That gauntlet gives the Checkers an opportunity to go toe-to-toe with some of the league’s heavyweights and see how they stack up.
“I think it’s good to play these games early on in the season,” said forward Will Lockwood.
The first leg of this stretch went fairly well for the Checkers, who went into Hershey and downed the Bears in the first tilt before dropping the rematch in a shootout.
“We were able to get three out of four [points] on the road, which is huge,” said forward Ryan Leonard. “Especially against that team.”
In that second matchup Charlotte was down by two goals past the midway point of regulation but dug in and rallied to push the game beyond regulation and secure a point in the standings.
“We came back in that second game and found a way to squeak a point out,” said Leonard. “That showed a lot of character. It was great to see.”
While the Checkers weren’t able to pick up the sweep, that rally showed some resiliency in the makeup of the team - an attribute that can come in handy throughout the grind of a long season.
“I think we’ve done a good job of building the identity of the team and not quitting when we’re down a little bit,” said Lockwood.
“It’s huge anytime that you can find ways to come back in games,” said Leonard. “Especially at the start of the year”
As for the next leg of this stretch, the Checkers are hosting a Toronto squad that is off to a strong start similar to their own thanks in large part to a stingy defensive game and a mighty penalty kill.
“It’ll be a good test for us,” said Lockwood of this weekend’s series. “They’re a team that’s always kind of like that. So you kind of know what you’re going to get. I think as long as we play our game, it plays into us a little bit. That being said, it’s going to be a really big challenge.”
POWERED UP
This weekend’s matchup against the Marlies figures to be a special teams heavyweight bout.On one side there’s the Checkers, who boast the league’s top power play - having scored a power-play goal in every game this season and operating at a 40.5 percent clip on the man advantage.
“It’s the work,” said head coach Geordie Kinnear after the team’s last home game of the power-play success. “There’s no real secret to it. The guys developed some chemistry, and when you get confident with it, pucks go in for you. It was obviously a difference maker, which it needs to be when it’s a physical game.”
The production has been spread out across the lineup as well, with eight different skaters having logged a power-play goal and 13 recording at least one point on the man advantage.
“Everyone is just on the same page and we’re having fun,” said defenseman Mike Benning. “Both units are doing it, so it’s great.”
On the other side there’s the Marlies, who boast the league’s top penalty kill by virtue of having not allowed a single power-play goal yet this season.
“It’ll be a fun challenge against Toronto,” said Lockwood.
VILMANIS LEARNING AS HE GOES
It can be a challenge for a rookie skater to take the reins of a power-play unit, especially so early on in the campaign, but that’s just what Sandis Vilmanis is doing - with plenty of positive results.“That’s a big thing for me,” said Vilmanis. “That the trust is there and that I’m on the power play and we’re getting pretty good on it. I just want to keep building from that.”
The 20-year-old is eight games into his pro career but has found some early success on the scoresheet, where he has posted six points (2g, 4a).
The production has showed up early for Vilmanis, but he knows his trajectory is upward if he keeps the work going.
“I’ve felt all right,” said Villmanis. “I’m getting more comfortable with every game. Skating with these guys every practice and getting more information to learn from. I’m getting used to things and getting better every game.”
A fifth-round pick by Florida in 2022, Vilmanis is coming off a strong final junior season that saw him lead North Bay in postseason scoring as they made a run to the conference finals. The next challenge for the Latvian forward is navigating the jump to the pro game.
“It’s tougher,” said Vilmanis. “The hits are bigger, the guys are bigger and heavier. It’s a faster and smarter game, that’s probably the biggest change here.”
Vilmanis’ growth will be a notable trend to watch over the course of the rest of his rookie season, as he looks to absorb all the lessons he can while building on what has already been a solid start to his career.
“It’s amazing,” said Vilmanis of the veteran leadership in the Charlotte locker room. “A bunch of the guys have played in the NHL and they have advice and I have a lot of things to learn from them. I feel like everyone has something to give to me and that’s a good thing.”
ROSTER UPDATES
In case you missed it, Justin Sourdif was officially cleared from his injury earlier this week and assigned to Charlotte, where he quickly jumped into practice with the team ahead of this weekend’s series against Toronto.The 22-year-old suffered an injury during NHL training camp and has been sidelined since. He’ll now join the Checkers lineup and look to pick up where he left off, having posted nine points over his final nine games of last season.
The two other injuries for Charlotte remain Zac Dalpe and MacKenzie Entwistle. While there’s no official word on either forward’s current status, Dalpe has been skating with the team in a yellow no-contact jersey over the last week, while Entwistle joined the team for the first time in a yellow jersey during Friday’s skate.
