PREVIOUS MATCHUPS
Jan. 18 – Toronto 3 at Charlotte 4 (SO)CHA Standouts: Janne Kuokkanen (1g, 2a), Jake Bean (1g, 1a), Oliwer Kaski (2 assists)
TOR Standouts: Mason Marchment (3 goals), Michael Kapla (1 assist), Kasimir Kaskisuo (34 saves)
Jan. 19 – Toronto 3 at Charlotte 7
CHA Standouts: Morgan Geekie (2g, 1a), Steven Lorentz (2 goals), Roland McKeown (2 assists)
TOR Standouts: Jeremy Bracco (2 assists), Kenny Agostino (1 PP goal), Joseph Woll (24 saves)
COMING IN
CHA: 2-game losing streak, 7-3-0 in last 10TOR: 5-game winless streak, 2-6-2 in last 10
WHO TO WATCH
CHA
Julien Gauthier – 5 pts in last 4 gamesMorgan Geekie – 11 pts in last 9 games
Eetu Luostarinen – 5 pts in last 3 games
TOR
Timothy Liljegren – 13 points in last 11 gamesPontus Aberg – 3 assists in last game
Nic Petan – 8 points in last 7 games
THREE STORYLINES
POWERING UP
Prior to not getting any opportunities in their last contest, the Checkers had recorded a power-play goal in eight straight games and multiple power-play goals in three straight. They were 12-for-30 on the man advantage over that stretch, rocketing them to third in the AHL with a 23.5 percent success rate. Charlotte’s surging power play will face a Toronto penalty kill that sits second-to-last in the league and surrendered four goals on eight man advantages during the two-game series in Charlotte earlier this month.GEEKIE GETS GOING
Morgan Geekie has caught fire as of late and been the Checkers’ most consistent offensive weapon. The forward is currently on a nine-game point streak, the longest active streak in the AHL and tied with Julien Gauthier for the longest by a Checker this season. The longest point streak in franchise history is 12 games, a mark set by Ryan Murphy in 2014 and matched by Greg McKegg in 2018.TIGHTEN UP
Despite still boasting the seventh-ranked defense in the AHL, the Checkers have surrendered at least three goals in each of their last five games and at least four in three of the last five – including both losses to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The Checkers – who are 6-14-2 when surrendering at least three goals – face a Toronto team this weekend that is tied for eighth in the AHL in goals per game and have scored at least three goals in six of the last seven.COACH'S QUOTES
Head coach Ryan Warsofsky on coming off the All-Star break.“We’ve got to get back into it. We had a few days mentally here to reset and we had a good day of practice. It’s important that we’re ready to go at 7 on Friday.”
On coming off back-to-back losses to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
“We were on a hot streak there since Christmas, so we’re not going to sneak up on any teams anymore. We were able to do that a little bit before. Now teams know what’s coming at them, especially when you see teams in a short period of time like we’re doing with Toronto.”
On the gameplan against the Marlies
“They hold onto a lot of pucks. They’re not going to dump pucks, so we need to pressure their D and create turnovers. And then when we have the puck we need to hold onto it. We want to be smart with it. When we don’t have a play, put it where we can get it and then start again.
On the Marlies’ rough patch as of late
“They have a new coach coming in and any time that happens there’s going to be a little change in systems or philosophy and voices. So any team would have went through that. We know that they’re going to start playing better hockey and it’s probably going to be tomorrow.”
On the impact of long-term injuries to Brian Gibbons and Colin Markison
“We lost two really good players, guys who set the tone with their speed and tenacity. We have to have that next man up mentality. Every team is going through call ups and injuries and some sort of adversity. We’re no different. We have to stick together and have guys step up. Now is the time. If you’re a rookie, you’re not a rookie anymore. We’re 42 games into this thing, it’s time to go.”
TUNE IN
Tonight's game in Toronto starts at 7p.m. You can tune in to every broadcast this season with a subscription to the league’s streaming platform AHLTV.As always, the radio broadcast will be available via the Checkers app on iPhone or Android, or this link, so tune in and tweet Jason Shaya to let him know you’re listening!
