Charlotte Checkers Report (Feb. 21)
gocheckers.com
It’s Friday so that means it’s time to review/preview our Charlotte Checkers. After a couple of losses last weekend to the Springfield Thunderbirds, the Checkers will look to get back on track tonight in the city of Binghamton, New York against the Devils. The Devils play in the North Division where they are currently 5th with 56 points on the year. They have won four games in a row and have won six of their last ten. After snapping their 5-game winning streak with a pair of losses (including an OT loss) last weekend, the Checkers are now 4th in the Atlantic Division with 62 points on the season.
Last Saturday night provided an exciting game for Checkers fans, but not the outcome they wanted. After Oliwer Kaski got Charlotte on the board first with his goal midway through the first period, but it was the Thunderbirds that scored the next three goals. There was no quit in the home team, however. Janne Kuokkanen scored at the end of the second and Derek Sheppard followed suit early in the third to knot things up at three. Overtime would eventually ensue, but Rodrigo Abols beat Charlotte goalie Alex Nedeljkovic for the game winner less than three minutes into the extra frame. Nedeljkovic ended the night with 33 saves, but it wasn’t quite enough as the Checkers gained just a point.
Looking for revenge the next day, the Checkers would open up the game’s scoring halfway through the first just like the previous day, with a goal from Gustav Forsling. The two teams traded blows in the second, with former Checker Aleksi Saarela getting in the scoring column for Springfield. The Thunderbirds would score three straight goals from the end of the second period and into the third and it proved to be too much for the Checkers. Steven Lorentz scored in the final minute, but Charlotte came up one goal too short, falling with the same 4-3 final score as the previous day.
After a small bump in the road last weekend, the Checkers will begin a 6-game road stand that won’t have them back in Bojangles Coliseum until March 6. After games tonight and tomorrow, they will play the Hershey Bears and Lehigh Valley Phantoms before coming back to Charlotte. And the big news this week that shook up Checkers fans was the team trading Julien Gauthier to the Rangers in exchange for Joey Keane. Gauthier was a huge part of this team and a fan favorite, so it will be interesting to see how the team moves on without him. Remember if you want to catch the away-game action, you can watch all games on AHLtv. Until next time, go Checkers!
Garett