The Checkers are striking back out on the road for an extended run through the North Division, starting Wednesday night in Rochester.
THE MATCHUP
- Record/Standings
- CLT - 31-17-3-3 (4th Atlantic)
- ROC - 34-16-3-3 (2nd North)
- Power Play / Penalty Kill
- CLT - 21.8% (5th) / 86.7% (1st)
- ROC - 18.9% (17th) / 85.6% (2nd)
- Offense / Defense
- CLT - 3.19 GF/Game (14th) / 2.59 GA/Game (3rd)
- ROC - 3.43 GF/Game (t-4th) / 2.70 GA/Game (t-6th)
- Head-To-Head
- 1-1-0-0
THE STORYLINES
HEAD NORTH
This tilt against the Amerks marks the first of six consecutive games for Charlotte against North Division opponents - all of which are on the road. So far this season, the Checkers are 4-3-0-1 against North teams.Rochester specifically presents a challenging matchup for the Checkers. The Amerks hold the third-best record in the AHL and rank in the league’s top 10 on both the offensive and defensive side of the puck.
Each of the previous two contests between Rochester and Charlotte featured shutouts - the first notched by Ken Appleby in a 6-0 win and the second recorded by Devon Levi in a 3-0 victory the following night.
LOCKDOWN
As the season has progressed the Checkers have become one of the stronger defensive teams in the league. They boast the third-best goals against per game average while allowing the fewest shots per game in the AHL by a margin of nearly four full shots.Heading into Wednesday’s tilt, the Checkers have surrendered a total of 23 goals across their last 12 games.
FINDING THE BACK OF THE NET
The Checkers are 6-3-0-1 over their last 10 contests, and a trend across those victories has been an uptick in offense. Over that stretch Charlotte scored at least four goals five different times and earned a win in each of those instances - the lone other win over that run saw the Checkers score three goals. In the four losses, they scored a total of four goals.This season the Checkers are 22-1-0-1 when scoring at least four goals and 9-16-3-2 when falling below that threshold. Taking that another step, 29 of Charlotte’s 31 wins this season have come in games in which the team has scored at least three goals.
CARRICK KEEPS SCORING
By notching a goal and an assist on Sunday Trevor Carrick clinched the sixth 40-point season of his career and his third in a row. He ranks fifth among all AHL defensemen in points, is tied for fourth in assists and seventh in goals and is tied for the third most power-play points in the league.This is the ninth time in team history that a defenseman has scored 40 points in a season, with Carrick accounting for four of those. Only two blue liners have ever hit 50 points - Bobby Sanguinetti (50 in 2011-12) and Lucas Carlsson (a franchise-record 54 in 2022-23).
Carrick is the franchise’s all-time leader in goals, assists and points by a defenseman, as well as games played and assists overall, and he trails Zac Dalpe by 17 points for the third spot on the all-time points list. He is also one shy of tying the single-season record for power-play goals by a blue liner and seven power-play points away from tying that mark.
THE MILESTONES
- Trevor Carrick is one shy of tying franchise single-season record for power-play goals by a defenseman (Mark Flood - 8 in 2013-14)
THE PLAYERS TO WATCH
- Charlotte
- Ben Steeves - Three points (1g, 2a) in two games against ROC this season
- Trevor Carrick - Four points (3g, 1a) in last three games
- Rasmus Asplund - 15 points (5g, 10a) in last 16 games
- Rochester
- Nikita Novikov - Two points (1g, 1a) in two games against CLT this season
- Noah Ostlund - 11 points (7g, 4a) in last 10 games
- Konsta Helenius - 7 points (2g, 5a) in last 7 games
THE INFO
Tonight's game in Rochester - along with every game this season - is available via the new AHLTV on FloHockey! Click here to get a subscription.For the full list of broadcast options, click here!
