Three big wins later, Charlotte passed that test with flying colors.
“Everyone was doing the right things and playing the right way,” said Checkers Head Coach Geordie Kinnear. “We talk a lot about being in sync, I thought they were in sync as a group.”
As Kinnear has reiterated all season, the process is just as important as the end results.
“The wins are nice, but it was how we won that was the most important to me,” he said. “We started the road trip really well and played the right way. The next game - Friday in Rochester - it wasn’t a great start. I thought they showed us a lot of speed, so we had to make a couple of adjustments going forward. It wasn’t my favorite game but we found a way to win, which is an important skill.”
The weekend finale - a 5-3 defeat of the Americans - was maybe the most impressive of all.
“I thought it was a complete effort the next night in Rochester in a tough building,” said Kinnear. “When you beat a team the night before you know they’re going to get their best. I thought the guys did a really great job of playing the right way.”
The Checkers were able to return to the Queen City this week to regroup before heading back out on the road for a pair of contests in Syracuse on Friday and Saturday. With a couple of high-intensity practices behind them, the team has their sights set firmly on keeping this red-hot road run rolling.
“Continuation,” said Kinnear of what he was most looking for out of his team this week. “Tough travel, long trip again, but I love the mindset of the group and the work ethic today. We just want to never look back in the rear view mirror, we want to look ahead.”
BUNNAMAN, HUTSKO, MAYHEW FIND A FIT
Given the ebb and flow of an AHL roster throughout a season, the coaching staff is often tasked with shuffling pieces around the lineup in search of the perfect fit.The Checkers may have found that fit with Connor Bunnaman, Gerry Mayhew and Logan Hutsko.
Bunnaman and Mayhew have been consistently playing alongside each other since Christmas, then Hutsko was added to the line on Jan. 21. In the five games since then, that trio has caught fire - Bunnaman posted eight points (4g, 4a), Mayhew recorded seven points (5g, 2a) and Hutsko notched five points (0g, 5a).
“I think everything just started to come together,” said Bunnaman. “We started working as one as a line. It’s easy when you have two water bugs flying around out there.”
The line highlights three players with varying styles of play - a combination that has paid off in spades.
“The speed helps for me and Hutsko, and then Bunnaman is getting down and dirty in front of the net,” said Mayhew. “We’re just finding each other.”
“Those guys have a ton of speed,” said Bunnaman. “I’ll go into the corner and get it and give it to those guys and they make plays.”
Aside from the stylistic fit on the ice, an under-the-radar boost for the trio has been an infectious chemistry between them.
“They’re buddies,” said Kinnear. “They think the game the same way and they have fun doing it. I think they just like each other, like playing with each other.”
“It helps,” said Mayhew of the line’s chemistry. “I think that’s one of the bigger things in finding a team is getting the chemistry right. When you do it can go a long way.”
While Bunnaman and Mayhew have been key pieces of Charlotte’s success through the first half of the season, it took some time for the points to start falling for the duo. But even through the droughts, there was no worry from the coaching staff.
It would simply be a matter of time.
“If you look at Bunny and Gerry, those guys have had a lot of chances and didn’t really get rewarded,” said Kinnear. “But their work ethic in practice never changed. I’m repetitive, but whenever you work hard and do the extra work, it’ll pay off. You don’t know when, but it will.”
The success of the line is owed to an array of factors, one of which is the little things that Hutsko has been able to do well since being added to the mix.
“I think Logan has helped that line quite a bit too with some forechecking, getting on top of people and stripping pucks, getting it back,” said Kinnear.
“I think we’re just moving our feet and getting above pucks on the forecheck,” said Hutsko. “It’s really worked well for us, we’re creating turnovers and we’ve been capitalizing. It’s been fun playing with them, we just want to keep it rolling.”
There’s no telling how many more roster shuffles will face the Checkers through the back-half of the season, but there is certainly an appetite among this line to stay together - and the scoresheets back that up.
“It’s working well,” said Bunnaman. “Hopefully it continues.”
“We’re clicking right now,” said Hutsko. “It’s fun.”
“I like it,” said Mayhew. “Hopefully it sticks for the whole season and we can get something rolling.”
STINGY D
The Checkers have turned themselves into one of the stingiest teams in the league as of late.They have two shutouts in their last five games, they’ve surrendered five total goals over their last three games and they’ve pushed themselves into the league’s top 10 in terms of goals allowed per game.
“We’re a group that takes pride in playing stingy in our end,” said Checkers Assistant Coach Bobby Sanguinetti. “I think it’s a five-man effort in terms of defending. And the goalies are making key saves for us in big moments. It all ties together.”
For the Checkers, the formula for keeping opposing offenses at bay boils down to taking away opportunities before they even present themselves.
“Killing plays in the corners, making it difficult for them to get into the interior ice and the dangerous areas,” said Sanguinetti. “That’s the way we look at things.”
That strategy has paid off for Charlotte, as it has allowed the fourth fewest shots per game in the league.
“Guys have done a great job of that,” said Sanguinetti. “The buy-in, the commitment to getting in shot lanes. It seems like there’s sticks all over. There’s nothing easy right now.”
Watching this team in action, that commitment is abundantly clear through the amount of blocked shots the Checkers rack up night in and night out.
“A big part of our game is limiting chances,” said Sanguinetti. “Sometimes that means eating shots. It’s good to see.”
“We’ve got guys like Luddy [Johnny Ludvig] - it just gets the whole bench going when you see him down there blocking his fourth shot of the game,” said Checkers forward Henry Bowlby. “It makes you realize that we’re all buying in and you can do more. It’s been awesome.”
As is the mantra for the team across the board, the key is keeping this defensive surge rolling consistently. And as the Checkers enjoy continued success on the defensive side of things, the belief is that it will feed into all assets of their game.
“We talk about it all the time, if you’re good in your own end and you can kill plays earlier, the more time you’re spending in the offensive zone,” said Sanguinetti. “It’s all related. It’s been showing in the last few games - we’re really good defensively and it’s leading to chances offensively. It’s a group effort - forwards coming back and helping out, D having good sticks and trying to get pucks up to the forwards as quick as possible so we can play fast. We just want to keep that consistency.”
