The game marked Charlotte’s fifth consecutive victory, their longest streak of the season. The Checkers are also 9-2-2 in their last 13 games and 5-0-0 in the season series with Bridgeport.
After a tight first period in which Bridgeport canceled out Oliver Okuliar’s opening goal within 90 seconds, the Checkers broke through in a big way in the second.
Tobias Bjornfot got the party started early in the frame, stripping a puck in the neutral zone, carrying it into the zone himself and firing home his first goal of the season. John Leonard then struck twice in quick succession, first on a breakaway after he intercepted cross-ice pass in the defensive zone and put a backhand deke between the goaltender’s pads, and again when he carried the puck up the ice on a shorthanded, two-on-one break, looked off Kyle Criscuolo and did the honors himself.
Wilmer Skoog would cap the four-goal onslaught, tipping a Bjornfot point shot home with less than a minute remaining.
The third period was just 17 seconds old when Leonard capped his hat trick on the first shot against Bridgeport’s Jakub Skarek, who had just entered the game in relief of starter Henrik Tikkanen.
Charlotte then cruised down the stretch, allowing a consolation goal to Bridgeport before securing the victory.
BISCUITS pic.twitter.com/wCODexJzXP
— Charlotte Checkers (@CheckersHockey) December 21, 2024
QUOTES
Coach Geordie Kinnear on the team’s fifth straight winHonestly it’s the group in the locker room. We had a good practice yesterday because I think we’ve won some games on pure heart and guts, but that only can last so long. You’ve got to get back to your structure a little bit and how you play, and in the second and third I thought you saw that.
Kinnear on playing with 11 forwards yet again
The last three weeks the injuries have been piling up and usually the injury happens in the first or second shift, so I’ve been doing that for a long period of time. We’ve lacked a little bit of chemistry because we’ve just only had 11 forwards. That’s part of the group’s identity right now. Mental toughness and guys step up. It’s been a big part of what we’ve done the last two or three weeks for sure.
Kinnear on missing so many key players
It's almost laughable a little bit. We’ve actually talked about it a bit as a group, because everyone wants opportunities, and sometimes those opportunities don’t come. There’s opportunities here for guys that really wanted it early on and didn’t get it. I give those guys a ton of credit. You can have opportunities, but if you’re not ready for them and you don’t work hard, you’re not going to make the most of them. This group has worked hard.
Kinnear on what he says to players getting more of a role
It's what you wanted. You wanted an opportunity, so make the most of it. I think it’s the environment and the leadership group. It’s a very welcoming group. It’s not really a first-year player thing. It’s just, come in, you’re part of the group, and let’s play the Charlotte way.
Kinnear on John Leonard
You look at Lenny, he’s been banged up the last two weeks but you haven’t noticed because he’s just grinding through it because he knows the group in there needs him. He got a couple of days to rest, and you saw the Lenny that he’s been all year for us. We’re super excited to have him, get to know him as a person, a leader and all that good stuff. He was really good tonight.
John Leonard on his big game
We have a lot of guys hurt right now and it’s been kind of a tough grind. Every single night someone different is stepping up and everyone’s trying to bring that same energy every single day. I’ve had good chemistry with (Criscuolo) and (Asplund), and then (Hughes) tonight. All three of those guys have been good to play with.
Leonard on missing so many players to significant injuries
That’s kind of been the worst part. It’s every game and they’re long injuries. Obviously we feel for those guys and want their recoveries to be fast and speedy and get them back into the lineup. Like I touched on before, it’s been awesome to see the depth of this team and this organization. Every single night someone different is stepping up and it’s been great.
Leonard on fighting through that adversity
I think that’s been a big focus for us. Every single night we’re finding different ways to win. We talk about it all the time, but good teams find ways to win, whether it’s the 1-0 or tonight we were able to score a couple more and Appleby was great. You combine those two things and it’S a good recipe.
