Charlotte Checkers Report (Dec. 20)
wbtv.com
It’s time for another weekly Charlotte Checkers report and we are bringing great news! With four games in the past week, the Checkers won three and added 6 points to their season total. In what has been a struggling season thus far for the team, this is the most promising stretch of the season so far. What I like the most is the offensive numbers. The offense has certainly has had its struggles this season, but these last four games has seen them explode for 20 goals. That’s a promising sign as we finish out 2019 and head into the new year.
Last Friday night the Checkers began a six-game homestand and the first of the weekend series against the Syracuse Crunch. After digging themselves an early 2-0 deficit, Charlotte scored three unanswered goals to take the 3-2 victory. Dave Gust, Chase Priskie, and Morgan Geekie (who’s been great this year) all found the back of the net. The defense played great as well, only allowing 18 shots on goal the entire night. It was an excellent come-back win and great way to kick off the home stand.
The Crunch would have their revenge, however. The following night’s game was a “wild back and forth game” as described by Nicholas Niedzielski from gocheckers.com. The Crunch opened up the scoring late in the first, but the Checkers answered the call just a minute later with a goal from Janne Kuokkanen. Then, 27 seconds into the second period Kuokkanen lit up the lamp again, followed by a Jake Bean goal to put the home team ahead 3-1. Not to be outdone, the Crunch scored three unanswered and regained the lead with seven minutes left in the game. With the home crowd rallying behind them, Steven Lorentz tied the game up at four apiece, giving way to a loud arena. But Boris Katchouk would ruin the party in Charlotte sending one past goalie Anton Forsberg with under two minutes left to ultimately give the Crunch the win. It was a very exciting game that just didn’t quite work out the way the Checkers needed it to.
Staying in Charlotte for a mid-week series against the Hartford Wolf Pack, the Checkers clinched their fists for the bout against the then division-leading Wolf Pack. This is where things got real promising for Charlotte. They sent a great Wolf Pack team back to Hartford on Wednesday with two losses, scoring 13 total goals against them. It’s like the team came out with a vengeance. Goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic obtained the win in Tuesday’s game, stopping 19 of 22 shots, while the offense took care of the rest, scoring six times in the 6-3 victory. Julien Gauthier led the way with two goals in that one.
Then, for only the third time all year, the Checkers won back to back games with another win on Wednesday night. Proving their six-goal outburst was no fluke, Charlotte sounded the goal horn seven times in that game, leading to a 7-1 win. Anton Forsberg was phenomenal in the net for Charlotte, stopping 28 of 29 shots and seven different Checkers put their name in the scoring column.
It was a nice week for the Checkers who finally have momentum on their side for the first time all season. Now the question is, how long will they carry that momentum. Hopefully for a while, while they try to climb the Atlantic Division standings, where they have been 7th of 8th for most of the year. After this past week, they have now climbed to 6th place with 29 points, 12 behind the division-leading Bruins. The team will wrap up its homestand this weekend, with Saturday and Sunday games against division foe Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Come out to support our Checkers and help them climb a few more spots in the standings. Get your tickets at gocheckers.com. Go Checkers!
Garett