Weekly Report: Heavyweight Bouts

The Checkers squared off with another Eastern Conference powerhouse when they welcomed Toronto to town and exited the weekend with a hard-fought split.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Marlies 4, Checkers 3

The first meeting between the two sides was a tightly contested affair, with a pair of strikes from Aidan McDonough helping propel the Checkers to a one-goal lead after 40 minutes of play. The Marlies tilted things their way in the third, however, lighting the lamp twice to complete the comeback win over Charlotte.

Checkers 5, Marlies 4 (OT)

Charlotte’s power play went into overdrive in the following night’s rematch, finding the back of the net four times across 60 minutes of regulation. A late surge from Toronto pushed the game to overtime, however, but the Checkers got the last laugh as John Leonard threaded a shot past the Toronto netminder late in the OT to claim a win for the home side.

QUICK HITS

STARTING STRONG

With 10 games in the books this season, the Checkers sit at 7-2-0-1, tying them for the second best record through 10 games in franchise history with the 2012-13 campaign.

The Checkers currently find themselves in third place in the Atlantic Division, trailing Hershey and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton but having played fewer games than any other team in the division - in fact, Charlotte boasts the best points percentage in the Atlantic and the third best mark in the Eastern Conference.

LIGHTING THE LAMP

The Checkers offense continues to churn out goals at a staggering rate this season. The team remains atop the AHL with an average of 4.5 goals per game and has posted at least five goals in half of their games thus far. In fact, the Checkers have been held to fewer than three goals just once all season. They have done it against some formidable opponents as well, with five of their 10 games this season coming against teams that currently rank in the AHL’s top 10 defensively.

POWERING THROUGH

Charlotte’s power play hit a bump for the first time over the weekend when they were held scoreless in Saturday’s loss to Toronto - the first time they haven’t registered a goal in a game this season. The unit would bounce back in a big way, though, racking up four power-play goals in the next night’s win. The Checkers still reign as the top power play in the league - clocking in nearly 12 percentage points higher than the second ranked club - and have scored 19 power-play goals in 10 games, a mark that is 41 percent of the way to their 72-game total of 46 a season ago.

BLUE LINE BREAKS THROUGH

As the team racks up the goals, the Checkers are getting plenty of contributions from their blue line. Leading the way are Trevor Carrick - who is tied for the league lead for points among defensemen - and Mike Benning - who is tied for third. Carrick bounced back from having his seven-game point streak snapped on Saturday by posting a three-point effort on Sunday, while Benning has eight points in his last five contests.

HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK

Of course the highlight of the week is John Leonard calling game in overtime, duh!

🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨 pic.twitter.com/6hWPuUI7lc

— Charlotte Checkers (@CheckersHockey) November 10, 2024

Transactions

Incoming

• Nov. 11 - Josh Davies - Recalled from Savannah (ECHL)
• Nov. 10 - Cooper Black - Recalled from Savannah (ECHL)
• Nov. 7 - Justin Sourdif - Assigned from Florida (NHL)

Outgoing

• Nov. 7 - Matt Luff - Released from PTO

RANKINGS

• Trevor Carrick leads the AHL in power-play points (9)
• Trevor Carrick is tied for the AHL lead in power-play assists (6)
• Kyle Criscuolo is tied for the AHL lead in power-play goals (4)
• Aidan McDonough is tied for second in the AHL in goals (9)
• Aidan McDonough is tied for second in the AHL in game-winning goals (3)
• Rasmus Asplund is tied for second in the AHL in shorthanded goals (2)
• Ryan McAllister is tied for third in the AHL in power-play assists (5)
• Kyle Criscuolo is tied for seventh in the AHL in points (15)
• Trevor Carrick is tied for seventh in the AHL in power-play goals (3)
• Aidan McDonough is tied for seventh in the AHL in power-play goals (3)
• Sandis Vilmanis is tied for second among AHL rookies in power-play assists (4)
• Sandis Vilmanis is tied for fourth among AHL rookies in power-play points (4)
• Trevor Carrick leads all AHL defensemen in power-play goals (3)
• Trevor Carrick leads all AHL defensemen in power-play assists (6)
• Trevor Carrick leads all AHL defensemen in power-play points (9)
• Trevor Carrick is tied for the lead among AHL defensemen in points (11)
• Mike Benning is tied for the lead among AHL defensemen in shorthanded goals (1)
• Mike Benning is tied for the lead among AHL defensemen in shorthanded points (1)
• Mike Benning is tied for third among AHL defensemen in points (10)
• Trevor Carrick is tied for third among AHL defensemen in assists (8)
• Mike Benning is tied for third among AHL defensemen in assists (8)
• Trevor Carrick is tied for fourth among AHL defensemen in goals (4)

By the Numbers

CATEGORY	RECORD	AHL RANK
Power play	40.4%	1st
Penalty kill	82.4%	15th
Goals per game	4.50	1st
Shots per game	32.20	4th
Goals allowed per game	3.00	16th
Shots allowed per game	25.10	2nd
Penalty minutes per game	13.50	19th

LEADERS

CATEGORY	LEADER(S)
Points	Kyle Criscuolo (13), Aidan McDonough (12), Ryan McAllister, Trevor Carrick (11)
Goals	Aidan McDonough (9), Rasmus Asplund, Kyle Criscuolo, Ryan McAllister (5)
Assists	Trevor Carrick, Mike Benning, Kyle Criscuolo (8)
Power play goals	Kyle Criscuolo (4), Trevor Carrick, Aidan McDonough (3)
Shorthanded goals	Rasmus Asplund (2), MacKenzie Entwistle, Mike Benning (1)
Game-winning goals	Aidan McDonough (3), Ryan McAllister (2), Kyle Criscuolo, John Leonard (1)
Shots on goal	John Leonard (29), Wilmer Skoog (25), Rasmus Asplund (24)
Penalty minutes	Riley Bezeau (16), Marek Alscher (13), Three tied (10)
Plus/minus	John Leonard (+5), Kyle Criscuolo, Mike Benning, Aidan McDonough (+4)
Wins	Chris Driedger, Ken Appleby (3)
Goals-against average	Ken Appleby (2.23)
Save percentage	Ken Appleby (.910)