Game Preview: Checkers at Bridgeport (November 1, 2022)

The Checkers have one more contest on this road trip, and they’ll look to get back on track with a rare morning game against the Bridgeport Islanders.

QUICK HITS

BUMPY ROAD

After starting the season with four straight wins on home ice, the Checkers have come back down during their first road trip. Charlotte dropped a tight 2-1 contest against Providence on Friday, then lost in overtime to Hartford the next night to collect one out of a possible four points in the standings.

Even with those stumbles, the Checkers enter the final contest on their road trip with a 4-1-1 record overall, sitting with the third highest points percentage in the Atlantic Division.

LOCKDOWN

One of Charlotte’s stronger facets as of late has been on the defensive side of the game. The Checkers have given up two or fewer goals in regulation in each of their last three games and now clock in with the sixth-ranked goals-against average in the AHL.

They’ll look to keep that trend going against a Bridgeport team that boasts the second-best offense in the league so far and has scored at least five goals in each of its last five games.

SEARCHING FOR OFFENSE

The Charlotte offense has had a harder time replicating its early offensive success on this road trip, scoring three total goals over the 121 minutes of play in the two losses. Only two Checkers have found the scoresheet in both games during this swing - Aleksi Heponiemi, who lit the lamp against Providence and notched an assist against Hartford, and Justin Sourdif, who has an assist in each of his last three contests.

FREE HOCKEY

Of the six games that the Checkers have played this season, three have gone to overtime. That ties them for the most in the AHL, though Charlotte is the only team to have all three of those contests end in overtime as opposed to a shootout. The Checkers are also the only team in the AHL with two overtime wins already, holding a 2-1 record in the extra frame.

COMING IN

CLT: 3-1-1-0 in last five games

BRI: 4-0-1-0 in last five games

WHO TO WATCH

CLT

Justin Sourdif - 3 assists in last 3 games

Aleksi Heponiemi - 2 points in last 2 games

Logan Hutsko - 4 points in last 3 games

BRI

Samuel Bolduc - 9 points in last 5 games

Andy Andreoff - 10 points in last 5 games

Ruslan Iskhakov - 11 points in last 6 games

TUNE IN

Puck drops in Bridgeport at 10:30 this morning, and you can tune in to every broadcast this season with a subscription to the league’s streaming platform AHLTV.