Weekly Report: Nov. 25, 2019

The Checkers’ longest road trip of the season thus far featured some up-and-down results, but the team ended it on a high note.

Week in Review

Lehigh Valley 3, Checkers 2

The Checkers kicked things off with a midweek matchup in Lehigh Valley, where they battled back to erase a two-goal deficit and tie the game early on in the third. The Phantoms would get the last laugh, however, notching the game-winning goal inside of the final three minutes of play. Full recap

Lehigh Valley 5, Checkers 4

After a day off the Checkers returned to Lehigh Valley and engaged in a back-and-forth affair, trading goals with the Phantoms until an early third-period strike from Max McCormick gave the visitors a 4-2 lead. The Phantoms punched back, however, scoring twice in just over two minutes to tie the game and force overtime, then coming through with the winner less than 90 seconds into the extra frame. Full recap

Checkers 1, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 0

The Checkers wrapped up their extended road trip with a visit to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for a matchup against former coach Mike Vellucci. A goalie battle ensued between Calder Cup-winning duo Alex Nedeljkovic and Dustin Tokarski, and it was the former who came out victorious with a 22-save shutout. Chase Priskie netted the lone goal on the night, notching a power-play tally with less than five minutes to play to earn Charlotte the victory. Full recap

Three Stars Of The Week

FIVE NOTABLES

1) KILLING IT

The Checkers continue to dominate when it comes to the penalty kill. They were perfect across their three-game week and have now successfully killed 41 of their last 42 times shorthanded. Boasting the top-ranked penalty kill in the league, the Checkers have allowed just five power-play goals all season and just two in their last 10 games.

2) NED SAYS NO

Facing his former coach’s new team, Alex Nedeljkovic stopped all 22 shots he saw on Saturday to shut out the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, giving him his second shutout of the season and his franchise-leading 12th in a Checkers sweater. Nedeljkovic is now 3-1-1 in his last five starts, surrendering just six total goals over that stretch, and has shutouts in two of his last three starts.

3) MAXED OUT

With a goal in Friday’s overtime loss and an assist in Saturday’s win, Max McCormick continues to heat up offensively. The forward has now recorded a point in five of the last six games and has already matched his 25-game point total with Colorado last season (8) through his first 13 games with the Checkers.

4) CLOSE CALLS

The Checkers are making a habit of close contests, with six of their last seven games having been decided by one goal – including each of the last four. They have had nine of their 17 games this season decided by a single goal, posting a 3-3-3 record in those situations.

5) POWERING UP

The penalty kill may be garnering most of the attention, but Charlotte’s power play has swung in the right direction as of late as well. The Checkers have a power-play goal in five of their last six games and have pushed their percentage up enough to crack the AHL’s top 10, slotting in as the ninth-best man advantage in the league.

RANKS

• Chase Priskie is tied for fifth among rookie defensemen in points (10) and tied for fourth in assists (7)
• Kyle Wood leads all AHL defensemen in shootout goals, shootout percentage and shootout winners

INJURIES

• Stelio Mattheos - Missed seven games starting 11/8

Transactions

Incoming

• 11/19 - Kerby Rychel - Signed to AHL contract

Outgoing

• 11/25 - Casey Bailey - Released from PTO
• 11/21 - Cedric Lacroix - Assigned to Greenville (ECHL)
• 11/20 - Anthony Louis - Traded to Texas (AHL)

Coming Up

By the Numbers

CATEGORY	RECORD	AHL RANK	LAST WEEK
Power play	20.8%	t-7th	7th
Penalty kill	94.0%	1st	1st
Goals per game	2.65	23rd	t-23rd
Shots per game	30.35	14th	16th
Goals allowed per game	2.94	18th	17th
Shots allowed per game	29.47	14th	16th
Penalty minutes per game	15.00	5th	3rd

LEADERS

CATEGORY	LEADER(S)
Points	Morgan Geekie (11), Brian Gibbons, Chase Priskie (10)
Goals	Julien Gauthier (6), Morgan Geekie, Eetu Luostarinen (5)
Assists	Roland McKeown (8), Brian Gibbons, Chase Priskie (7)
Power play goals	Julien Gauthier (3), Four tied (2)
Shorthanded goals	Eetu Luostarinen, Chase Priskie, Brian Gibbons, Colin Markison (1)
Game-winning goals	Six tied (1)
Shots on goal	Julien Gauthier (46), Morgan Geekie (40), Clark Bishop (34)
Penalty minutes	Kyle Wood (22), Morgan Geekie, Max McCormick (20)
Plus/minus	Fredrik Claesson (+5), Clark Bishop (+3), Cavan Fitzgerald, Colin Markison (+1)
Wins	Anton Forsberg (4)
Goals-against average	Alex Nedeljkovic (2.46)
Save percentage	Alex Nedeljkovic (.912)