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The Checkers got back on track during what turned out to be the last week of the NHL lockout, winning back-to-back games to end a four-game winless streak.

The last game of that streak, a 2-1 overtime loss in Lake Erie, actually turned out to be the first game of an active three-game point streak that continued with a rematch win against the Monsters and a victory over Norfolk at Raleigh’s PNC Arena. The Checkers have now earned points in 10 of their last 12 games (7-2-3) to extend their lead in the South Division.

While Sunday’s game in Raleigh was officially a home game for the Checkers, they are nonetheless in the midst of a nine-game stretch of games that take place away from Time Warner Cable Arena. It concludes with a three-in-three set in Oklahoma City and Houston this weekend before the team returns home to host Grand Rapids on Jan. 16.

Week in Review

Lake Erie 2, Checkers 1 (OT)

Zach Boychuk’s five-on-three goal with 10 minutes remaining in the third period was enough to force overtime and earn the Checkers a point, but they eventually lost the other in overtime due to a 2-1 loss in Lake Erie on Thursday. Dan Ellis made 23 saves for Charlotte, which extended its winless streak to four games (0-2-2). Calvin Pickard made 35 for Lake Erie, which won for the fifth consecutive time on home ice. Full recap

Checkers 4, Lake Erie 0

The Checkers’ slumbering offense came to life and Justin Peters made 23 saves to earn his third shutout of the season as the Checkers defeated Lake Erie by a 4-0 score on Friday. Riley Nash opened the scoring midway through the second period, Zac Dalpe scored twice in the third and Tim Wallace added a shorthanded goal with five minutes remaining as the Checkers won for the first-ever time in Lake Erie and for the first time in a five-game stretch. Full recap

Checkers 3, Norfolk 1

With the NHL’s lockout having ended earlier in the day, the Checkers got hockey season started in front of over 10,000 fans at Raleigh’s PNC Arena with a 3-1 victory over the Norfolk Admirals. Zac Dalpe’s shorthanded goal in the second period tied the game before Chris Terry and Jerome Samson capped things off with third-period goals. Dan Ellis made 28 saves as the Checkers took a 2-0-0 lead in the GEICO Cup Challenge between the two regional rivals. Full recap

Notables

Reaching for the Top

With the NHL lockout coming to an end and training camps set to begin as soon as this weekend, a number of Checkers players will be looking to make a return to the major leagues with Carolina. Of the 25 players currently on the team's roster 13 have at least one game of NHL experience. All but three of those players (Dan Ellis, Marc-Andre Gragnani and Tim Wallace) have played for the Hurricanes.

Dalpe's Quiet Contributions

Zac Dalpe, who ranks third on the Checkers in scoring with 23 points (11g, 22a), is also among the team's leaders in a handful of less-heralded categories. His six penalty minutes are the fewest of any skater with more than 10 games played, while his +11 plus/minus rating and 116 shots on goal are both team highs.

Scoring Shorthanded

The Checkers have scored shorthanded goals in back-to-back games for the first time this season, starting with Tim Wallace's goal in Lake Erie on Friday and continue with Zac Dalpe's against Norfolk on Sunday. The Checkers now have five shorthanded goals for the season (t-4th AHL), with no player registering more than one. Wallace (1g, 1a), who assisted on Dalpe's goal, and Riley Nash (2a) are the only Checkers with multiple shorthanded points.

Charlotte's penalty kill has also been successful in the more traditional sense, having kept opponents off the board 85.9 percent of the time to rank fifth in the AHL.

Floodgates Open

After failing to score more than two goals in five consecutive games, their longest such streak of the season, the Checkers have now accomplished that feat in back-to-back games, both regulation victories. Zac Dalpe scored three of the team's seven goals during that stretch, which included a 4-0 win in Lake Erie on Friday and a 3-1 over Norfolk on Sunday. For the season, the Checkers rank tied for 10th in the AHL with an average of 3.03 goals per game.

Slow Starts, Fast Finishes

The Checkers' 20 first-period goals are the fifth-fewest of any AHL team in their opening periods this season. The team has nearly doubled that total with 38 goals in the second period and has more than doubled it with a league-high 48 goals in their third periods. In terms of goal differential, the Checkers are -7 in the first period, +4 in the second and +20 in the third period.

Shutting the Door

Justin Peters' 23-save shutout against Lake Erie on Friday marked the 10th of his AHL career and third of the season. He is now just one away from tying his single season career high set with Albany during the 2008-09 campaign.

Peters is now one of nine AHL goaltenders with three or more shutouts this season. Teammate Dan Ellis has two shutouts of his own, giving the Checkers' five as a team - a mark that is tied for second-most in the league.

