The Charlotte Checkers are shaking off their 6-0 loss to the Springfield Thunderbirds in Game 1 of the Atlantic Division Finals as they prepare for Game 2 tomorrow.
Charlotte was down 1-0 late in the second period before the game fell out of reach.
“We didn’t play the right way,” Checkers head coach Geordie Kinnear said via the team’s Twitter account. “But give full marks to Springfield, I thought they played a great game.”
After ranking fourth in the AHL during the regular season allowing 2.74 goals per game, the Checkers have given up 17 goals in five playoff games (3.40) to Springfield and Bridgeport.
With two full days between games, the Checkers have time to regroup.
“We’ll look at the video, move forward, and get better,” Kinnear said. “Nothing changes for us. A loss is a loss.”
Playing before packed crowds at Place Bell has become something of the norm for the Laval Rocket during the Calder Cup Playoffs, and defenseman Louie Belpedio appreciates that postseason boost.
Belpedio’s second-period goal was the game winner for the Rocket to help them deal the Rochester Americans a 3-1 defeat in Game 2 of the North Division Finals last night. The Rocket are 3-1 at Place Bell in the postseason and will take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series to Rochester for Game 3 on Wednesday night.
“Nobody likes hockey like people in Quebec do. I’ve learned that this year,” said Belpedio, who had spent parts of the first four seasons in another strong American Hockey League market with the Iowa Wild before signing with the Montreal Canadiens last summer. “It’s an honor to be able to play in front of them.
“It’s something that I don’t take for granted,” Belpedio said of the fan support. “You feel good when you skate out of that tunnel for puck drop and you see everyone cheering and waving their towels. I know it’s not easy for other teams to come in here and play, and we were able to take advantage of that the past two games.”
Rocket head coach J-F Houle has paired Belpedio with captain Xavier Ouellet. The pair were Laval’s top two offensive defensemen during the regular season, but Belpedio says that he is not changing his game.
“I try not to change my game, no matter what,” Belpedio said. “Some nights you get bounces, some nights you don’t. I think it’s important to stay true to yourself. I think everyone just plays to their identity, their role, and you see it up and down the scoresheet. Different guys are contributing and that’s what you need around this time of year.
“Nothing has to be pretty. You’ve just got to get it done.”
The Amerks have at least one more chance to figure out Rocket goaltender Cayden Primeau.
Primeau, the first star in Game 2 after stopping 31 of 32 shots, has held Rochester to just two goals in the first two games of the series. Rochester will attempt to fend off elimination at home Wednesday.
“We need to get more traffic on Primeau because he’s in a rhythm right now,” Rochester head coach Seth Appert said. “When a goalie’s in a rhythm, you’ve got to make it miserable on him. You have to over-screen him. You have to make him play deep in his crease. You’ve got to be sitting on top of the net. Things that we’re generally good at, we haven’t been as good at it the first two nights.”
Amerks forward Mark Jankowski did manage to solve Primeau once, breaking the goaltender’s shutout bid with 2:44 left in the game.
“I think that’s how you get to a goalie in a groove there, you make it uncomfortable for him,” Jankowski said. “You stand on the top of the crease, make sure he can’t get out, make sure he can’t see pucks, and just pepper him as much as you can, and get the second or third whacks at it.”
Despite a 5-0 loss in Game 1 of the Pacific Division Finals to the Stockton Heat, the Colorado Eagles did have some good news yesterday.
Forward Dylan Sikura was back in the Colorado lineup after missing all three games of the team’s Pacific Division semifinal series against the Ontario Reign. During the regular season Sikura helped to key the second-most productive offense in the AHL and finished tied for sixth in league scoring at 73 points (33 goals, 40 assists) in just 60 games.
Colorado head coach Greg Cronin started Sikura on a line with Mikhail Maltsev and regular-season leading scorer Kiefer Sherwood against the Heat.
― Patrick Williams
