Charlotte Checkers Report (Nov. 14)

Good afternoon Charlotte Checkers fans. As the team prepares for life on the road over the next ten days, let’s catch up on last weekend’s action. Playing in front of the home crowd in Bojangles Coliseum, the Checkers split last weekend’s series with the Thunderbirds with a win on Friday night and an overtime loss on Saturday. Even though the team is looking for their first weekend sweep of the season, it was a better weekend than the previous one, which sent the team back home from Cleveland with only one point.

Friday night’s game was a defensive one, with Alex Nedeljkovic in the net for Charlotte. After a scoreless first period, both teams cashed in one goal in the second, with Steven Lorentz doing the damage for the Checkers. The third period was very similar to the first, with neither team finding the back of the net…that is until Colin Markison scored the game winner for the good guys. With 5:00 remaining and overtime looming, the Thunderbirds went on a powerplay and things looked dim for Charlotte. But Markison found a loose puck and deposited it home for the shorthanded goal and ultimately the game winner. It was an exciting start to the weekend, and believe it or not, Nedeljkovic’s first win of the season.

On Saturday night the Checkers dug themselves an early deficit, but were able to dig themselves out of it by scoring three unanswered goals to give them a 3-2 lead in the third. This was something that Checkers fans became accustomed to seeing last season, where the team made a trademark out of thrilling, come-from-behind victories. Except this time, the Checkers couldn’t hang on. Just as it looked like they might get the weekend sweep, Brady Keeper scored with under a minute left in regulation to force overtime. Then Daniel Audette found the back of the net for the Thunderbirds, giving them the 4-3 overtime victory. Roland McKeown, Max McCormick, and Julien Gauthier all scored goals for the Checkers.

With the three points from last weekend, the Checkers now have 12 on the season and sit in 7th out of 8th place in the Atlantic Division. Division leader Hartford Wolf Pack has 24, and the Thunderbirds are in 2nd with 20. This weekend the team will be in Hershey, Pennsylvania taking on the Bears tomorrow and Saturday nights. The Bears are tied for 3rd in the Atlantic Division with 18 points. Hopefully the Checkers can take some of the momentum they built this past weekend into Hershey and take all four points from the series. Remember, you can catch all the action on AHLtv. Go Checkers!

Garett