Charlotte Checkers Report (Dec. 27)
wbtv.com
Last week I brought you the best Charlotte Checkers report of the season so far, as the Checkers had put together three wins in a week and had moved up to 6th place in the Atlantic Division after spending most of the season in 7th of 8th place. This week the Checkers maintain their 6th place standing over Lehigh Valley and Bridgeport after winning one of two games against the Phantoms last weekend. At 31 points, the Checkers are ten behind division leaders Hartford Wolf Pack and Providence Bruins and three ahead of last place Bridgeport Sound Tigers.
Last Saturday kicked off the weekend series between the Checkers and the Phantoms, which was the last two games on the six-game homestand. Looking to carry the momentum into the weekend, the offense came out a little flat as they didn’t get on the board until 15 minutes into the final period. The Phantoms opened up the scoring with two goals in the 2nd and added one halfway through the 3rd to go up 3-0. That’s when the Checkers finally lit up the lamp with the Max McCormick goal, followed by a Clark Bishop goal a minute later.
The comeback effort fell just short, however as Phantom goaltender Alex Lyon shut the door for the rest of the game. Lyon saved 32 shots on 34 attempts. Alex Nedeljkovic, who started in net for Charlotte, saved 32 shots on 35 shot attempts from the Phantoms. The final score was a 3-2 loss.
The Checkers would salvage the series the next day though. Like the previous day, the Phantoms got on the board first, with a goal from Tyler Wotherspoon in the 1st period. But unlike the previous day, the Phantoms wouldn’t pile on any more goals before the Checkers did. The 2nd period was all Charlotte with Gustav Forsling and Roland McKeown goals to put the home team ahead 2-1 going into the final frame. McKeown’s goal was scored shorthanded.
Eight minutes into the 3rd period, Greg Carey knotted things up at two goals apiece with his goal for the Phantoms. But the home crowd helped give the team the boost it needed and shortly thereafter Chase Priskie broke the tie and gave Charlotte a 3-2 lead. With an empty net and the final push from Lehigh Valley, Steven Lorentz took advantage of no goalie and sent the crowd away with a 4-2 victory.
The Checkers are off tonight, but will travel up to Cleveland to take on the Monsters tomorrow night (Saturday at 7:00 p.m.) and Monday at noon. The Monsters, who play in the North Division, have 31 points on the season just like Charlotte does. The two teams have also faced off four times already on the season, with Cleveland holding the advantage with two wins in regulation and an OT win. Charlotte’s only win against them was a 5-2 win at home exactly one month ago. It should be a good series and I look forward to seeing how things turn out.
The team also will be on the road for a few weeks and won’t return to action at Bojangles Coliseum until January 14 against Hershey. You can go ahead and get your tickets on the team’s website (gocheckers.com). Meanwhile, you can catch the away game action on AHLtv. Go Checkers!
Garett