REGULAR SEASON STATS
- Record/Standings
- CLT - 44-22-3-3 (2nd Atlantic)
- ABB - 44-24-2-2 (2nd Pacific)
- Power Play / Penalty Kill
- CLT - 21.2% (5th) / 86.6% (1st)
- ABB - 18.3% (16th) / 82.4% (17th)
- Offense / Defense
- CLT - 3.25 GF/Game (t-8th) / 2.57 GA/Game (t-4th)
- ABB - 3.35 GF/Game (4th) / 2.83 GA/Game (10th)
POSTSEASON PATH
- CHARLOTTE
First Round - Bye
Atlantic Division Semis - CLT 3 - PRO 2
Atlantic Division Finals - CLT 3 - HER 0
Eastern Conference Finals - CLT 4 - LAV 0
- ABBOTSFORD
First Round - ABB 2 - TUC 1
Pacific Division Semis - ABB 3 - CV 1
Pacific Division Finals - ABB 3 - COL 2
Western Conference Finals - ABB 4 - TEX 2
- CLT TOP POSTSEASON PERFORMERS
- John Leonard - 10 points (6g, 4a) in 12 games
- Sandis Vilmanis - Seven points (3g, 4a) in eight games
- Kaapo Kahkonen - 10-2, 1.73 GAA, .927 SV%
- ABB TOP POSTSEASON PEFORMERS
- Linus Karlsson - 17 points (9g, 8a) in 18 games
- Arshdeep Bains - 14 points (3g, 11a) in 18 games
- Arturs Silovs - 12-5, 1.94 GAA, .929 SV%
NOTABLES
FOR ALL THE MARBLES
This is the second time in franchise history that the Checkers have reached the Calder Cup Finals. The only other appearance was in 2019, when the team beat the Chicago Wolves in five games to capture the Calder Cup.The Canucks have been in Abbotsford since 2021-22 and this is the first time the team has been beyond the Division Finals.
THE ROAD IN
Charlotte was a consistent power throughout the regular season - the team did not have more than two consecutive regulation losses all year - and turned on the jets for the final stretch to end the season on an 11-3-0-0 run to claim the Atlantic Division’s second seed and a bye past the first round. On their postseason journey the Checkers have gone through an Eastern Conference gauntlet, including becoming the first team since 2011 to beat both the defending champion (Hershey) and the regular-season champion (Laval) in the same postseason - sweeping both of those series to come into the finals on an eight-game winning streak.Abbotsford entered the playoffs on quite the hot streak. The Canucks were 14-15-1-1 on Jan. 4, then went 30-9-1-1 the rest of the way to finish second in the Pacific Division. They have battled their way through the left side of the playoff bracket, including besting the conference’s top team in Colorado in the division finals, to reach the franchise’s first Calder Cup Finals.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
This marks the first time that the Checkers and Canucks have ever faced each other. The Checkers have previously played a team from Abbotsford - the Heat, most recently in 2013-14 - and they have played Vancouver’s affiliate - most recently in 2019-20 when they were the Utica Comets.There are some ties to the Abbotsford area on the Charlotte roster. Justin Sourdif is from Richmond, BC - just outside of Vancouver - and played junior hockey for the WHL’s Vancouver Giants, while Will Lockwood was drafted by the Canucks in the third round of the 2016 draft and spent three seasons in the organization - including parts of two in Abbotsford.
On the other side, Abbotsford forward Phil Di Giuseppe played 160 games for Charlotte from 2014-2019, head coach Manny Malhotra logged eight games with the Checkers in 2013-14 and goalie coach Justin Pogge played 48 games in the team’s inaugural 2010-11 campaign. In fact, current Checkers head coach Geordie Kinnear was on the bench as an assistant coach for at least parts of all three players' tenures in Charlotte.
SHORTHANDED KINGS
After leading the league with 16 shorthanded goals during the regular season, the Checkers have tacked on six more through 12 playoff games - at least twice as many as any other team this postseason. As it stands Charlotte has outscored opponents on the penalty kill, surrendering just four power-play goals. MacKenzie Entwistle and Justin Sourdif have each tallied one, while John Leonard has racked up a staggering four shorthanded goals thus far - including two during the four-game sweep of Laval.RACKING THEM UP
Charlotte has made a habit of filling the net during the postseason, scoring at least five goals in six of the 12 playoff games - including four of the last five. The team has also locked things down on the other side of the ice, holding opponents to three or fewer goals in every playoff game thus far and limiting the Rocket to six total goals over the four games in the Eastern Conference Finals.KAAPO'S CREASE
Leading the charge between the pipes has been Kaapo Kahkonen. The Finnish netminder - who was acquired at the trade deadline in exchange for Chris Driedger - has played every minute of this postseason run for Charlotte while logging a 1.73 goals-against average (2nd in the AHL) and a .927 save percentage.THE INFO
Tickets for Games 1, 2, 6* and 7* at Bojangles Coliseum are on sale now!Fans can also take advantage of a Father's Day Special for Games 1 and 2 - Buy three, get Dad free here!
Additionally, glass seats are available for Games 1 and 2 here!
On the broadcast side of things, the entire Calder Cup Playoffs can be watched with AHLTV on FloHockey! Click here to get a subscription.
FloHockey has also announced that Game 1 will be broadcast for free on their social channels!
You can also listen live on the Charlotte Checkers App for iOS and Android!
