Coming off a pair of big wins on home ice, the Checkers are setting out for the midwest and taking on the Iowa Wild for two weekend matchups.
THE MATCHUP
- Record/Standings
- CLT - 6-4-1-0 (4th Atlantic)
- IA - 4-7-0-1 (6th Central)
- Power Play / Penalty Kill
- CLT - 16.7% (t-15th) / 81.6% (14th)
- IA - 12.8% (27th) / 81.3% (t-15th)
- Offense / Defense
- CLT - 3.09 GF/Game (17th) / 3.09 GA/Game (21st)
- IA - 2.00 GF/Game (t-29th) / 3.42 GA/Game (27th)
- Head-To-Head
- 2-0-0-0
THE STORYLINES
GRUDGE MATCH
With this set of games, Iowa will become the first team that Charlotte has faced more than two times this season - by the end of the two contests the Checkers will have played the Wild four times through their first 13 games.The first two meetings in the Queen City went the home team’s way, as the Checkers throttled Iowa in back-to-back games with a combined score of 10-3. Jack Devine and Wilmer Skoog each piled up four points over the series, while Cooper Black stopped 29 of 31 shots in the first win and 11 of just 12 shots that the team surrendered in the rematch.
JUMP-STARTING THE POWER PLAY
After going 20 consecutive man advantages without scoring a power-play goal, the Checkers snapped their skid when Brian Pinho lit the lamp in the third period of last Friday’s win over Syracuse. Charlotte couldn’t keep that momentum going, though, as it was blanked on three chances in the following night’s rematch. The Checkers now have one power-play goal over the last seven games and are 1-for-22 over that stretch.The Checkers will be looking to get back on track against an Iowa penalty kill that slots in right in the middle of the AHL’s PK rankings. The Wild surrendered a goal on their lone time shorthanded in their most recent outing, but that stands as the only blemish over their last eight contests - a run of successfully killing 19 of 20 power plays.
BETWEEN THE PIPES
Since tapping Cooper Black for the first eight starts of the season, the Checkers have spread the workload around for their most recent three contests. Kirill Gerasimyuk made 30 saves in his first AHL start on Nov. 2, Black stopped 17 of 18 in last Friday’s win over Syracuse and Kevin Mandolese made 28 saves and picked up the win in his Checkers debut the following night.For Mandolese, who is with the team on a professional tryout, that marked his first action of the season. Gerasimyuk, who is playing in North America for the first time, made one appearance for Charlotte prior to that in relief and has made two starts in the ECHL for Savannah - stopping 59 of 62 shots and going 1-0-1.
DEVINE'S DIVINE START
Jack Devine continues to impress early on in his first proper season as a pro. The 22-year-old racked up four points over the two contests against Syracuse and now sits with 11 points (5g, 6a) in 11 games - a total that ties him for third among all AHL rookies.THE PLAYERS TO WATCH
- Charlotte
- Jack Devine - 4 points in last 2 games
- Riese Gaber - 3 points in last 3 games
- Brian Pinho - 3 points in last 2 games
- Iowa
- Tyler Pitlick - 3 points in last 3 games
- Caedan Bankier - 4 points in last 4 games
- Nicolas Aube-Kubel - 2 points in last 3 games
THE INFO
Both games this weekend in Iowa are available via AHLTV on FloHockey! Click here to watch.Fans can also listen to the radio broadcast on the Checkers App or online.
