Overall Record: 14-7-3 (Home 8-3-1, Away 6-4-2)
Previous 10: 5-4-1
Standings: 2nd – South Division, 3rd – American Conference
In the middle of a five-game road trip, the Checkers traveled to Florida and went 2-0-1, picking up five of a possible six points. Ryan Munce was exceptional, stopping 79 of 80 shots in two games and Kenny Roche added four goals in four games, including two game-winners. The team will return home for six of the next eight, beginning with South Carolina on Wednesday in Charlotte.
Dec. 9 @ Florida (L 4-3, OT)
The Checkers jumped out to an early 3-0 lead but were not able to hang on as they were defeated, 4-3, in overtime. Mike Harder, who was claimed off waivers from Trenton earlier in the week, scored in his debut. Matt Schepke added a goal and an assist and Miika Wiikman stopped 32 of 36 shots in a losing effort.
Dec. 11 @ Florida (W 4-1)
With the help of several key saves by goaltender Ryan Munce, Charlotte scored the game’s first two goals and hung on to win 4-1. The scoring was well balanced with 10 different Checkers recording a point and Munce stopped 32 of 33 shots for his fourth win in six tries. Leading scorer Michel Leveille, who was injured in Wednesday’s game against Florida, did not dress.
Dec. 12 @ Florida (W 3-0)
The Checkers took a 2-0 lead for the third game in a row against Florida and hung on to win 3-0, spoiling the Everblades’ “Teddy Bear Toss” night. With 1:15 to play in the second, a Florida player hit the post and the fans at Germain Arena prematurely threw stuffed animals on the ice, prompting the officials to head to intermission early. Munce stopped all 47 shots he faced and, for the second night in a row, was named the game’s first star.
Dec. 13 @ South Carolina (L 4-0)
Playing their fifth game in eight nights, the Checkers could not generate any offense and dropped a 4-0 decision to South Carolina. Stingrays forward Nikita Kashirsky recorded the hat trick and goaltender Todd Ford stopped all 25 shots he faced for his first shutout of the season. Frank Doyle got the start for the Checkers and made 26 saves in a losing effort.
PLAYER NOTES:
Ryan Munce has stopped 83 of the last 84 shots he has faced…Kenny Roche has four goals in his last four games, including two game-winners, and 11 goals in his last 14 games…Tyler Doig ranks 4th in the ECHL with 20 assists…Mike Harder has two goals in four games since joining the Checkers…Julien Brouillette is the only ECHL defenseman with a shootout-winning goal…T.J. Reynolds leads all ECHL defensemen with 97 penalty minutes and 11 fighting majors and leads the Checkers with a +14 rating…Daniel Tkaczuk is on loan to Syracuse, Andrew Carroll and Derek Couture to Hartford, Matt Ford to Lake Erie (AHL) and Ethan Graham to Norfolk…Codey Burki, Trevor Glass and Aaron Slattengren are on the 21-day injured reserve.
MILESTONES/RECORDS:
• 500 games – Randy Rowe skated in his 500th professional game on Friday
• 600 games – Mike Harder skated in his 600th professional game on Friday
TEAM NOTES:
The Checkers are 7-1-0 in their last eight home games…Charlotte is the fourth-highest scoring team in the ECHL at 3.75 goals per game and rank second in shots per game with 35.63…The Checkers are 9-6-3 against South Division opponents.
UPCOMING GAMES:
The Checkers will play six of the next eight games at home, beginning Wednesday when they 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.
