The long wait is finally over and hockey season is officially here! The new-look Checkers are kicking things off with a visit to their division rivals in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
THE MATCHUP (Last season)
- Record/Standings
- CLT - 39-26-7-0 (4th Atlantic)
- WBS - 39-24-8-1 (3rd Atlantic)
- Power Play / Penalty Kill
- CLT - 16.3% (30th) / 83.2% (13th)
- WBS - 17.2% (t-25th) / 85.4% (2nd)
- Offense / Defense
- CLT - 3.01 GF/Game, 2.82 GA/Game
- WBS - 2.93 GF/Game, 2.69 GA/Game
- Head-To-Head
- 4-4-0-0
THE STORYLINES
Fresh Start
Saturday’s opener will bring with it a slew of new faces in Checkers sweaters - in fact, of the 28 players currently on the roster, 17 have never suited up for Charlotte. The fresh blood will look to help the Checkers change their fortunes, having lost three of their last four season-opening contests.Carrick's Comeback
Trevor Carrick is back in red and black, signing a deal over the summer to return to the Checkers for the first time since the 2018-19 season. Carrick has appeared in the second-most games in franchise history (347), trailing only his new teammate Zac Dalpe (353).Between The Pipes
The Checkers are utilizing a platoon of three netminders to start the season. Cooper Black heads into his proper rookie campaign after earning one start at the tail end of last season, while Ken Appleby is coming off a season that saw him play at all three levels - NHL, AHL and ECHL. The most recent addition to the group is Chris Driedger, who finished fourth in the AHL last season in goals-against average and ninth in save percentage while backstopping Coachella Valley to a Western Conference title.On The Road Again
The Checkers are beginning their schedule away from home for the first time since the 2021-22 season. That could be positive news for the team, as it fared slightly better on the road last season (.597 points percentage) than at home (.583)THE QUOTES
Checkers Head Coach Geordie Kinnear on how his team is coming together“You have to be able to go out there and make decisions and have awareness. That’s going to take a little bit of time because we have a lot of new bodies. The work ethic part, the compete part, the tempo of the practice, the intent of the practice - it’s been an impressive group. We’re going to build every day but I think we all understand that we have a lot of work to do”
Kinnear on the team buying into an identity
“I feel that the group is excited to play a certain way, and we’re going to provide that. Now it’s up to us to make adjustments. We want to play a certain way, we’re going to start that way and just build and build every day.”
THE INFO
Tonight’s game - along with every game this season - is available via the new AHLTV on FloHockey! Click here to get a subscription.Additionally, Mellow Mushroom in Uptown is the official road game destination, as they will be showing every road game throughout the season!
