Charlotte Checkers Report (Nov. 29)
Photo: 1000logos.net
It’s Friday again so that means it’s time to check in on our Charlotte Checkers. With four games in the past week, it’s been a busy week for the Checkers and the results have been mixed. In what has been a slow and frustrating start to the season, the Checkers picking up five points this past week is nice to see. There’s still plenty of time in the season, but there’s certainly some work to be done. At 19 points on the season, Charlotte still sits in 7th of 8th place in the Atlantic Division, eight points behind division-leaders Hartford and Providence.
Last Friday the Checkers traveled back up to Lehigh Valley for a rematch from last Wednesday’s 3-2 loss. In a back and forth contest, the Phantoms scored back to back goals in the 3rd to tie things up at 4. After the match went to overtime, it was Mark Friedman for the Phantoms who came away the hero after sending a shot past Charlotte goalie Anton Forsberg, who allowed five goals on 35 shot attempts on the night.
Staying in the state of Pennsylvania, the Checkers traveled to Wilkes-Barre the next day to take on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. It was the first matchup of the year with the Penguins, whose head coach is Mike Vellucci, the head coach that led the Checkers to their first ever Calder Cup last season. The Penguins’ goaltender, Dustin Tokarski, was also part of last season’s championship team, as he was the backup for Alex Nedeljkovic. So every matchup with the Penguins this year will be very interesting. And this one was as well. It was a showdown between the two goaltenders, with Charlotte’s Nedeljkovic coming out on the winning side. He made 22 saves on 22 shot attempts, leading the Checkers to a 1-0 win. Tokarski was great as well, saving 26 of 27 shots, but took his first regulation loss since February 2 when he was with the Checkers. Chase Priskie scored the only goal of the game, delivering for Charlotte late in the 3rd period.
Back home in Charlotte this week for a Tuesday/Wednesday series with the North Division’s Cleveland Monsters, the Checkers split and picked up two more points. Charlotte got down early in Tuesday’s matchup and couldn’t climb out of the hole, losing 3-1. Forsberg took the loss for Charlotte, but the offense was sluggish all night. The Checkers’ only goal came in the third from Cavan Fitzgerald. Looking for revenge the next night, the offense found its rhythm and lit up the scoreboard for five goals, its most since scoring seven against the Syracuse Crunch on October 19th. It was a nice turnaround win for Charlotte who needs to find a way to string a few victories together in a row.
Inconsistency and coming out on the wrong end of close games has plagued Charlotte this season. Only once have the Checkers put together back to back victories, and that was over a month ago when they beat the Crunch in regulation and the Phantoms in a shootout. If they can find their rhythm as an offense, this season could turn around very quickly. Nedeljkovic has been playing great in the net lately, returning to form, but the offense has been very slow and inconsistent. Even though they are in 7th place in the Atlantic, they are just eight points behind the division leaders, which can be made up in a hurry. This weekend will be a big series when the Checkers take on division co-leader Providence Bruins. Saturday and Sunday’s matchups will both be on home ice, so come out to support our Checkers and help give them the boost they need to make some more noise in this division. Game times are at 6 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday, and tickets can be purchased on gocheckers.com. Go Checkers!
Garett