Written by: Garett

Great news Checker fans, since we checked in last Friday, our Checkers have gone 3-0! Last weekend, the Checkers were back up north taking on the Hartford Wolf Pack and the Springfield Thunderbirds, and completed the roadtrip with a pair of victories including an absolute thriller in Springfield. Last night, the Checkers were finally back on home ice and defeated the Wolf Pack in a 1-0 defensive game. The three wins gives Charlotte six more points in seven days and allow them to maintain the AHL points lead with 41.

Last Friday, the Checkers were able to avenge a 5-3 loss to the Hartford Wolf Pack from less than a week earlier with a 7-4 victory. Though they got down 3-1 early, they turned on the heat and kept depositing the puck into the back of the net. Martin Necas and Nicolas Roy both had four-point games, while six total Checkers logged at least two points. The game against the Springfield Thunderbirds last Saturday stole the weekend show, however. In what can be considered the game of the year thus far, the Checkers scored twice in the final minute of the game to force overtime, where they completed the comeback with a victory. After the Thunderbirds scored an empty-netter to go ahead 4-2 in regulation, the Checkers weren’t done as Jake Bean and Andrew Poturalski both sent shots past the Thunderbirds netminder. Once in overtime, Trevor Carrick received a pass on a breakaway and sent it home to give the Checkers the thrilling victory. You could hear Charlotte hockey fans screaming all the way back in North Carolina as the Checkers gained two more hard earned points.

After what seemed like forever, the Checkers were finally back home last night at Bojangles Coliseum for their third game against the Wolf Pack in less than two weeks. After scoring seven goals against them last time, Charlotte only managed one goal. But one goal was all that was necessary as goaltenders Alex Nedeljkovic and Callum Booth combined for the shutout effort. Dennis Robertson scored the only Checkers goal of the night.

It has been such a great year for the Charlotte Checkers thus far. They are leading the AHL in points by seven and just seem to keep rolling. They are an extremely fun team to watch and the atmosphere at the Coliseum has been electric. The rest of the country might not be aware yet, but Charlotte is a #HockeyTown! The Checkers will get a day off today before they take on the Wolf Pack once more on Saturday and the Utica Comets on Sunday. Then they will turn around and play the Comets again on Tuesday. All of these games are at home and I greatly encourage everyone to come out and be a part of the atmosphere. It truly is special. Go Checkers!

Garett

Checkers Check-In (December 14)