Weekly Report: Dec. 9, 2019

The Checkers powered through their North Division road trip and came away with wins in two of three contests.

Week in Review

Checkers 5, Syracuse 1

A strong start propelled the Checkers to another lopsided win in Syracuse, with Julien Gauthier lighting the lamp twice and Jake Bean racking up three helpers to bury the Crunch. Full recap

Rochester 4, Checkers 0

Charlotte’s first visit to Rochester was a tight contest until late in the second period when the Amerks poured in three goals over a three-minute stretch to blow things open. The Checkers couldn’t overcome that avalanche of goals and ended up being shut out for the second time in three games. Full recap

Checkers 3, Rochester 1

The Checkers rebounded nicely the following night, again propelled by an early two-goal lead thanks to a red-hot power play. Anton Forsberg’s 32 saves carried the visitors the rest of the way as they earned themselves a winning road trip. Full recap

Three Stars Of The Week

FIVE NOTABLES

1) STRONG STARTS

A common theme in both of the Checkers’ wins this week was their strong starts. On both Wednesday in Syracuse and Saturday in Rochester, the Checkers secured two-goal leads in the first period and paved the way for key victories. That has been a good omen for Charlotte this season, as the team is 10-3-1 when scoring the game’s first goal – accounting for each of their wins this season – and 0-8-2 when allowing the first goal.

2) POWERING UP

The Checkers went 4-for-13 on the man advantage over the three games this week, remaining in the top 10 of the league rankings. They notched two power-play goals in each of the wins, the fourth and fifth times they have hit that mark, and have a 4-0-1 record in those contests. The Checkers are also 8-4-3 when they score at least one power-play goal.

3) FORSBERG STANDS TALL

After following his perfect 4-0-0 start with a tough 0-4-2 skid, Anton Forsberg reverted back to his stellar self this week. The netminder won both of his starts while surrendering just a single goal in each, turning aside 49 of the 51 shots he was faced with. Forsberg now accounts for six of the Checkers 10 wins on the season.

4) GOAT GETS GOALS

Julien Gauthier imposed his will offensively during the road trip, lighting the lamp three times over the three games. The forward helped set the tone in both of the team’s wins by opening the game’s scoring, while Wednesday’s victory saw him find the back of the net twice over an 83-second span in the first period. Two of Gauthier’s tallies on the week came on the man advantage, giving him a team-best five power-play goals this season. The third-year pro was rewarded for his strong play with an NHL recall ahead of Carolina’s extended road trip this week.

5) ROAD WARRIORS

The Checkers continued to produce on the road this week, improving to 3-1-1 in their last five contests away from home. They are now 6-6-2 on the road while 4-5-1 on home ice.

RANKS

• Julien Gauthier is tied for fifth in the AHL in power-play goals (5)
• Kyle Wood leads all AHL defensemen in shootout goals, shootout percentage and shootout winners

INJURIES

• Stelio Mattheos - Missed 14 games starting 11/8
• Kerby Rychel - Missed 4 games starting 12/1
• Cedric Lacroix - Missed 1 game starting 12/7

Transactions

Incoming

• 12/7 - Brian Gibbons - Assigned from Carolina (NHL)
• 12/7 - Clark Bishop - Assigned from Carolina (NHL)

Outgoing

• 12/8 - Julien Gauthier - Recalled by Carolina (NHL)

Coming Up

By the Numbers

CATEGORY	RECORD	AHL RANK	LAST WEEK
Power play	20.4%	t-8th	t-7th
Penalty kill	92.7%	1st	1st
Goals per game	2.50	29th	23rd
Shots per game	30.79	11th	14th
Goals allowed per game	2.88	t-11th	18th
Shots allowed per game	28.67	t-9th	14th
Penalty minutes per game	16.17	2nd	5th

LEADERS

CATEGORY	LEADER(S)
Points	Jake Bean (14), Morgan Geekie, Roland McKeown (13)
Goals	Julien Gauthier (10), Morgan Geekie (6), Eetu Luostarinen, Steven Lorentz (5)
Assists	Roland McKeown (12), Jake Bean (10), Brian Gibbons, Chase Priskie (8)
Power play goals	Julien Gauthier (5), Morgan Geekie (3), Three tied (2)
Shorthanded goals	Eetu Luostarinen, Chase Priskie, Brian Gibbons, Colin Markison (1)
Game-winning goals	Morgan Geekie, Julien Gauthier (2), Five tied (1)
Shots on goal	Julien Gauthier (64), Morgan Geekie (54), Roland McKeown (49)
Penalty minutes	Max McCormick (41), Brian Gibbons (32), Julien Gauthier (26))
Plus/minus	Cavan Fitzgerald, Clark Bishop (+4), Fredrik Claesson (+2)
Wins	Anton Forsberg (6)
Goals-against average	Alex Nedeljkovic (2.61)
Save percentage	Alex Nedeljkovic (.904)