Game Preview: Checkers vs Providence (March 17, 2022)

The Checkers are welcoming the Bruins to town for the first time this season in a critical Atlantic Division series.

QUICK HITS

ON THE RISE

With the Checkers taking three of four points against Springfield last weekend and the Wolf Pack losing to Syracuse last night, the Checkers have vaulted up to third place in the Atlantic Division standings. They now trail the second-place Bruins by .029 percentage points.

TIPPETT STAYS HOT

Owen Tippett put up a staggering eight points (4g, 4a) over the last four games, earning himself AHL Player of the Week honors. The forward has now racked up 18 points in 12 games with Charlotte this season – finding the scoresheet in all but one of the games he played thus far – and is currently on a seven-game point streak, which is tied with Kole Lind for the longest by a Checker this season.

OFFENSE TURNS IT UP

The Charlotte offense continues to stand as one of the team’s biggest strengths, as the Checkers sit fifth in the AHL in terms of goals per game. They have recorded at least five goals in three of the last six games and have posted at least three goals in seven of the last eight contests.

DACCORD STANDS TALL

Joey Daccord turned in the top performance by a Checkers goalie this season in his last outing, turning aside 44 shots to beat the Thunderbirds. The netminder has now won each of his last three appearances, allowing four total goals and making 104 saves.

QUOTES

Checkers Head Coach Geordie Kinnear on this week's focus at practice
"We have a lot of bodies that we need to get up to speed as fast as possible. Today was just about being fast and organized and working on some breakouts. Our focus is to always get better."

Kinnear on the incoming rookies joining the lineup
"They have to take some ownership and learn as fast as possible, watch the game and study how we play. But I thought the guys did a great job with it. Dennis [Cesana] came in from college and we threw him right in the fire. He did a great job."

Joey Daccord after last Friday's game on the home crowd
"After a couple of weeks on the road, to come back here with a packed house at Bojangles – the place was buzzing. It was a lot of fun."

COMING IN

CLT: 4-0-1-0 in last five games this season

PRO: 2-3-1-0 in last five games this season

WHO TO WATCH

CLT

Owen Tippett - 12 points in last 7 games

Alexander True - 8 points in last 8 games

Aleksi Heponiemi – 5 points in last 5 games

PRO

Justin Brazeau – 11 points in last 13 games

Chris Wagner – 5 points in last 7 games

Zach Senyshyn – 6 points in last 7 games

PROMOS

TUNE IN

Tonight's game starts at 7 p.m. If you can't be at the Coliseum, 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.