Weekly Report: Offensive Barrage, Rookies Keep Producing and More

In a two-game set against their division rivals, the Checkers used an offensive barrage to blowout Lehigh Valley on Saturday night but ran out of gas in the rematch, ultimately splitting the weekend with the Phantoms.

Week in Review

Checkers 7, Lehigh Valley 3

Charlotte’s offense exploded in their first meeting with the Phantoms, as the home team hung four goals on Lehigh Valley in the opening frame and three more in the second. Big nights from Zac Dalpe (2g) and Aleksi Heponiemi (1g, 2a) and goals from six different skaters propelled the Checkers as they cruised past the Phantoms 7-3. Full recap

Checkers 3, Lehigh Valley 5

The following day’s rematch didn’t follow the same script. After Charlotte opened the scoring in the first, Lehigh Valley would tally each of the next four goals to build up a substantial lead. The Checkers would give one final push, scoring twice quickly in the early stages of the third period to narrow the gap to one goal, but they couldn’t find a way to even the score and dropped a tight contest in the end. Full recap

Three Stars Of The Week

NOTABLES

1) HUTSKO'S STRONG START

Logan Hutsko continues to impress early on in his first pro season. The rookie forward has posted nine points (3g, 6a) in nine games, tying him for second on the team and fourth among all AHL rookies. After picking up a goal in Saturday’s win and an assist in the rematch, Hutsko has now recorded a point in eight of his first nine games as a pro. Looking ahead, the highest point total by a Checkers rookie through the first 10 games of a season is 10 - set by Victor Rask in 2013-14 and matched by Andrew Poturalski in 2016-17.

2) SCHWINDT STAYS SCORING

Cole Schwindt has found his scoring touch over this last stretch of games and continues to fill up the scoresheet. The rookie forward picked up his first two points of the season at Hartford on October 30 and has notched a point in every game since. Schwindt has racked up five points over that four-game point streak, including lighting the lamp in three of them.

3) OUT OF THE GATES

One trend that has emerged early on this season for Charlotte is the team’s penchant for starting strong out of the gates. The Checkers have scored 13 goals in the first period this season, tied for the highest total in the league, while their plus-five goal differential in the first period is the third best such mark. They have scored multiple first period goals in three of their last four contests and have outscored their opponents 9-4 over that four-game stretch. Those hot starts haven’t guaranteed victories, however, as the Checkers are 3-3-1-0 this season when scoring the game’s first goal, but they have seen success when holding onto a lead at the first intermission, posting a 3-1-0-0 record in those scenarios.

4) POWER SURGE

Charlotte’s power play came to life over the weekend, going 3-for-7 on the man advantage during the two games against the Phantoms. That outburst snapped a two-game drought for the unit, which now ranks in the middle of the pack with a 20.7 percent conversion rate. Only four teams in the AHL have been given more power plays than the Checkers this season.

HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK

It's hard to pick a single highlight of the week from Saturday's big win, so how about we just say the whole first period?

All four of our first period goals?

All four of our first period goals ???? pic.twitter.com/XLHXpqAvcb

— Charlotte Checkers (@CheckersHockey) November 6, 2021

RANKS

• Alex True is tied for 12th in the AHL in goals (5)
• Logan Hutsko is tied for fourth among AHL rookies in scoring (9) and tied for sixth in assists (6)
• Lucas Carlsson leads all AHL defensemen and ranks second in the AHL in plus/minus (+10)
• Max McCormick is tied for eight among AHL forwards in plus/minus (+6)
• Cole Schwindt is tied for the league lead among rookies in plus/minus (+6)

INJURIES

• Serron Noel - Missed one game starting 11/7
• Antoine Bibeau - Exited game on 11/7

Transactions

Incoming

• Nov. 7 - Max Zimmer - Signed to PTO
• Nov. 7 - Chase Priskie - Assigned from Florida (NHL)
• Nov. 6 - Antoine Bibeau - Recalled from Allen (ECHL)
• Nov. 2 - Joey Daccord - Assigned from Seattle (NHL)

Outgoing

• Nov. 7 - Lucas Carlsson - Recalled by Florida (NHL)
• Nov. 6 - Christopher Gibson - Recalled by Florida (NHL)
• Nov. 3 - Maxim Mamin - Recalled by Florida (NHL)

Coming Up

By the Numbers

CATEGORY	RECORD	AHL RANK	LAST WEEK
Power play	20.7%	14th	t-17th
Penalty kill	75.0%	t-23rd	t-26th
Goals per game	3.44	7th	t-14th
Shots per game	27.78	22nd	29th
Goals allowed per game	3.33	t-23rd	18th
Shots allowed per game	30.78	t-20th	t-18th
Penalty minutes per game	9.11	31st	t-23rd

LEADERS

CATEGORY	LEADER(S)
Points	Alex True (10), Logan Hutsko (9), Aleksi Heponiemi, Lucas Carlsson (6)
Goals	Alex True (5), Logan Hutsko, Aleksi Heponiemi, Cole Schwindt (3)
Assists	Logan Hutsko (6), Lucas Carlsson, Alex True (5)
Power play goals	Zac Dalpe (2), Four tied (1)
Shorthanded goals	Cole Schwindt, Alex True (1)
Game-winning goals	Alex True, Max McCormick, Carsen Twarynski, Scott Wilson (1)
Shots on goal	Alex True (24), Zac Dalpe (23), Connor Carrick (22)
Penalty minutes	Kole Lind (11), Lucas Carlsson, Logan Hutsko (8)
Plus/minus	Lucas Carlsson (+10), Max McCormick, Cole Schwindt (+6)
Wins	Joey Daccord (2)
Goals-against average	Antoine Bibeau (2.07)
Save percentage	Antoine Bibeau (.912)