Hey y’all, I’m back with another edition of In the Trapezoid with TJ. With my favorite holiday just a few days away, I’m taking this post and we’re going Halloween. So, grab your brooms, we’re going for a ride. Let’s boo this!
***Disclaimer: Not all the puns are going to be winners, folks.
Scary Shot Total
In each of the last three games, the Checkers have ended the game staring at a shot count in the high-teens. That is way less than ideal in the American Hockey League. Through that three-game stretch the team is 1-2-0-0 and being outshot 81-53. That’s the stuff of nightmares for coaches and players alike. It’s still early in the season, so I don’t put too much stock in it right now, but if this trend continues through this weekend, I’d officially consider myself concerned. The good news? This weekend’s games come at home, in front of the Checkers faithful, and that atmosphere always brings Frankenstein to life.Penalty-Kill Prowess
I guess during the Halloween season it’s a good look when your penalty kill is as sharp as ever. When you look at the Checkers conversion percentage of 90.5%, it might not be that ghastly to you, but when you break down the numbers it shows a totally different story. Charlotte has been shorthanded 21 times this season, that’s an average of 4.2 kills per game. In those 21 shorthanded opportunities, the Checkers have only surrendered two power-play goals and only one of those goals has been on a traditional 5-on-4. The team has figured out the success to killing penalties here to start the year, and I fully expect to see them floating at the top of the cauldron by the time the season is over.Staying Out Of The Dungeon
I mentioned above that the Checkers are averaging 4.2 penalty kills per game, and while that might sound like a lot, let’s put it into some context. Currently, the Checkers have the third-fewest penalty minutes (49) in the division and eighth-fewest in the league. They’re averaging 9.8 PIM per game, the third lowest mark in the American Hockey League. When you have this kind of discipline, coupled with a strong PK, it’s something to look at as a positive despite the team’s record being below .500. The key here is to continue to stay out of the box, because if there’s one thing that can really mess with your penalty-killing success, it’s giving teams an exorbitant amount of chances to crack your armor.A Word To The Wage
I think that we overlook Jake Wise a little too much when thinking about this Checkers team. With the names like Samoskevich and Sourdif who’ve been up-and-down between the AHL and NHL this season and the NCAA National Championship winners like Brind’Amour and Benning, Wise can slip through the cracks, I think. Let’s not forget, he’s a former third-round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2018 and played in one of the toughest NCAA conferences (the Big Ten) during his collegiate career at Ohio State. The fact of the matter is that Wise has six points in five professional games with the Charlotte Checkers (including a goal in one postseason game last year). He has three points already this season in just a pair of games and is quickly making a name for himself on this roster.Mid-Game Monsters
The second period has been extremely good to the Checkers to start the season. Through the first five games, they’ve outscored their opponents 6-1 in the middle frame despite giving up a total of 52 shots. “Mack-O-Lantern” Guzda and Spencer “Fright” Knight have saved a whopping 98.1% of the shots they’ve seen in the second. That’s incredible production out of the masked men and the entire Checkers d-corps.Patrick Khodorenko
Yeah, I know what you’re thinking, “What no play on words?” Honestly, no, because I don’t want to make light of the serious work that Patrick Khodorenko is doing for the Checkers to start the season. The Cali-born forward is one of five players to average over a point-per-game for Charlotte this season and leads everyone in goals scored thus far. A season-ending injury halted Khodorenko’s season with the Wolf Pack last year at just four games. Until two weekends ago at the Bo, Khodorenko hadn’t seen competitive action in over a calendar year. Now in game four with the Checkers, Khodorenko has played as many contests this year as he did last year, and the stat lines couldn’t be any different.- Charlotte 2023-24 - 4GP, 3G, 1A -- 4pts
- Hartford 2022-23 - 4GP, 0G, 0A -- 0 Pts
