CHARLOTTE, NC—Charlotte Checkers head coach and general manager Derek Wilkinson announced today that winger Kenny Roche has been returned to the team from the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League.

Roche, who is under ECHL contract with the Checkers, was loaned to the Bruins on Mar. 6 in the midst of a five-game point streak. In 11 games with Providence, the native of South Boston, Mass. recorded two assists.

In 36 games with the Checkers, Roche has 17 goals and 16 assists, including three goals and six assists in the five games prior to being called up. He also spent 14 games with the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack earlier this season where he notched four goals and four assists.

Roche is expected to join the Checkers for tonight’s game against Gwinnett.

The Checkers (41-21-7) will host Gwinnett tonight at 7 p.m. for their last ever regulation game in the ECHL at Time Warner Cable Arena. Ticket information can be obtained by calling 704-342-4-ICE or visiting www.gocheckers.com. Season tickets for the inaugural 2010-11 AHL season are now on sale and 40-game packages start as low as $200.

Notes: Saturday’s crowd of 12,044 was the largest in the entire ECHL this season…The Checkers are 15-3-1 in their last 19 home games and are 10-1-0 in their last 11 overall…Ryan Munce is 9-1-0 in his last 10 starts and leads the ECHL with a .911 save percentage…David Marshall has 11 points (6g, 5a) in the last eight games…Andrew Carroll leads the ECHL with six shootout-winning goals and leads the Checkers with 28 goals…Julien Brouillette and Derek Couture are up with Hartford (AHL), Kenny Roche is with Providence (AHL), Ethan Graham is with Texas (AHL) while Matt Ford and Randy Rowe are with Lake Erie (AHL)…Codey Burki, Chris Chappell, Trevor Glass, T.J. Reynolds and Chris Snavely are on the 21-day injured reserve.