Weekly Report: Atlantic Gauntlet

A wild month of hockey is officially in the books for Charlotte, and the Checkers closed March out with a huge three wins in four games over the last week.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Checkers 6, Bruins 3

A fast start put the Checkers in position to earn a win in their first matchup of the week. The home team lit the lamp three times in the first frame to build a sizable lead, and when Providence knocked one in to cut into that lead early in the second, Jesse Puljujarvi was there with the response of a slick finish off a two-on-one rush. The Bruins would strike twice more in quick succession, but it wasn’t enough to overtake the Checkers, who stole back momentum with a late goal in the second courtesy of Wilmer Skoog and pushed further out with a Trevor Carrick tally in the third. Kaapo Kahkonen sealed the deal with 28 saves between the pipes and the Checkers rode their way to a big win.

Checkers 5, Bruins 2

The Checkers found themselves down by a goal through 40 minutes of play in the following night’s rematch, but they wasted no time turning the tables on the Bruins. Power-play goals from John Leonard and Jesse Puljujarvi within the first five minutes of the period swung the lead back over to Charlotte and the home side wouldn’t relinquish it. The Checkers tacked on a pair of empty netters late, Kaapo Kahkonen posted 22 saves in his second straight start and Charlotte claimed not just a sweep of Providence, but a spot in the postseason.

Penguins 5, Checkers 3

Charlotte’s hot streak came to a halt in their first meeting against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the weekend. Deadlocked at two through two periods, the Penguins broke the tie courtesy of a power-play strike with less than six minutes left, then cashed in on two empty netters to foil Charlotte’s comeback bid. Justin Sourdif scored with just a few seconds remaining on the clock, but it was too little, too late for the home team.

Checkers 5, Penguins 2

The Checkers righted the ship in the busy week’s finale, coming away with the win in yet another tight matchup. A Penguins’ goal just 98 seconds into the third period pulled the game into a tie, but John Leonard hammered one home on a man advantage just over two minutes later to secure a lead for Charlotte that would last through the remainder of the contest. Leonard would hit an empty net late, followed quickly by another dagger from Rasmus Asplund, and the Checkers finished out the series split with the Penguins.

QUICK HITS

JOCKEYING FOR POSITION

This week’s slate featured some huge matchups for Charlotte when it came to the playoff race. With Providence and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in a tight battle with them in the Atlantic Division standings, taking three wins out of four contests was a positive outcome for the Checkers - who now sit in second place with 82 points in 64 games.

The Penguins are in third with an identical 82 points in 64 games because Charlotte owns the regulation wins tiebreaker - 31 to 30 - while Providence trails behind in fourth place with 79 points in 65 contests. A weekend sweep at the hands of Utica has the Bears in a bit of a funk, as they now hold the division lead by a three-point advantage over Charlotte.

Claiming one of the top two seeds is a considerable boost come playoff time, as it ensures a bye past the opening best-of-three round.

Looking ahead at their remaining schedule, the Checkers have just two games remaining against any of those aforementioned teams battling at the top of the division - their upcoming three-in-three weekend road trip is bookended by visits to Providence. Otherwise the Checkers have four games against teams currently out of playoff contention - two against the Comets and one each against the Islanders and Wolf Pack - and two against the Thunderbirds, who are currently in fifth place with a one-point edge over Lehigh Valley and a seven-point gap behind the Bruins.

LEONARD MAKES HISTORY

John Leonard earned a spot in the Charlotte franchise record book Wednesday against Providence when he recorded his 30th goal of the season - becoming only the sixth player in team history to hit that mark.

With another pair of goals on Sunday - bringing his recent red-hot run to 13 goals in his last 19 games - Leonard ranks third in the league with 32 goals. That total is already the fourth-highest in franchise history and puts him five away from breaking Zach Boychuk’s single-season record that was established in 2013-14.

LIGHTING IT UP

The Checkers are surging as of late, and the offensive production is helping power the run. The team is 13-6-0-1 over the last 20 games and have hit the four-goal mark in nine of those contests. In the 20 games immediately prior to that Charlotte was 10-8-2-0 and had six games in which they scored four or more.

HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK

The feed from Cesana, the finish from Puljujarvi, the game-winning goal that secured the playoff berth!

The power play comes through again again! pic.twitter.com/0TfL8M9BNf

— Charlotte Checkers (@CheckersHockey) March 27, 2025

Transactions

Incoming

• March 27 - Liam McLinskey - Signed to ATO

Outgoing

• None

RANKINGS

• John Leonard is tied for the league lead in game-winning goals (8)
• John Leonard ranks third in the AHL in goals (32)
• John Leonard is tied for seventh in the AHL in points (56)
• John Leonard is tied for eighth in the AHL in power-play goals (10)
• John Leonard is tied for second in the AHL in shorthanded goals (4)
• John Leonard is tied for second in the AHL in shorthanded points (6)
• Matt Kiersted is tied for second in the AHL in plus-minus (+32)
• Jaycob Megna ranks sixth in the AHL in plus-minus (+26)
• Trevor Carrick ranks third in the AHL in power-play points (26)
• Trevor Carrick is tied for third among AHL defensemen in goals (13)
• Trevor Carrick ranks fifth among AHL defensemen in assists (35)
• Trevor Carrick is tied for third among AHL defensemen in points (48)
• Rasmus Asplund is tied for second in the AHL in shorthanded goals (4)
• Rasmus Asplund is tied for second in the AHL in shorthanded points (6)
• Mike Benning is tied for sixth among AHL defensemen in game-winning goals (3)
• Ken Appleby ranks second in the AHL in goals-against average (2.04)
• Ken Appleby is tied for second among AHL goalies in shutouts (5)
• Cooper Black is tied for the league lead among rookie goalies in shutouts (3)

By the Numbers

CATEGORY	RECORD	AHL RANK
Power play	22.5%	2nd
Penalty kill	86.9%	1st
Goals per game	3.23	10th
Shots per game	31.80	2nd
Goals allowed per game	2.61	4th
Shots allowed per game	23.27	1st
Penalty minutes per game	12.02	21st

LEADERS

CATEGORY	LEADER(S)
Points	John Leonard (56), Trevor Carrick (48), Rasmus Asplund (42)
Goals	John Leonard (32), Rasmus Asplund (19), Kyle Criscuolo (17)
Assists	Trevor Carrick (35), Matt Kiersted (25), John Leonard (24)
Power play goals	John Leonard (10), Trevor Carrick (8), Kyle Criscuolo (7)
Shorthanded goals	John Leonard, Rasmus Asplund (4), Patrick Giles (3)
Game-winning goals	John Leonard (8), Kyle Criscuolo, Justin Sourdif (4)
Shots on goal	John Leonard (209), Wilmer Skoog (146), Trevor Carrick (136)
Penalty minutes	Oliver Okuliar (97), Wilmer Skoog (59), Justin Sourdif (58)
Plus/minus	Matt Kiersted (+32), Jaycob Megna (+26), John Leonard (+19)
Wins	Ken Appleby (13)
Goals-against average	Ken Appleby (2.04)
Save percentage	Ken Appleby (.905)