Charlotte Checkers Report (Feb. 15)
wbtv.com
Welcome back Checkers fans! After taking a week off from writing these reports with the flu, I’m back with good news. Since I last reported two weeks ago, the Checkers find themselves on a 5-game win streak. They have wins over the Toronto Marlies, Hartford Wolf Pack, and Rochester Americans during the streak and look to continue their winning ways tonight at home against the Springfield Thunderbirds. On the heels of this five game win streak, the Checkers find themselves alone in 3rd place in the Atlantic Division, only behind the Hershey Bears and Hartford Wolf Pack.
There are some interesting things to note about this team throughout their magnificent run since the beginning of December. After being settled at the bottom of the standings for most of the young season, a switch suddenly flipped and the team has been among the hottest in the AHL. Since December 7th, the Checkers have a 20-6-0 record. Their only hiccup since then has been a 3-game losing streak that came at the end of January, but they have since won five in a row. Other than that 3-game losing streak, they have not lost back-to-back games since November 30th and December 1st, losing a pair to the Bruins. And since December 7th, they have averaged 4.2 goals per game, after experiencing a sluggish offense for most of the season prior to that point.
After sweeping the Wolf Pack last weekend (which was a big series for the Checkers), Charlotte went on to complete a mid-week sweep this week against the Americans. Tuesday’s game saw goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic picking up yet another win on the season after saving 26 of 28 shots faced, and right winger Julien Gauthier score two of the team’s four goals. The result was a 4-2 victory for the good guys.
On Wednesday, with Anton Forsberg in the net for the Checkers, the team offered five goals in support of their netminder in route to a 5-2 victory. Five different Checkers got into the scoring column, while Forsberg stayed busy in the net. He had an incredible game, making 42 saves on the night. Hats off to him and the rest of the team for giving the crowd another great game.
The Checkers will wrap up their homestand tonight and tomorrow against the Thunderbirds, who are in 6th place in the division with 54 points, seven behind the Checkers. Springfield is currently on a 3-game losing steak and are .500 in their last 10 games. Then Charlotte will hit the road for a while and won’t be back in the Coliseum until March 6. Make sure to snag last second tickets for tonight or tomorrow’s game and be part of another great season. This team is fun to watch and it’s always a rowdy atmosphere inside Bojangles Coliseum. Go Checkers!
Garett