Weekly Report: Free Hockey

The Checkers wrapped up a tough road trip on a bit of a high note, earning points in consecutive contests before finally finding the win column in Saturday’s finale.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Wolf Pack 5, Checkers 4 (SO)

The Checkers had a rare morning puck drop for their Tuesday matchup with Hartford, and the Wolf Pack were able to get the jump on them early - building up a 3-1 lead through 40 minutes of play. The visitors rallied, though, posting three straight goals in the first half of the third period to secure the lead - an advantage that turned out to be short lived, as Hartford notched a power-play goal less than a minute later to even the score and send the game to overtime. After a scoreless overtime, Alex Belzile scored for Hartford in round one of the shootout - a mark that turned out to be the only conversion across the board, as the Checkers saw two attempts ring off the post and ultimately dropped the contest.

Thunderbirds 4, Checkers 3 (OT)

Friday night in Springfield the Checkers proved once again to be a resilient club. Charlotte erased a two-goal deficit to even the score going into the third, then responded quickly to Springfield’s next tally to push things to overtime once again. Both sides traded chances in the extra frame, but Matt Luff caught a stretch pass late and converted his breakaway chance to earn the win for Springfield.

Checkers 3, Islanders 2 (SO)

The Checkers had the script flipped on them in Saturday’s finale against Bridgeport. Charlotte jumped ahead to a 2-0 lead early in the first, but the Islanders chipped away and knotted the score midway through the third period - sending the Checkers beyond regulation for the third straight game. Neither side could find the back of the net until the top of the fourth round of the shootout, when Ryan McAllister entered the zone patiently and buried a quick shot under Magnus Hogberg. With the game on his shoulders Chris Driedger came up with a big stop, capping off a perfect shootout for himself and earning the Checkers a much-needed win.

QUICK HITS

BUMPY ROAD

The Checkers are back home after their longest road trip thus far - and the second longest on the schedule overall this season. The five-game trek took them through a gauntlet of divisional opponents - two against Hartford, two against Springfield, one against Bridgeport - and saw them emerge with a 1-2-1-1 record. While things started off a bit rough with a pair of regulation losses, the Checkers were able to get things back on track a little as the trip wore one - finishing with standings points in each of the last three games and capping it off with the only regulation victory of the trip.

Even with the up-and-down nature of the trip, the Checkers are still sitting at 8-4-1-2 heading into Thanksgiving. That’s tied for the fifth-highest point total through 15 games in franchise history and one point ahead of where the team was at this point last season.

FREE HOCKEY

The Checkers have gone beyond regulation five times already this season - all of which have come over the last eight games, including each of the last three. Two of those games have ended in overtime - with the Checkers taking one win and one loss - and three have gone to a shootout -where the Checkers are 1-2.

Charlotte has only had one conversion in the shootout thus far through 10 tries, while Chris Driedger has denied six of the seven shots he has faced across two different shootouts (Cooper Black stopped two of three in the other instance).

Last season the Checkers were 9-7 in games that ended in overtime and only had one game go to a shootout, which they won.

CRISCUOLO KEEPS SCORING

Kyle Criscuolo has been a consistent offensive force for the Checkers, and that prowess has driven him to the team lead with 18 points (9g, 9a) in 15 games. The veteran forward has six multi-point games thus far, including four in the last seven contests.

HIGHS AND LOWS

The Checkers continue to reign atop the AHL’s offensive rankings, averaging 3.93 goals per game to hold a slight edge over Texas for the number one spot. They have scored at least four goals on seven different occasions this season and are 6-0-0-1 when hitting that threshold, while posting a 2-4-1-1 record when falling below that.

On the flip side, the Checkers clock in tied for 22nd on the defensive side of things, surrendering 3.27 goals per game. They have given up at least four goals on nine different occasions this season - including seven of the last eight contests.

HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK

Ryan McAllister and Chris Driedger stepped up in round four of the shootout to help the Checkers pick up a win on Saturday!

The heroes 🫡 pic.twitter.com/VL7eWzVoL2

— Charlotte Checkers (@CheckersHockey) November 24, 2024

Transactions

Incoming

• None

Outgoing

• Nov. 25 - Riley Bezeau assigned to Savannah (ECHL)
• Nov. 25 - Josh Davies assigned to Savannah (ECHL)

RANKINGS

• Kyle Criscuolo leads the AHL in power-play goals (6)
• Kyle Criscuolo ranks second in the AHL in power-play points (10)
• Kyle Criscuolo is tied for sixth in the AHL in goals (9)
• Kyle Criscuolo is tied for seventh in the AHL in points (18)
• Trevor Carrick leads the AHL in power-play assists (9)
• Trevor Carrick leads the AHL in power-play points (13)
• Trevor Carrick leads AHL defensemen in power-play goals (4)
• Trevor Carrick ranks third among AHL defensemen in points (15)
• Trevor Carrick is tied for third among AHL defensemen in assists (11)
• Trevor Carrick is tied for fifth in the AHL in power-play goals (4)
• Trevor Carrick is tied for fifth among AHL defensemen in goals (4)
• Aidan McDonough is tied for third in the AHL in game-winning goals (3)
• Aidan McDonough is tied for fourth in the AHL in goals (10)
• Ryan McAllister is tied for third in the AHL in power-play points (9)
• Ryan McAllister is tied for fifth in the AHL in power-play assists (6)
• Mike Benning is tied for ninth among AHL defensemen in points (11)
• Rasmus Asplund is tied for second in the AHL in shorthanded goals (2)
• Sandis Vilmanis is tied for fourth among AHL rookies in power-play assists (4)
• Ken Appleby is tied for fifth in the AHL in shutouts (1)

By the Numbers

CATEGORY	RECORD	AHL RANK
Power play	35.8%	1st
Penalty kill	80.6%	19th
Goals per game	3.93	1st
Shots per game	32.93	3rd
Goals allowed per game	3.27	t-22nd
Shots allowed per game	25.07	2nd
Penalty minutes per game	13.60	14th

LEADERS

CATEGORY	LEADER(S)
Points	Kyle Criscuolo (18), Aidan McDonough (16), Trevor Carrick (15)
Goals	Aidan McDonough (10), Kyle Criscuolo (9), Ryan McAllister, John Leonard (6)
Assists	Trevor Carrick (11), Mike Benning, Kyle Criscuolo (9)
Power play goals	Kyle Criscuolo (6), Trevor Carrick (4), Three tied (3)
Shorthanded goals	Rasmus Asplund (2), MacKenzie Entwistle, Mike Benning, Patrick Giles (1)
Game-winning goals	Aidan McDonough (3), Ryan McAllister (2), Kyle Criscuolo, John Leonard (1)
Shots on goal	John Leonard (46), Aidan McDonough (39), Wilmer Skoog (38)
Penalty minutes	Justin Sourdif (29), Wilmer Skoog (18), Riley Bezeau (16)
Plus/minus	John Leonard (+7), Kyle Criscuolo, Matt Kiersted (+4)
Wins	Chris Driedger (4)
Goals-against average	Ken Appleby (2.64)
Save percentage	Ken Appleby (.890)