Weekly Report: Checkers Sweep Gulls in Thrilling Fashion

The Checkers swept the San Diego Gulls in dramatic fashion last week, battling back in each game before Gerry Mayhew scored in overtime to push the Checkers’ win streak to four games.

It was the first two goals of the season for Mayhew, an offensive standout throughout his AHL career who had started with just one assist through his first five games but now has six points (2g, 4a) over the course of a torrid four-game point streak.

In addition to the overall win streak that pushed the team up to third in the Atlantic Division (6-3-0), Charlotte has now won five straight in the friendly confines of Bojangles Coliseum. Their .833 points percentage at home is tied for first in the AHL.

The team now gets set to hit the road for its farthest road trip of the season – a four-game trek through California that starts in San Jose this Friday.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Checkers 4, Gulls 3 (OT)

A back-and-forth game on Friday saw Lucas Carlsson get the tying goal with just 3.1 seconds left in regulation off an offensive-zone faceoff that immediately followed a Checkers timeout. Charlotte then carried that momentum into overtime, with Mayhew, who had missed a chance to win the game just seconds earlier, making good on a breakaway to seal the win. Zac Dalpe and Ryan McAllister also scored, and Spencer Knight picked up his second straight win in goal.

Checkers 5, Gulls 4 (OT)

Mayhew played the hero once again on Saturday, scoring in overtime to defeat the Gulls for the second straight day. It was another game in which the teams traded blows but it was the Checkers who had to get the equalizer to force the extra session, with Brendan Perlini scoring on a lengthy five-on-three to make it 4-4 in the third period. The rookie trio of Jake Wise, Mike Benning and Ryan McAllister all found the back of the net for Charlotte and Ludovic Waeber improved to 2-0-0 in goal.

QUICK HITS

THRILLERS ONLY

Last weekend’s games marked just the second time that the Checkers won consecutive games in sudden-death overtime in their AHL history (excluding shootouts). During the previous instance on Jan. 12 and 13, 2013, Chris Terry and Riley Nash scored the goals, making Mayhew the first player scored back-to-back overtime winners in team history.

MAYHEW MAYHEM

After registering just one assist through his first five games, Mayhew now has six points (2g, 4a) over a four-game point streak. In doing so, he has climbed all the way up into a third-place tie for the team’s scoring lead.

CLUTCH PERFORMERS

Though Mayhew is the first Checker to get overtime winners in consecutive games, he is already the second player to get consecutive game winners for the Checkers this season – Lucas Carlsson started the win streak with a pair of winners against Bridgeport and also had one on Oct. 21 in Toronto, making him the AHL leader in that category. Only one other player, Patrick Khodorenko – has a winner for the Checkers this season.

ON A ROLL

The Checkers’ current four-game win streak is tied for the longest-active streak in the AHL and is one shy of the longest posted by any team this season. It is the longest streak posted by the team since a six-game run from Jan. 25-Feb. 10 of last season.

Meanwhile, the five-game win streak at home is tied for both the longest active and longest streak at any point this season (Hershey).

CALIFORNIA DREAMING

The Checkers’ upcoming trip to California will be their first to the Golden State since the 2016-17 campaign. Their two previous trips returned extremely different results, as the Checkers went 0-5-1 on that most recent trip but posted a perfectly opposite 5-0-1 romp in 2015-16.

BENNING ON THE BOARD

Defenseman Mike Benning recorded his third goal of the season on Saturday, making him the AHL leader in goals among rookie defensemen. By comparison, the Checkers had just five total goals by rookie defensemen last season, with John Ludvig leading the way with three. In the Checkers’ AHL history, a rookie defenseman has scored more than five goals in a season just four times. Jake Bean holds the record with 13 in 2018-19.

HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK

It doesn’t get any more dramatic than tying it late and winning it in OT.

RANKS

• Lucas Carlsson leads the league with three game-winning goals (3)
• Carlsson is tied for second in AHL goals by a defenseman (4) and for seventh in points (8)
• Santtu Kinnunen is tied for seventh in AHL points by a defenseman (8) and is tied for third in assists (8)
• Mike Benning leads AHL rookie defenseman in goals (3) and power-play goals (2) and is tied for first overall in power-play goals by AHL defensemen
• Jake Wise is tied for sixth in AHL rookie goals (4) and for ninth in AHL rookie points (7)
• Ryan McAllister is tied for ninth in AHL rookie goals (3)

Transactions

Incoming

• Nov. 2 – Zach Uens recalled from Florida (ECHL)

Outgoing

• 11/2 – Rasmus Asplund recalled by Florida (NHL)
• 10/30 – Wilmer Skoog assigned to Florida (ECHL)
• 10/30 – Kai Schwindt assigned to Florida (ECHL)

By the Numbers

CATEGORY	RECORD	AHL RANK
Power play	19.0%	t-13th
Penalty kill	90.0%	4th
Goals per game	3.33	11th
Shots per game	28.1	24th
Goals allowed per game	2.67	t-8th
Shots allowed per game	26.7	8th
Penalty minutes per game	11.7	22nd

LEADERS

CATEGORY	LEADER(S)
Points	Lucas Carlsson, Santtu Kinnunen (8), Jake Wise, Gerry Mayhew (7)
Goals	Lucas Carlsson, Jake Wise (4)
Assists	Santtu Kinnunen (8), Gerry Mayhew (5)
Power play goals	Jake Wise, Mike Benning (2)
Shorthanded goals	None
Game-winning goals	Lucas Carlsson (3), Gerry Mayhew (2), Patrick Khodorenko (1)
Shots on goal	Lucas Carlsson (30), Gerry Mayhew (22), Zac Dalpe (21)
Penalty minutes	Casey Fitzgerald (15), Lucas Carlsson (10), Riley Bezeau (9)
Plus/minus	Brendan Perlini (5), five tied at (3)
Wins	Spencer Knight (3), Ludovic Waeber (2), Mack Guzda (1)
Goals-against average	Mack Guzda (2.02), Spencer Knight (2.23, Ludovic Waeber (2.96))
Save percentage	Mack Guzda (.930), Spencer Knight (.911), Ludovic Waeber (.895)