Overall Record: 12-6-2 (Home 8-3-1, Away 4-3-1)
Previous 10: 7-3-0
Standings: 2nd – South Division
A flurry of transactions last week has the Checkers playing a bit shorthanded as Andrew Carroll and Daniel Tkaczuk were loaned to Hartford and Syracuse, respectively, and Mike Berube and Jared Nightingale were both recalled by Hartford. The Checkers continue their dominant play at home, winning seven of the last eight. In monthly honors news, T.J. Reynolds was named the ECHL’s Plus Performer of the Month for November with a +13 rating, while Berube was runner-up with a +12 rating.
Dec. 2 vs. Gwinnett (L 5-2)
Charlotte’s six-game home streak was snapped as Gwinnett goaltender Danny Taylor stopped 36 of 38 shots for the victory. Daniel Tkaczuk added a goal and an assist for the Checkers and now has 17 points in 10 games since joining the team. To be expected between two teams who have seen each other four times in seven nights, tempers flared in the third period, resulting in an outbreak of scrums. Charlotte would net a late goal on the power play by Kevin Schaeffer but it wasn’t enough as Gwinnett added an empty-net tally to hang on for the 5-2 victory.
Dec. 4 vs. Elmira (W 2-1)
It was a night of firsts as the Checkers partnered with TeleBrands for the first ever giveaway of its kind at a sporting event and Andrew Carroll scored his first professional game-winning goal. For the second time this season, a Charlotte goaltender was injured and was forced to leave the game as Wiikman fell awkwardly and needed to be helped off the ice. Ryan Munce entered the game in relief of the Swedish netminder and earned the victory while Teslak stopped 41 of 43 shots in a losing effort for the Jackals.
Dec. 6 @ Gwinnett (L 4-2)
As though they were in the playoffs, Charlotte and Gwinnett met for the fifth time in 11 days. The Checkers put 42 shots on net but could only muster two goals as they dropped a 4-2 decision. Frank Doyle stopped 36 shots in a losing effort for Charlotte and Mike Bayrack notched two goals and an assist for Gwinnett against his former team.
PLAYER NOTES:
Randy Rowe has nine points (5g, 4a) in six games since being activated off injured reserve…Michel Leveille is 8th in ECHL scoring with 24 points (10g, 14a)…Julien Brouillette ranks 4th in ECHL defensemen scoring with 15 points (5g, 10a) and is the only ECHL defenseman with a shootout-winning goal…T.J. Reynolds leads all ECHL defensemen with 94 penalty minutes and 10 fighting majors and leads the Checkers with a +12 rating…Tkaczuk was loaned to Syracuse on Monday and Andrew Carroll to Hartford, Derek Couture remains on loan to Hartford, Matt Ford remains with Lake Erie (AHL) and defenseman Ethan Graham is with Norfolk (AHL)…Trevor Glass and Aaron Slattengren are on the 21-day injured reserve.
UPCOMING MILESTONES/RECORDS:
• 1500 PIM – T.J. Reynolds currently sits at 1467 career penalty minutes
• 500 games – Randy Rowe has skated in 498 career games as a professional
TEAM NOTES:
The Checkers are 7-1-0 in their last eight home games…Charlotte is the second highest scoring team in the ECHL at 4.00 goals per game…The Checkers are 7-5-2 against South Division opponents.
UPCOMING GAMES:
The Checkers will embark on a five-game road trip starting Wednesday in Florida before returning home on Wednesday, Dec. 16 to host the Stingrays. Game time is 7 p.m. and ticket information can be obtained by calling 704-342-4-ICE or visiting www.gocheckers.com.
