Weekly Report: Oct. 21, 2019

The Checkers kept their trend of bouncing back going over the weekend, following up a tough loss in Utica on Friday with a dominant win over Syracuse on Saturday.

Week in Review

Utica 8, Checkers 2

The Checkers began their road swing against an undefeated Utica team and couldn’t hand the Comets their first loss. Hunter Shinkaruk and Eetu Luostarinen were able to break through offensively but after a hot start from the home team it was too litte, too late and the Comets ran away with an 8-2 victory. Full recap

Checkers 7, Syracuse 3

As they have all season, the Checkers rebounded nicely after the loss. Their special teams contributed greatly with two power-play goals and two shorthanded goals, and big four-point nights from Chase Priskie and Brian Gibbons helped propel Charlotte to a lopsided 7-3 win over the Syracuse Crunch. Full recap

Three Stars Of The Week

FIVE NOTABLES

1) PRISKIE PUTS UP POINTS

Only six games into his pro career, Chase Priskie turned in a stellar offensive performance in Saturday’s win over Syracuse. The blueliner helped set up a pair of power-play goals and lit the lamp himself all in the first period, then notched another assist in the second period to bring his total to four points on the night. Priskie is the sixth rookie in franchise history to record four points in a game and just the second rookie defenseman.

2) GIBBONS GETS GOING

Priskie wasn’t the only one to put on a show Saturday night, as Brian Gibbons notched four points of his own. Along with a pair of assists, the veteran forward tallied a power-play goal and a shorthanded goal, making him just the fourth player in franchise history to do so.

3) LUOSTARINEN LIGHTS IT UP

It appears that it didn’t take long for Eetu Luostarinen to adjust to the North American game, as the rookie forward has scored a goal in each of Charlotte’s last four games. The Finn is tied for the team goal lead and has emerged as one of the league’s top rookie performers early on in the season.

4) SHORTHANDED SUCCESS

The Checkers notched a pair of shorthanded goals on Saturday night, one coming from Eetu Luostarinen and one coming from Gibbons. That mark currently ties the Checkers for the league lead. Charlotte finished last season with six shorthanded goals, a total that was tied for 18th in the AHL. The Checkers enjoyed most of their shorthanded success away from home last season, with four of those six goals coming on the road.

5) GOAT'S GOALS

Julien Gauthier made up a scoreless contest Friday by lighting the lamp twice in Charlotte’s win over Syracuse on Saturday. That multi-goal performance kept his goal-per-game pace alive, as the forward now has four goals in as many games after missing two contests while on NHL recall. Dating back to last season, Gauthier has now scored 11 goals in his last 12 regular season games, registering at least one in 10 of those contests.

RANKS

• Morgan Geekie is tied for fourth in the AHL in points (8) and tied for sixth in goals (4)
• Brian Gibbons is tied for fourth in the AHL in points (8)
• Chase Priskie is tied for the league lead in power-play assists (4) and tied for second in power-play points (4), ranks second among league rookies in points (7), is tied for the rookie lead in assists (6) and is tied for the lead among all AHL defensemen in points (7) and assists (6)
• Eetu Luostarinen leads all AHL rookies in goals (4) and is tied for fifth in points (4) and is tied for the league lead in shorthanded goals

INJURIES

• Stelio Mattheos - Missed six games starting 10/5
• Spencer Smallman - Missed six games starting 10/5
• Jake Bean - Missed one game starting 10/19
• Max McCormick - Missed four games starting 10/5, returned on 10/18

Transactions

Incoming

• 10/17 - Brian Gibbons assigned by Carolina (NHL)

Outgoing

• 10/15 - Jeremy Helvig assigned to Jacksonville (ECHL)

Coming Up

By the Numbers

CATEGORY	RECORD	AHL RANK	LAST WEEK
Power play	26.9%	3rd	3rd
Penalty kill	90.0%	6th	13th
Goals per game	3.67	6th	t-10th
Shots per game	33.17	t-7th	t-2nd
Goals allowed per game	3.83	t-27th	t-16th
Shots allowed per game	28.33	11th	10th
Penalty minutes per game	14.67	t-11th	12th

LEADERS

CATEGORY	LEADER(S)
Points	Morgan Geekie, Brian Gibbons (8), Chase Priskie (7)
Goals	Morgan Geekie, Julien Gauthier, Eetu Luostarinen (4)
Assists	Chase Priskie (6), Brian Gibbons (5), Three tied (4)
Power play goals	Morgan Geekie, Brian Gibbons (2), Three tied (1)
Shorthanded goals	Brian Gibbons, Eetu Luostarinen (1)
Game-winning goals	Anthony Louis, Morgan Geekie, Brian Gibbons (1)
Shots on goal	Morgan Geekie (21), Julien Gauthier, Eetu Luostarinen (17)
Penalty minutes	Max McCormick, Roland McKeown (10), Julien Gauthier, Clark Bishop (8)
Plus/minus	Fredrik Claesson (+4), Cavan Fitgerald (+2), Clark Bishop (+1)
Wins	Anton Forsberg (3)
Goals-against average	Anton Forsberg (2.93)
Save percentage	Anton Forsberg (.906)