Bojangles Game Preview: March 8 vs. Hershey

Before the Checkers take the ice this season, we’re breaking down everything fans need to know with the Bojangles Game Preview!

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THE MATCHUP

It’s a big weekend at the Coliseum as a surging Checkers team coming off a road trip that saw them take two of the three contests hosts the league-leading Hershey Bears, who are aiming to defend their Calder Cup crown.

THE STORYLINES

Atlantic Traffic Jam

The Checkers find themselves right in the thick of a tightly contested race in the Atlantic Division. They currently sit in fifth place with 60 points, putting them five points ahead of the sixth place Thunderbirds and seven points ahead of the Phantoms, who are on the outside of the playoff picture looking in at seventh place. On the other side of things, the Checkers are three points behind the fourth place Wolf Pack and four behind the third place Penguins. The reward for claiming the third or fourth seeds come playoff time is significant, as those teams would earn home-ice advantage during the short play-in round that kicks off the Calder Cup Playoffs.

The top two teams in the division have built quite a gap between themselves and the brawl below - Providence hails in second place with a nine-point lead over the next team and Hershey reigns at the top with a staggering 13-point advantage over even the Bruins.

On A Roll

The Checkers enter the weekend on one of their best runs of the season, earning points in eight of their last nine contests. In fact, their 14 points are tied for the most of any Atlantic Division team over the last 10 games. That includes the frontrunning Hershey squad, who are 6-2-0-2 over their last 10 and enter the game on a two-game winless skid.

Big Names

The NHL Trade Deadline is at 3 p.m. on Friday, and with it comes the annual whirlwind of transactions. The moves have already begun, and both sides will be trotting out some fresh faces.

For Charlotte it’s Will Lockwood, who rejoins the team after sticking with Florida since mid-December. The 25-year-old forward was a force in his original stint with the Checkers, posting seven points (3g, 4a) in 14 games and will be looking to kick start a Charlotte offense that has run hot and cold as of late. For Hershey it’s 2022-23 AHL First All-Star Team honoree Matthew Phillips and NHL All-Star Evgeny Kuznetsov - both of whom cleared waivers earlier in the week and have joined Hershey for the trip to Charlotte.

Knight Time

Spencer Knight has strung together a solid run between the pipes for Charlotte as of late. The netminder has won each of his last five starts and allowed 10 total goals along the way, and his 30-save effort in Saturday’s win over the Penguins marked the first time he’s hit that threshold since Jan. 17.

THE QUOTES

Checkers forward Gerry Mayhew on Charlotte's chemistry
"Some guys are in, some guys are out - we’ve been together long enough now that I think everyone has some chemistry. I think we’re doing a great job as a team."

Head coach Geordie Kinnear on Charlotte's chemistry
"When you come together as a team, care for the guy beside you, care about the guy beside you, you start to play a little bit better. We’re starting to find some chemistry with the lines."

Mayhew on this weekend's divisional matchup
"Our division is so close right now. If we want that home spot we have to take over fourth and I think Hartford is ahead of us right now and we play them a ton. These are two big games this weekend against Hershey, the first-place team. If we can get two wins there I think we can continue to roll."

Mayhew on taking advantage of home-ice advantage
"We’re home for two weeks now, we can string together a couple wins here and continue to roll because we have a tough schedule ahead."

THE ONES TO WATCH

Charlotte

• Mackie Samoskevich - 10 points in last 9 games
• Wilmer Skoog - 4 assists in last 5 games
• Ryan McAllister - 5 points in last 6 games

Hershey

• Pierrick Dube - 9 points in last 12 games
• Joe Snively - 9 points in last 11 games
• Chase Priskie - 5 points in last 6 games

THE PROMOS

THE INFO

Puck drops tonight at 7 p.m. If you can't be at the Coliseum for some reason, you can catch the action on AHLTV.