Weekly Report: Jan. 27, 2020

The Checkers’ hot streak came to an end after a pair of tough losses to the Penguins at home this weekend.

Week in Review

Checkers 4, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 5

The Checkers dropped a tight, back-and-forth contest in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s first visit of the season, erasing a 3-0 deficit before surrendering back-to-back power-play goals that pushed the visitors on top for good. Full recap

Checkers 2, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 4

The rematch was another equal fight, with Morgan Geekie evening the score at two through 40 minutes of play. The Penguins would get the elusive go-ahead goal in the final two minutes of regulation, however, then tack on an empty netter to squash Charlotte’s rally attempt and escape with the weekend sweep. Full recap

Three Stars Of The Week

FIVE NOTABLES

1) HOT STREAK HALTED

After rattling off five straight wins, the Checkers dropped two close contests to the Penguins over the weekend. That sweep is the first time the Checkers have lost consecutive games since Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 at home against Providence. Even with those two losses, though, the Checkers are 7-3-0, tied for the best mark over the last 10 games in the Atlantic Division.

2) GOAT'S GOT GOALS

Julien Gauthier lit the lamp in each contest this weekend, extending his goal streak to three games and moving up to a tie for fifth in the league overall with 21 goals. Gauthier’s 20th goal came in his 35th game of the season, making him the fastest player to reach that mark in franchise history. The forward’s next milestone is to join Aleksi Saarela, Valentin Zykov, Chris Terry and Zach Boychuk as the only Checkers to ever score 30 goals in a season. Boychuk holds the franchise record with 36 tallies in 2013-14.

3) ON A ROLL

Morgan Geekie has come alive offensively, finding the scoresheet in both games against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to run his point streak to nine games. That stands as the longest active streak in the AHL right now and is tied for the longest by a Checker this season with Julien Gauthier, who rattled off a nine-game point streak through December and January.

4) POWER SURGE

The Checkers scored three goals on four power-plays on the weekend – all in Friday’s contest as they didn’t receive any man advantages on Saturday – to push their way into the number three slot in the league rankings. The Checkers scored a power-play goal in eight straight games before Saturday, going 13-for-28 over that stretch, and had multiple power-play goals in three straight.

5) STARSTRUCK

Jake Bean and Alex Nedeljkovic are currently representing the Checkers at the 2020 AHL All-Star Classic in Ontario, CA. At Sunday’s Skills Competition, Nedeljkovic earned the Top Goaltender Award after tying Vitek Vanecek and Connor Ingram for the most saves across the event. The duo will suit up for the Atlantic division squad for tonight’s 3-on-3 tournament, which can be watched on the NHL Network or AHLTV.

RANKS

• Julien Gauthier is tied for fifth in the AHL in goals (21) and tied for seventh in power-play goals (8)
• Janne Kuokkanen is tied for 10th in the AHL in assists (26)
• Steven Lorentz is tied for second among all AHL forwards in plus/minus (+17)
• Max McCormick ranks second in the AHL in penalty minutes (103)
• Jake Bean is tied for third among league defensemen in points (32), tied for sixth among league defensemen in goals (7) and tied for fourth among defensemen in assists (25)
• Oliwer Kaski is tied for sixth among league defensemen in goals (7)
• Chase Priskie ranks fourth among rookies and second among rookie defensemen in assists (20) and third among rookie defensemen and tied for 10th among all rookies in points (25)
• Eetu Luostarinen is tied for 10th among league rookies in power-play goals (3)

INJURIES

• Colin Markison - Missed one game starting 1/25
• Brian Gibbons - Missed three game starting 1/19
• Kerby Rychel - Missed 23 games starting 12/1
• Stelio Mattheos - Missed 33 games starting 11/8

Transactions

Incoming

• 1/20 - Derek Sheppard - Recalled from Florida (ECHL)

Outgoing

• 1/20 - Cedric Lacroix - Assigned to Greenville (ECHL)

Coming Up

By the Numbers

CATEGORY	RECORD	AHL RANK	LAST WEEK
Power play	23.5%	3rd	4th
Penalty kill	87.3%	2nd	1st
Goals per game	3.30	7th	t-7th
Shots per game	31.72	5th	7th
Goals allowed per game	2.77	7th	5th
Shots allowed per game	28.12	4th	t-3rd
Penalty minutes per game	14.16	6th	4th

LEADERS

CATEGORY	LEADER(S)
Points	Janne Kuokkanen (35), Jake Bean (32), Julien Gauthier (30)
Goals	Julien Gauthier (21), Steven Lorentz (15), Morgan Geekie (13)
Assists	Janne Kuokkanen (26), Jake Bean (25), Chase Priskie (20)
Power play goals	Julien Gauthier (8), Morgan Geekie (7), Janne Kuokkanen (4)
Shorthanded goals	Seven tied (1)
Game-winning goals	Morgan Geekie (4), Julien Gauthier, Steven Lorentz (3)
Shots on goal	Julien Gauthier (107), Morgan Geekie (96), Jake Bean (90)
Penalty minutes	Max McCormick (101), Brian Gibbons (40), Roland McKeown (38)
Plus/minus	Steven Lorentz (+17), Gustav Forsling (+14), Fredrik Claesson (+12)
Wins	Anton Forsberg, Alex Nedeljkovic (12)
Goals-against average	Alex Nedeljkovic (2.52)
Save percentage	Alex Nedeljkovic (.904)