Weekly Report: Jan. 12

A busy week saw the Checkers fall into a season-worst skid before bouncing back in grand fashion.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Monsters 3, Checkers 1

The Checkers started their extended five-game road swing in stellar fashion with a perfect three-in-three, but the final two legs against the Monsters proved to be a tougher task. After dropping the first meeting, Charlotte kicked off this week with a Monday night finale in Cleveland that saw them break the ice early in the middle frame, only to surrender three straight to the home side and suffer the series sweep.

Penguins 5, Checkers 1

Back in the friendly confines of Bojangles Coliseum, the Checkers couldn’t get back on track against the division-leading Penguins. The visitors built up a 2-0 lead through 40 minutes of play but really pulled away in the third with back-to-back tallies to make it 4-0. Ben Steeves broke the shutout bid for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton netminder Sergei Murashov midway through the frame, but the Checkers were unable to spark a rally, and the Penguins added one more down the stretch to complete their route.

Checkers 5, Penguins 1

Mired in their longest losing streak of the season, the Checkers flipped the script in the following night’s rematch. Two strikes in the back half of the first and another Ben Steeves power-play goal gave Charlotte a sizable three-goal lead as regulation passed its midway point. The Penguins struck on a second-period power play to get on the board, but the Checkers snuffed out any hopes of a rally from the visitors. Jack Devine lit the lamp for the second time that night - with Steeves adding an assist for his third point - and Nate Smith tacked on an empty netter to complete the 5-1 victory and snap the Checkers back into the win column.

QUICK HITS

SHUTTING IT DOWN

The final results of this week’s slate of games follows what has emerged as a pattern for Charlotte this season. The losses to Cleveland and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton saw the Checkers surrender three and five goals, respectively, while they gave up just one in the lone victory. Overall this season, they are 5-12-1-0 when allowing three or more goals and 14-0-1-0 when coming in below that threshold. Taking it one step further, the Checkers are 0-9-0-0 when allowing four or more goals and 19-3-2-0 when holding opponents under that.

DYNAMIC DUOS

Two of Charlotte’s biggest offensive producers as of late have been Nate Smith and Nolan Foote. Smith - who inked an AHL deal with Charlotte before Christmas - has fit right in, currently riding a wave of nine points over the last seven contests, while Foote has come alive for 12 points in his last 11 outings.

In the seven games since Dec. 28, at least one of Smith or Foote has factored into 11 of the 22 goals that Charlotte has scored.

KILLING IT

The Checkers have pushed their way into the number two spot on the AHL’s penalty kill rankings with a gaudy 85.9 percent success rate. The Penguins converted once in Saturday’s contest to snap what had been a run of four straight games perfect on the PK for Charlotte, but the Checkers have still killed 38 of their last 42 times shorthanded - a 91-percent clip - over the last 11 games.

HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK

Ben Steeves turns on the jets and buries it for one of his three points in Saturday's win!

Buried it 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/b4iPCmaejw

— Charlotte Checkers (@CheckersHockey) January 11, 2026

Transactions

Incoming

• None

Outgoing

• Jan. 10 - Sandis Vilmanis - Recalled by Florida (NHL)
• Jan. 8 - Colton Huard - Assigned to Savannah (ECHL)

Injury Notes

• Gracyn Sawchyn (Out since Jan. 5) will be out long term, per head coach Geordie Kinnear
• MacKenzie Entwistle (Out since Nov. 29) practiced with the team in a no-contact jersey on Monday

RANKINGS

• Cooper Black is tied for second in the AHL and leads all rookies in wins (14)
• Jack Devine is tied for third among AHL rookies in game-winning goals (3)
• Gracyn Sawchyn is tied for third among AHL rookies in game-winning goals (3)
• Nolan Foote is tied for fith in the AHL in game-winning goals (4)
• Cooper Black ranks seventh among qualified AHL rookies in goals-against average (2.54) and save percentage (.903)
• Jack Devine is tied for eighth among AHL rookies in goals (10)
• Gracyn Sawchyn is tied for ninth among AHL rookies in assists (13)
• Gracyn Sawchyn is tied for ninth among AHL rookies in plus-minus (+11)
• Ben Steeves is tied for 10th in the AHL in power-play goals (6)

By the Numbers

CATEGORY	RECORD	AHL RANK
Power play	16.2%	23rd
Penalty kill	85.9%	2nd
Goals per game	2.97	t-18th
Shots per game	30.48	5th
Goals allowed per game	2.79	t-11th
Shots allowed per game	25.39	3rd
Penalty minutes per game	12.27	22nd

LEADERS

CATEGORY	LEADER(S)
Points	Jack Devine, Ben Steeves (20), Four tied (19)
Goals	Ben Steeves, Wilmer Skoog (11), Jack Devine (10)
Assists	Gracyn Sawchyn (13), Nolan Foote (12), Sandis Vilmanis, Mike Benning (11)
Power play goals	Ben Steeves (6), Robert Mastrosimone, Jack Devine, Wilmer Skoog (2)
Shorthanded goals	Jack Devine, Brett Chorske, Sandis Vilmanis (1)
Game-winning goals	Nolan Foote (4), Jack Devine, Brett Chorske (3)
Shots on goal	Nolan Foote (88), Ben Steeves (87), Wilmer Skoog (74)
Penalty minutes	Ben Steeves (50), Jack Devine (29), Riese Gaber, Mike Benning (28)
Plus/minus	Mikulas Hovorka (+12), Gracyn Sawchyn (+11), Jack Devine (+10)
Wins	Cooper Black (14)
Goals-against average	Cooper Black (2.54)
Save percentage	Cooper Black (.903)