Weekly Report: Rising Up The Standings, Lind & Carrick's Hot Streaks And More

The Checkers wrapped up a busy home stand with a stellar week, sweeping the Penguins and taking three of four points from the Monsters to continue their ascent up the division standings.

Week in Review

Checkers 5, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 4

The Checkers and Penguins went back-and-forth throughout their Tuesday night matchup, with the visitors taking an early 2-0 lead before Charlotte racked up four unanswered tallies, only for the Penguins to even things up with a pair in the third. It was Cole Schwindt who came through as the hero, however, capitalizing on a Wilkes-Barre/Scranton turnover and lighting the lamp with 91 seconds to play to lift the Checkers to victory. Full recap

Checkers 4, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 1

The following night’s rematch was a much more lopsided affair, with the Checkers striking early and never looking back. Led by two helpers from Serron Noel and 22 saves from Joey Daccord, Charlotte coasted to a big 4-1 victory. Full recap

Checkers 4, Cleveland 2

The Checkers kept their winning ways rolling as they welcomed Cleveland to town for the first time, shaking off an early deficit to bury the Monsters 4-2 behind 26 saves from Spencer Knight. Full recap

Checkers 5, Cleveland 6 (OT)

The Checkers kept their winning ways rolling as they welcomed Cleveland to town for the first time, shaking off an early deficit to bury the Monsters 4-2 behind 26 saves from Spencer Knight. Full recap

Three Stars Of The Week

QUICK HITS

HEATING UP

This past week saw the Checkers rattle off their longest win streak of the season when they notched four consecutive victories. While that streak came to an end with Sunday’s overtime loss to Cleveland, the Checkers have earned a point in each of their last five games - a new high mark for the season.

ON THE WAY UP

The Checkers’ recent hot streak has seen them gain ground in the jam-packed Atlantic Division standings. Picking up a point on Sunday pushed Charlotte’s points percentage just above the Hershey Bears’ to lift the Checkers into fourth place. They currently sit .006 percentage points behind the third-place Wolf Pack, while Providence holds second place with a .610 mark and Springfield reigns atop the division with a .628 percentage. The Checkers will have another chance to rise up the standings this weekend, as they face the Bruins on Friday and the Thunderbirds on Saturday.

LIND LIGHTS IT UP

Kole Lind’s three-point outburst on Sunday was just the latest in a string of strong offensive performances for the forward. Lind is currently on a seven-game point streak, the longest by a Checker this season and tied for the longest active streak in the AHL. This red-hot run has seen Lind rack up 18 points over his last 16 games in a Charlotte sweater, and he has found the score sheet in 14 of his last 16 games.

CARRICK CHIPS IN

Lind isn’t the only one on an offensive tear right now. Connor Carrick lit up the Monsters on Sunday with four helpers - setting a new career single-high for assists and points along the way - and has now racked up 15 points over his last 16 games. In fact, since Jan. 15 only one defenseman in the AHL has recorded more points than Carrick.

HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK

Alexander True follows up his own pass and pulls of a slick move to light the lamp in Saturday's win!

What a finish! pic.twitter.com/Pkjx3nUbCT

— Charlotte Checkers (@CheckersHockey) February 20, 2022

RANKS

• Zac Dalpe and Scott Wilson are both tied for 10th in the AHL in goals (19)
• Cole Schwindt leads all rookies and is tied for fourth overall in plus-minus (+18)
• Kole Lind ranks third in the AHL in penalty minutes (98)
• Zac Dalpe ranks ninth in the AHL in shots on goal (126)
• Cale Fleury is tied for the league lead in shorthanded assists (3)
• Cole Schwindt is tied for eighth among AHL rookies in goals (13)
• Logan Hutsko is tied for seventh among AHL rookies in assists (23)
• Henry Bowlby is tied for sixth among AHL rookies in plus-minus (+11)
• Serron Noel is tied for sixth among AHL rookies in penalty minutes (51)
• Cole Schwindt is tied for the lead among AHL rookies in shorthanded goals (2)
• Connor Carrick is tied for second among AHL defensemen in goals (8), tied for 10th in assists (20) and tied for seventh in points (28)
• Connor Carrick is tied for the league lead among defensemen in power-play goals (4) and is tied for second in shorthanded goals (1)
• Christopher Gibson is tied for third in the AHL in shorthanded assists (2)

INJURIES

• Cale Fleury - Out since 2/20
• Aleksi Heponiemi - Out since 2/19
• Grigori Denisenko - Out since 1/15
• Gustav Olofsson - Out since 1/12
• Max Gildon - Out since 12/19
• Chris Gibson - Out since 12/3
• John Ludvig - Out since 11/12

Transactions

Incoming

• Feb. 17 - Chase Priskie - Assigned from Florida (NHL)
• Feb. 12 - Matt Kiersted - Assigned from Allen (ECHL)

Outgoing

• None

Coming Up

By the Numbers

CATEGORY	RECORD	AHL RANK
Power play	20.9%	10th
Penalty kill	81.7%	11th
Goals per game	3.45	5th
Shots per game	28.96	21st
Goals allowed per game	2.96	11th
Shots allowed per game	29.17	10th
Penalty minutes per game	12.49	17th

LEADERS

CATEGORY	LEADER(S)
Points	Kole Lind (33), Logan Hutsko (32), Scott Wilson (31)
Goals	Zac Dalpe, Scott Wilson (19), Kole Lind (16)
Assists	Logan Hutsko (23), Connor Carrick (20), Three tied (17)
Power play goals	Zac Dalpe, Kole Lind (7), Connor Carrick, Scott Wilson (4)
Shorthanded goals	Cole Schwindt (2), Six tied (1)
Game-winning goals	Scott Wilson (4), Max McCormick, Grigori Denisenko, Carsen Twarynski (3)
Shots on goal	Zac Dalpe (126), Connor Carrick (108), Scott Wilson (97)
Penalty minutes	Kole Lind (98), Connor Carrick (65), Serron Noel (51)
Plus/minus	Cole Schwindt (+18), Max McCormick (+12), Henry Bowlby (+11)
Wins	Joey Daccord (9)
Goals-against average	Joey Daccord (2.62)
Save percentage	Joey Daccord (.911)