Throughout the season, the North Carolina Education Lottery Three Stars of the Game are recorded and tracked from every Checkers game. The Three Stars of the Game are voted on by members of the media at each and every American Hockey League matchup.

Players are given three points for First Star, two points for Second Star and one point for Third Star. At the conclusion of the 2012-13 season, the top five players in the standings earned the designation of the "Carolina Cash 5 Stars of the Year."

Thanks to a string of strong performances before his recall to Carolina, goalie Justin Peters captured the top spot in the 2012-13 season. Three of the team's top scorers - Zac Dalpe, Brett Sutter and Chris Terry - occupied spots two through four, while goaltender Dan Ellis, who spent the entire second half of the season in the NHL, rounded out the top five. Ties were broken based on which player earned the highest amounts of first or second stars.

Carolina Cash 5 Stars of the Year
Player	First Star	Second Star	Third Star	Total Points
Justin Peters	5	5	2	27
Zac Dalpe	3	5	2	21
Brett Sutter	3	4	4	21
Chris Terry	6	0	2	20
Dan Ellis	4	3	2	20

North Carolina Education Lottery net proceeds are used for prekindergarten programs for at-risk four-year-olds, reduction of class size in early grades, school construction and need-based college scholarships. Join the Lucke-Zone and start earning Lucke-Rewards points today. Use your Lucke-Rewards points for entries into weekly and monthly drawings for cash and other prizes.