QUICK HITS
FAMILIAR FOE
The Checkers are plenty familiar with the Phantoms, having just hosted them for two games a week ago. That weekend series ended in a split, with the Phantoms claiming a narrow victory in the opener before the Checkers got revenge the following night.Both teams suffered defeats in the interim, as the Checkers fell to the Bears on Tuesday and the Phantoms dropped a 3-2 contest to Hartford on Wednesday.
SPECIAL TEAMS TRENDING UP
After allowing four power-play goals on seven opportunities over the previous two contests, the Charlotte penalty kill righted the ship against the Bears on Tuesday by going perfect on the PK in three chances. The Checkers - who clock in at 17th in the AHL in penalty-kill percentage - will be looking to keep that positive trend going against a Lehigh Valley club that is tied for sixth in the AHL in terms of power-play success.HEPO RETURNS
After a stint with the Panthers, Aleksi Heponiemi is back with the Checkers ahead of this weekend’s series. One of Charlotte’s alternate captains, Heponiemi returns to the club where he is tied for fifth in goals this season and has posted seven points in 16 games.ROSTER SHUFFLE
While Heponiemi joins the lineup, Alex Lyon departs - having been recalled by the Panthers on Thursday. The crease will shift to the combination of rookie Mack Guzda and veteran J-F Berube in his absence.Lyon joins Zac Dalpe, Matt Kiersted and Chris Tierney on a Florida roster that has taken a hit due to injuries as of late. To fill in those holes, the Checkers have turned to their ECHL affiliate in the Florida Everblades to recall Xavier Cormier, Dominic Franco and Robert Calisti.
SEARCHING FOR GOALS
The Checkers will be looking to kickstart an offense that has been scarce as of late. With their 4-2 defeat in Hershey on Tuesday, the Checkers have now scored two goals in four of their last six contests while posting an 0-3-1-0 record in those situations. Immediately prior to that cold snap the Checkers went on a three-game run of notching at least four goals, and they broke free of that trend in their last meeting with Lehigh Valley on Dec. 3 when they racked up six goals in a victory.COMING IN
CLT: 2-2-1-0 in last five gamesLV: 2-3-0-0 in last five games
WHO TO WATCH
CLT
Riley Nash - 12 points in last 10 gamesLogan Hutsko - 3 points in last 3 games
Michael Del Zotto - 7 points in last 8 games
LV
Cal O'Reilly - 3 points in last 3 gamesLouis Belpedio - 6 points in last 6 games
Tyson Foerster - 3 points in last 2 games
TUNE IN
Tonight's game starts at 7:05 p.m. You can tune in to the broadcast with a subscription to the league’s streaming platform AHLTV. (Home feed only)Additionally, our friends over at Ed's Tavern on 2200 Park Road are going to be showing the game on their TVs!