Three-in-Threes

This weekend, the Checkers will play three games in three nights for the fifth time this season as they play two games in Oklahoma City on Friday and Saturday before traveling to Houston to play a third on Sunday. In their last set at Houston, Texas and San Antonio from Dec. 28-30, the Checkers did not record a victory (0-2-1) for the first time in 21 attempts as an AHL franchise.

Thanks to sweeping two separate three-in-three sets for the first two times in thei history earlier in the season, the Checkers are now 10-3-2 in games that are part of a three-in-three set this season, including a 4-0-1 mark in Game One, a 3-1-1 record in Game Two and a 3-2-0 showing in Game Three. Following this weekend, the Checkers will play two additional three-in-three sets later in the season.

In the Driver's Seat

The Checkers have held the top spot in the South Division since winning at Rockford on Oct. 20, a span of 77 days. They currently lead the second-place Texas Stars by two points and are only five points ahead of fourth-place Oklahoma City. The Checkers are 6-4-3 in divisional play this season, having played by far the fewest inter-divisional games of any South team to this point.

The South Division is currently the AHL's only division that has four teams (Charlotte, Texas, Houston and Oklahoma City) with 40 or more points. No other division can claim to have more than two.

Player Streaks

• Chris Terry has points in each of his last four games (Dec. 30-Jan. 6; 1g, 4a)
• Marc-Andre Gragnani has points in each of his last three games (Dec. 14-16; 1g, 2a)
• Zac Dalpe has goals and points in each of his last two games (Jan. 4-6; 2g, 1a)
• Tim Wallace has points in each of his last two games (Jan. 4-6; 1g, 2a)
• Jerome Samson has points in each of his last two games (Jan. 4-6; 1g, 1a)

Injuries

• Justin Soryal (upper body, Jan. 4) - missed one game
• Nicolas Blanchard (upper body, Jan. 3) - missed two games
• Rasmus Rissanen (upper body, Dec. 28) - missed five games
• Marc-Andre Gragnani (lower body, Dec. 16) - missed eight games

Coming Up

By the Numbers

Team Statistics
CATEGORY	RECORD	AHL RANK	LAST WEEK
Power play	19.0%	8th	19.0% (7th)
Penalty kill	85.9%	5th	86.2% (5th)
Goals per game	3.03	t-10th	3.06 (t-11th)
Shots per game	33.1	3rd	33.3 (2nd)
Goals allowed per game	2.61	7th	2.76 (t-10th)
Shots allowed per game	29.8	t-12th	30.1 (14th)
Penalty minutes per game	13.8	4th	13.0 (3rd)

Team Leaders
CATEGORY	LEADER(S)
Points	Zach Boychuk (31), Justin Faulk (24), Zac Dalpe (23)
Goals	Zach Boychuk (15), Drayson Bowman (14), Zac Dalpe (11)
Assists	Justin Faulk (19), Zach Boychuk (16), Bobby Sanguinetti (14)
Power play goals	Zach Boychuk (7), Drayson Bowman (6), Zac Dalpe (4)
Shorthanded goals	Nicolas Blanchard, Drayson Bowman, Zac Dalpe, Chris Terry, Tim Wallace (1)
Game-winning goals	Zach Boychuk, Chris Terry (4), Drayson Bowman (3)
Shots on goal	Zac Dalpe (116), Drayson Bowman (114), Jerome Samson (109)
Penalty minutes	Nicolas Blanchard (75), Brett Bellemore (48), Tim Wallace (42)
Plus/minus	Zac Dalpe (+11), Michal Jordan, Jerome Samson (+8)
Wins	Justin Peters (12), Dan Ellis (8)
Goals-against average	Justin Peters (2.44), Dan Ellis (2.46)
Save percentage	Dan Ellis (.922), Justin Peters (.911)

Checkers in the ECHL

Florida Everblades
Player	POS	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM	+/-	NOTES
A.J. Jenks	LW	14	1	2	3	9	+1
Tommi Kivisto	D	30	3	10	13	29	-5	Recalled to Charlotte 12/28
David Rutherford	C	30	14	17	31	42	-9	2nd in team scoring
Beau Schmitz	D	29	0	2	2	25	-13
Justin Shugg	F	19	11	11	22	20	-2	Recalled to Charlotte 12/10
Brody Sutter	F	18	2	3	5	9	-6	Did not play last 12 games

Goaltender	GP	RECORD	GAA	SV%	SO	NOTES
John Muse	21	9-8-4	3.61	.886	0
Rob Madore	16	5-8-2	3.39	.896	0	Reassigned from Evansville

South Carolina Stingrays
Player	POS	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM	+/-	NOTES
Matt Beca	F	33	7	17	24	18	-10	Traded 12/31

San Francisco Bulls
Player	POS	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM	+/-	NOTES
Joe Sova	D	22	0	2	2	18	-12	On loan