 22 - HER 3 @ CLT 1
Jan. 11 - HER 4 @ CLT 2
Jan. 10 - HER 4 @ CLT 3 (OT)
Dec. 29 - CLT 1 @ HER 0
Dec. 14 - CLT 2 @ HER 1
Nov. 3 - CLT 3 @ HER 4 (SO)
Nov. 2 - CLT 4 @ HER 2
- CLT TOP PERFORMERS
- John Leonard - Six points (3g, 3a) in eight games
- Mike Benning - Five points (2g, 3a) in six games
- Ken Appleby - 2-2-0, 1.53 GAA, .923 SV%
- Cooper Black - 0-0-1, 2.78 GAA, .800 SV%
- HER TOP PEFORMERS
- Alex Limoges - Five points (2g, 3a) in five games
- Hendrix Lapierre - Four points (1g, 3a) in four games
- Clay Stevenson - 3-1-0, 1.49 GAA, .939 SV%
- Hunter Shepard - 1-3-0, 2.48 GAA, .913 SV%
NOTABLES
WELCOME TO THE THIRD ROUND
This is Charlotte’s first trip to the division finals since the 2022 postseason and the fifth time the team has made it to this round in franchise history (2022, 2019, 2018, 2011). Of those four previous trips, the Checkers advanced to the conference finals in two of them (2019, 2011).BEAT THE CHAMPS
This series marks the third time that the Checkers have faced off against the defending Calder Cup champs in the postseason. The other two instances came in the 2019 Eastern Conference Final against Toronto and the 2011 East Division Semifinal against Hershey, with the Checkers winning both best-of-seven series by a 4-2 count.The Checkers had the upper hand in this regular season’s slate, holding a 4-2-1-1 edge in the hyper-competitive series - four of the matchups were decided by a single goal, while the other four were decided by two. The first four games were all held in Hershey and the Checkers earned a point in each one, going 3-0-0-1. For the back-half of the series in Charlotte, the Checkers went 1-2-1-0. The eight-game set took place over the middle chunk of the season, so the two sides have not seen each other since Feb. 23.
STEPPING UP
The Checkers enjoyed production from across their lineup in their series victory over Providence. Four players recorded multiple goals in the five-game series - Ben Steeves (3), Wilmer Skoog (3), Will Lockwood (2) and Tobias Bjornfot (2). In the regular season Steeves and Lockwood finished tied for seventh on the team with 10 goals, Skoog tied for ninth with nine. and Bjornfot tied for 17th with three.Steeves in particular has carried over a hot streak from the end of the regular season into the postseason. The rookie - who totaled 28 points in 60 games - finished the season with 16 points over his last 21 contests.
BETWEEN THE PIPES
Of the eight teams still alive in the Calder Cup Playoffs, four have only used a single goalie. That includes the Checkers, who turned to Kaapo Kahkonen in all five contests in their second-round series. The veteran netminder - who is in his first postseason aside from two games in Finland’s top league in 2018 - has posted the fifth-ranked goals-against average thus far and is tied for third with three wins.CHARLOTTE PLAYERS TO WATCH
WILMER SKOOG
Skoog broke out in that second-round series, lighting the lamp a team-best three times - including in each of the last two contests.BEN STEEVES
As mentioned earlier, Steeves had a red-hot end to the regular season and has carried that over to the postseason - tying for the team-lead with three goals in the Providence series.JOHN LEONARD
Charlotte’s regular-season scoring leader set the tone with a shorthanded goal to open the Providence series, helped set up the team’s lone power-play conversion and picked up a key assist in the Checkers’ Game 5 victory.HERSHEY PLAYERS TO WATCH
ALEX LIMOGES
After finishing second on the Bears in scoring during the regular season, Limoges led the way through their second-round series and notched at least one point in all five contests.SPENCER SMALLMAN
The former Checker - and 2019 Calder Cup champ - posted three points over the final two games of the Lehigh Valley series to continue his career year.LUKE PHILP
Philp recorded a helper in each of Hershey’s last three games.THE INFO
Tickets for Games 1 and 2 are on sale now!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!
