Checkers Check-In (December 28)
Photo: ahlstore.com
First of all, I hope all you Checker fans had a great Christmas. Even to the rest of the fans across the Atlantic division, I hope you had great Christmases as well. But now that Christmas is over, it’s back to hockey. The Checkers had six days off after playing Bridgeport last weekend, but are back in action tonight against the Laval Rocket.
After squaring off against the second-best team in the AHL points-wise, the Checkers split last weekend’s series to maintain a seven-point lead over the Sound Tigers. Last Friday nothing seemed to go right for Charlotte as the Sound Tigers got out to an early lead and never looked back. Goaltender Scott Darling took the loss for the Checkers and center Andrew Poturalski scored the only goal in a 6-1 loss. Bound and determined not to get swept in the two-game series to their division rivals, the Checkers came back the next day and gave the crowd something to cheer for as they took the victory 3-1 on home ice. Goalie Alex Nedeljkovic turned in an impressive performance with 27 saves and didn’t give up his first goal until late in the 3rd period. The offense took care of business with Poturalski scoring in his second straight day, along with Nicolas Roy and Morgan Geekie finding the back of the net. The Checkers now sit with 48 points on the season and the Sound Tigers at 41.
Tonight, the Checkers are back on the road for the first time in three weeks taking on the Laval Rocket. The Rocket are struggling this season, with only 28 points and are last in the North Division. Charlotte needs to take advantage of the matchup against the Rocket and keep building their division lead. They are 2-0 against the Rocket on the season. The Checkers will get Sunday off before traveling to Toronto and taking on the Marlies on New Year’s Eve. This is the first time this year the Checkers will face the Marlies, who are 14-12-5 and 5th in the North Division. It will be until January 11 when fans in Charlotte will get to cheer on the Checkers in Bojangles Coliseum again. While we all look forward to that, we will have to cheer on the Checkers from home on AHLtv. Go Checkers!
Garett