With the game knotted at two and progressing past the midpoint of the third, the Bears went to a man advantage - but it was the Checkers who capitalized. Kaapo Kahkonen stuck out his leg to make a stellar stop between the pipes, and the ensuing rebound was collected by Leonard. The Charlotte forward was shot out of a cannon from there and finished off the rush by cutting back to the center of the Hershey zone and burying a shot past netminder Hunter Shepard.
The Bears had no answer for Kahkonen and Charlotte’s suffocating defense from there, and the clock ticked down on a thrilling Game 1 victory for the Checkers.
The first two frames featured both sides trading blows. The Checkers broke the ice with the first period’s only tally when Sandis Vilmanis threaded a long-distance shot through traffic and in, then the Bears punched back in the second with consecutive strikes to grab the lead late in the frame.
That Hershey lead didn’t last long, though, as Mike Benning launched a seeing-eye shot from the point on a Charlotte power play to draw the score back even and set up Leonard’s third-period heroics.
LET'S GO pic.twitter.com/8i5OLmSyhc
— Charlotte Checkers (@CheckersHockey) May 17, 2025
QUOTES
Coach Geordie Kinnear on the gamePlayoff games, whether you watch them on TV or are a part of them, there’s ebbs and flows all the time. You just have to stay with it and be mentally tough. I thought we got away from it in the second period and I thought they carried the play at the start of the third period, but a couple of shifts got us going a little bit. Then all of the sudden you take a penalty, and then obviously Lenny scored a nice goal. A very close hockey game, there were a lot of ebbs and flows to it, and we’ll just continue to grow as a group and get better individually and collectively.
Kinnear on Leonard’s ability to score shorthanded
The thing I like is that he skates on the PK. We’ve got to get him to skate five-on-five, because when he does that he’s a pretty dangerous player. He’s done a great job and it’s a big goal in a big moment, but we need him to do it again tomorrow.
Kinnear on hotter conditions affecting the game
Definitely. Mental toughness, physical toughness. You just have to break the game down into micro goals like shifts and make sure you’re focused and get the job done. You always have to make sure your bench is right too to help guys out. A building block but lots of work to do.
John Leonard on the game
Obviously Game 1 is crucial, especially on home ice you want to make sure you’re doing everything you can to find a way to win those games. I thought we had a really good majority of the game and there were bits and pieces where I thought we could have been better in certain situations, but like I said, to get Game 1 at home is huge.
Leonard on his goal
It was a great save by (Kahkonen) to start in the middle there, and then the puck just kind of squirted out to me. I saw some ice so I tried to take it. (Asplund) did a heck of a job creating a little more space for me, driving the net and taking the goalie’s eyes away. I just tried to free myself up.
Leonard on hot conditions during the game
This is our rink. We skate on it every single day. This is us and we’re accustomed to it. Certain days when it’s humid might be a little different than other times, but I think the rink crew does a heck of a job here and certainly no complaints.
