Weekly Report: March 25, 2024

Details
The Checkers started off their penultimate road trip of the regular season on the right foot, picking up a pair of hard-fought wins.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Team Statistics

  • Overall record
    33-23-6-0
  • Home record
    17-13-4-0
  • Road record
    16-10-2-0
  • Last week's record
    2-0-0-0
  • Last 10 games
    7-3-0-0
  • Division Standings
    4th
  • Conference Standings
    6th
  • League Standings
    14th

Checkers 2, Thunderbirds 0

Looking for revenge after falling to the Thunderbirds the weekend prior, the Checkers marched into Springfield and pulled out a convincing 2-0 road win. Spencer Knight frustrated the home team with a stellar 31-save shutout between the pipes, while Mike Benning notched a pair of points by factoring into both tallies on the night.

Checkers 3, Bruins 2 (OT)

The Checkers entered the final frame of their matchup with the second-place Bruins down 2-1, but a clutch tally from Casey Fitzgerald - his first of the year - evened the score and forced the contest to overtime. Wilmer Skoog was the hero in the extra frame, entering the zone and firing home a quick wrister that beat Bruins netminder Brandon Bussi and claimed the win for the visitors.

QUICK HITS

PLAYOFF PICTURE

Those two big wins over the weekend helped the Checkers bear down on a playoff spot in the increasingly tight Atlantic Division race. They currently sit in fourth place (72 points with 10 game left) - ahead of them are the Penguins in third (73 with nine games left) and the Bruins in second (79 with 11 games left), while the Wolf Pack (69 with 11 games left) fall just behind Charlotte in fifth place and the Phantoms (62 with 11 games left) occupy the final playoff position, narrowly edging out the Thunderbirds (61 with 10 games left).

The Checkers magic number is now at 10 - representing the points needed to clinch a playoff berth, either by Charlotte earning them or the seventh place team failing to collect them.

In addition to trying to lock down a spot in the postseason, the Checkers are jockeying for position come playoff time. The first two spots in the Atlantic earn a bye past the first round, while the third and fourth positions will hold home-ice advantage in that opening round.

KNIGHT PLAYS LIGHTS OUT

Spencer Knight continues to turn out gems between the pipes and is helping propel Charlotte’s hot run. The netminder has won eight of his last nine starts and three in a row, and since Feb. 10 Knight is tied for the second-most wins in the AHL (8) and is fifth in goals-against average among netminders with at least two games played (1.77).

FREE HOCKEY

With Wilmer Skoog’s goal on Saturday, the Checkers have now won each of their last three games that have gone to overtime. They have had a league-leading 15 games end in overtime this season and have won nine of them - a mark that ranks second in the AHL.

SKOOG STAYS HOT

Speaking of that overtime winner, it marked Skoog’s 16th goal of the season - tying him for second on the team despite playing just 39 games so far. Since scoring his first goal of the season on Jan. 7, only two players across the league have scored more goals than the rookie - AHL goals leaders Samuel Fagemo and Adam Gaudette.

The Checkers started off their penultimate road trip of the regular season on the right foot, picking up a pair of hard-fought wins.

HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK

Spencer Knight came up perfect on 31 shots faced Friday night, including this huge breakaway denial!

Transactions

Incoming

  • March 25 - Ben Steeves signed to PTO

Outgoing

  • March 21 - Uvis Balinskis recalled by Florida (NHL)

By the Numbers

CATEGORY RECORD AHL RANK
Power play 16.3% 29th
Penalty kill 82.8% 11th
Goals per game 3.00 t-19th
Shots per game 32.71 3rd
Goals allowed per game 2.95 12th
Shots allowed per game 26.44 3rd
Penalty minutes per game 10.87 24th

LEADERS

CATEGORY LEADER(S)
Points Mackie Samoskevich (42), Lucas Carlsson (39), Rasmus Asplund (38)
Goals Mackie Samoskevich (18), Three tied (16)
Assists Rasmus Asplund (31), Lucas Carlsson, Mackie Samoskevich (24)
Power play goals Zac Dalpe, Gerry Mayhew (6), Justin Sourdif, Wilmer Skoog (5)
Shorthanded goals Patrick Giles (2), Justin Sourdif, Rasmus Asplund (1)
Game-winning goals Gerry Mayhew (6), Lucas Carlsson (5), Mackie Samoskevich (4)
Shots on goal Lucas Carlsson (207), Zac Dalpe (143), Mackie Samoskevich (136)
Penalty minutes Riley Bezeau, Lucas Carlsson, Casey Fitzgerald (54)
Plus/minus Casey Fitzgerald (+14), Matt Kiersted (+12), Patrick Khodorenko (+11)
Wins Spencer Knight (22)
Goals-against average Mack Guzda (2.02), Spencer Knight (2.52), Magnus Hellberg (2.93)
Save percentage Mack Guzda (.930), Spencer Knight (.902), Magnus Hellberg (.901)