In The Trapezoid With TJ - Good Vs. The Island, Gulls Up Next
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Written by TJ Chillot
During the season, Checkers broadcaster TJ Chillot checks in with a weekly blog highlighting everything Checkers hockey and beyond!
Hey everybody, welcome back, you’re In the Trapezoid with TJ Chillot! Boy, what a fantastic weekend at the Boplex last weekend where the Checkers enjoyed a two-game sweep of the Bridgeport Islanders. I’m going to give you some of my thoughts on the team’s performance in their wins, spotlight some players, and look ahead to the upcoming games against a rarely-seen opponent, the San Diego Gulls, so let’s jump in.
Blue Paint Bullies
The first thing that comes to mind when I think about last weekend’s pair of games is the solid goaltending the Checkers got out of veteran netminder Ludovic Waeber and future Florida Panthers bell cow Spencer Knight.
On Friday, Waeber made his North American debut and wowed while doing it. The Swiss-born netminder went 27-of-29 in the Checkers’ 5-2 drubbing of the Islanders to kick off the weekend. Waeber looked extremely comfortable and controlled in his debut. He managed to send rebounds to the corners, stayed square to shooters, and had chemistry and communication with his defensemen as if he was on this roster for the last three seasons.
Saturday night belonged to Spencer Knight, who earned his fourth shutout in the AHL in just 17 total games played. The Checkers did a great job limiting opportunities on Knight, allowing only 23 total shots in the game, but that doesn’t mean it was easy for the third-year pro. Late in the second period, Knight made the save of the season (so far) with a falling-down-windmilling-behind-the-back-arm stop to keep the game 2-0.
Collectively, all three of the Checkers netminders rank in the Top 20 in the AHL in goals-against-average. Waeber (2.00) sits in 12th, Guzda (2.02) in 16th, and Knight (2.04) in 18th.
Prowess At The Point
Let’s talk about this Charlotte Checkers d-corps. Not only have the Checkers allowed only 17 goals this season, which is second fewest in the league amongst teams with seven games played, but they are ROLLING offensively. Santtu Kinnunen is still the team leader in points after the weekend - he’s got seven assists in seven games played to start the year. Plus, Lucas Carlsson had himself a great weekend with three points (2G, 1A) in the two games against Bridgeport. When you add in Mike Benning (3pts in 7gp) and Matt Kiersted (scored his first goal of the season on Friday night), you get a unit that is firing on all cylinders - offensively and more importantly, defensively.
Swordfish Dishes
Affectionately known at the NHL level as “Swordfish,” Justin Sordif now has three games under his belt with the Checkers after beginning the season with the Florida Panthers. In those three games, Sourdif registered an assist in each game, putting him on a three-game point streak which is the second-longest active streak on the team. While we’d all love to see him carve out a spot full-time in the NHL with the Panthers, we’re happy to have “Swordfish” with the Checkers and playing as well as he has.
Lucas Carlsson: The Game Winner
Fun fact, Carlsson has three goals this season and all of them have gone on to be the game winner. Do you happen to know who in the AHL has more game winners than Carlsson right now? Nobody. After setting the Checkers record for most points in a season by a defenseman last year, Carlsson looks to be locked in and back to form.
An Unfamiliar Foe Brings A Very Familiar Face
Up next for the Checkers is welcoming the Pacific Division’s San Diego Gulls to town. It’ll be the first meeting between the two teams since the 2015-16 season, where the Checkers went 2-1-1-0 against their flying foes. One name that will be on the scoresheet from those games back in 2015-16 and the upcoming games this weekend? Trevor Carrick. The former Checker, whose name is dotted all over Charlotte’s record book, is in his tenth season and showing no signs of slowing down. Currently, Carrick is the team leader in assists with five and tied for second on the team in points with six. This isn’t Carrick’s first games against his former team, however, as he battled Charlotte four times last year as a member of the Syracuse Crunch.
Bird Watching
When you take a look at this San Diego team, it might be easy to write them off when you see their situation in the Pacific Division standings. Currently last in the western-most division, the Gulls are still a very formidable opponent. In terms of a 30,000-foot view, the Gulls boast the seventh-best power-play unit in the AHL, which sets up a great matchup on special teams against the Checkers’ very stout PK. The Gulls get even production from their entire team, with all but two skaters having registered at least a point this season, and they have a relatively young roster led by rookie Olen Zellweger’s four points in six games.
