Weekly Report: March 12, 2019

The Checkers came away from a hard-fought weekend trip to Lehigh Valley with a split.

Week in Review

Checkers 2, Lehigh Valley 3

After a scoreless first period that saw the Checkers outshoot their opponent 13-3, the Phantoms broke through in the middle frame with three straight strikes – one at even strength, one on the power play and one shorthanded. The Checkers pushed back in the third with a pair of tallies from Aleksi Saarela, but the clock ran out before they could complete their comeback and Lehigh Valley escaped with the victory. Full recap

Checkers 4, Lehigh Valley 0

The Checkers rebounded nicely in Sunday’s rematch, with Alex Nedeljkovic turning aside all 22 shots he faced to stifle the Lehigh Valley attack. Nick Schilkey lit the lamp twice to lead the way offensively, while newcomer Tomas Jurco found the back of the net again and Nicolas Roy ripped a quick one-timer to round out the scoring for Charlotte en route to a lopsided victory. Full recap

Three Stars Of The Week

Notables

NED STANDS TALL

Alex Nedeljkovic, who has started 12 of Charlotte’s last 16 contests, took his spot in the net for both games against the Phantoms this weekend. Friday’s tightly contested loss was the first time that the netminder allowed more than two goals in 11 games, surrendering three but keeping his team within striking distance late. To no one’s surprise, Nedeljkovic bounced back in Sunday’s rematch and pulled off his third shutout of the season, a 22-save display against a potent Phantoms attack. In fact, Nedeljkovic has not recorded consecutive regulation losses all season.

The netminder is three shy of matching the franchise record for most wins in a single season, a mark that he set last season. Nedeljkovic is also chasing the franchise record for lowest goals-against average in a season of 2.29, set by Justin Peters in 2012-13.

SCHILKEY STAYS SCORING

Nick Schilkey has caught fire as of late and continues to add to his career year. The second-year forward, currently on a four-game point streak, has found the scoresheet in nine of the team’s last 10 games and racked up 12 points (6g, 6a) over that stretch – more than any other Checker.

The Ohio State product now has 15 goals and 17 assists through 49 games this season, eclipsing both totals from his 48-game rookie campaign by 10.

CARRICK CONTRIBUTES

After going through a 10-game stretch that saw him record just one point, Trevor Carrick has regained his scoring touch as of late. The All Star – who has assists in each of Charlotte’s last four games – has racked up eight point (1g, 7a) over the last eight contests, pulling himself into a tie with Jake Bean for the team’s defensemen scoring lead.

With 15 games to play, Carrick is nine shy of matching his single-season career high in points – set last year – and six shy of his career high in assists – a mark he hit in 2017-18 and 2015-16.

POWERING UP

The Checkers’ power play appears to trending in the right direction. With Nick Schilkey’s dagger late in Sunday’s win over Lehigh Valley, the Checkers have now notched a power-play in four consecutive games, their longest such streak since a five-game run in late October into early November.

Success on the man advantage has been key of the Checkers this season. The team has recorded a power-play goal in 34 games so far and logged a 26-5-3 record in those contests. On the flip side, they’re 13-10-4 in the 27 games where they failed to score on the power play.

TOUGH ROAD

The Checkers have turned things around after a bumpy stretch of the season, winning six of their last eight contests. The schedule has been beneficial for Charlotte over the latest stretch of games, though, with seven of the team’s last eight wins coming against teams outside of the playoff picture.

Since the calendar flipped to the year 2019, 12 of the Checkers’ 25 games have come against team’s currently in a playoff position, and the Checkers have gone 4-4-4 against those opponents. Things don’t get easier from here, as six of the team’s nine games remaining in the month of March come against playoff teams.

Ranks

• Andrew Poturalski is tied for fourth in the AHL in scoring (57), is tied for 9th in assists (36) and tied for fourth in game-winning goals (6)
• Alex Nedeljkovic leads the league in wins (28), ranks second in minutes played (2380) and fifth in goals-against average (2.37)
• Martin Necas is tied for sixth among rookies in assists (26)
• Jake Bean ranks fifth among defensemen in goals (11) and ranks second among rookie blue liners in scoring (35)
• Trevor Carrick is tied for second among defensemen in game-winning goals and tied for 11th in scoring (35)
• Roland McKeown is tied for fourth among defensemen in plus-minus (+22)
• Dan Renouf is tied for eighth in the AHL in penalty minutes (111) and tied for fifth in major penalties (7)

INJURIES

• Janne Kuokkanen - Missed two games starting 3/8
• Spencer Smallman - Missed 48 games starting 11/11

Transactions

Incoming

• Mar. 7: (C) Steven Lorentz - Recalled from Florida (ECHL)
• Mar. 5: (D) Haydn Fleury - Assigned by Carolina (NHL)

Outgoing

• Mar. 7: (G) Callum Booth - Assigned to Florida (ECHL)

Coming Up

By the Numbers

CATEGORY	RECORD	AHL RANK	LAST WEEK
Power play	18.0%	t-17th	17th
Penalty kill	85.3%	3rd	3rd
Goals per game	3.28	9th	t-7th
Shots per game	30.26	t-13th	14th
Goals allowed per game	2.70	4th	t-3rd
Shots allowed per game	27.20	3rd	3rd
Penalty minutes per game	13.38	9th	9th

LEADERS

CATEGORY	LEADER(S)
Points	Andrew Poturalski (57), Aleksi Saarela (41), Janne Kuokkanen (38)
Goals	Andrew Poturalski (21), Aleksi Saarela (20), Julien Gauthier (18)
Assists	Andrew Poturalski (36), Trevor Carrick (27), Janne Kuokkanen, Martin Necas (26)
Power play goals	Janne Kuokkanen (6), Julien Gauthier, Aleksi Saarela (5)
Shorthanded goals	Saku Maenalanen (3), Patrick Brown, Nicolas Roy, Michal Cajkovsky (1)
Game-winning goals	Andrew Poturalski (6), Nicolas Roy (5), Trevor Carrick, Aleksi Saarela (4)
Shots on goal	Aleksi Saarela (151), Andrew Poturalski (142), Trevor Carrick (135)
Penalty minutes	Dan Renouf (111), Trevor Carrick (74), Julien Gauthier (53)
Plus/minus	Roland McKeown (+22), Morgan Geekie (+19), Nick Schilkey (+15)
Wins	Alex Nedeljkovic (28)
Goals-against average	Alex Nedeljkovic (2.37)
Save percentage	Alex Nedeljkovic (.912)