Charlotte Checkers advance to Calder Cup Finals

Twice as nice.

As the Florida Panthers get ready for the Stanley Cup Final on Monday, their AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers, will now be awaiting their opponent for the Calder Cup Finals.

Showing off the excellence from the bottom of the organization all the way to the top, the Panthers and Checkers are the first NHL-AHL duo to appear in their league’s respective Cup Final since the Pittsburgh Penguins and Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins did in 2008.

“What's good for us is those guys are playing meaningful hockey while we are,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said earlier this postseason.

Defeating the Laval Rocket on Tuesday by a score of 3-2, the Checkers completed a four-game sweep of the regular-season champions to advance to their first Calder Cup since winning in all during the 2018-19 season.

Trailing 2-0 in the second period, the Checkers answered back with goals from Justin Sourdif and MacKenzie Entwistle, before Jesse Puljujarvi found the back of the net with just over three minutes remaining in the third to lock in the 3-2 final.

“It was unreal,” Puljujarvi said after the game. “I haven’t felt that many times. It was fun. Really fun.”

Winners of eight straight over the course of three playoff rounds, the Checkers swept their way through the Atlantic Division Finals against the defending back-to-back champion Hershey Bears (3-0), before defeating Laval.

Just like their big brother Panthers, the Checkers have received scoring from up and down the lineup.

Through three rounds, Charlotte has goals from 17 different players and points from 22.

Forwards John Leonard (10 points) and Puljujarvi (eight points) lead the way in scoring, while another five Checkers have notched seven points each.

Getting some time to rest, the Checkers will play either the Abbotsford Canucks or Texas Stars for a chance at glory.

The Canucks currently lead 2-1 in the Western Conference Finals.

Follow @CheckersHockey to stay up to date on all Checkers updates.