Happy New Year, Checkers fans! Hard to believe it was LAST YEAR since the most recent time we saw the Checkers play at Bojangles Coliseum, right? That joke never gets old. I hope you, your family, and all you hold dear are having a great start to 2024 and without any further ado, let’s head In The Trapezoid with TJ for the first time since the calendar flipped.
5+ SCORE AND SEVERAL WINS
It might seem obvious, but offense is a massive driving force for the Charlotte Checkers this season. When you look at their 16 wins, they’ve scored more than five goals in eight of those wins. Not a single game this season have the Checkers scored five and lost. Sure, it’s easy to win when you net more than five goals in a game, but teams win games scoring LESS than five all the time, too. For the Checkers however, their win percentage tanks in those lower scoring affairs. When scoring four or fewer goals in a game, the Checkers are 8-12-3-0 on the year. A stark contrast, for sure.BRINGING BACK BALINSKIS
The Florida Panthers announced Wednesday that the organization has signed Uvis Balinskis to a two-year contract extension which will keep him in the Florida system for a little bit longer. Balinskis has proven to be a stud for the Checkers on the blue-line since his reassignment last month. In eight games played with Charlotte, Balinskis has eight points and has filled the gap on the back end while some defensemen deal with injuries. It’s clear that Balinskis is a top-4 defenseman on this roster, and I’m excited to see his production continue with the team.UPCOMING SERIES SNIPPETS
When you look at the next two series for the Checkers - two games at Bridgeport this weekend and two games against the Americans in Charlotte next weekend, there’s already some storylines that are developing.The Checkers have yet to play a game at Total Mortgage Arena this season with the first four contests against the Islanders coming at Bojangles’ Coliseum. The Checkers are 3-1-0-0 against Bridgeport in those games, and with Bridgeport being the only team in the division with a losing home record so far this year, the odds are currently in the Checkers’ favor.
On the other hand, the Checkers have not fared well against North Division opponents this year with a record of 2-4-0-0 in games against Toronto, Cleveland, and Rochester. With a split season series thus far with the Amerks, the Checkers will have history on their side to help them earn another win against the Americans. Of course, the second game of the upcoming series is the much anticipated Queen City Outdoor Classic at Truist Field here in Charlotte. When you look back at the last five AHL outdoor games, the home team has a record of 3-1-0-1, with Cleveland the most recent home-winners, earning a dub over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last season. This is the second outdoor game in the Americans’ history, hosting a game themselves back in 2013 where they knocked off the Monsters 4-3.
