THREE STORYLINES
NEW LOOK
The NHL Trade Deadline hit the Checkers hard, with Janne Kuokkanen, Fredrik Claesson, Chase Priskie and Eetu Luostarinen departing on Monday, with Julien Gauthier heading to New York last week. All in all, four of Charlotte’s top 10 scorers are no longer on the roster. Helping to fill in the gaps up front are a pair of PTO’s in Mark Cooper and Blake Winiecki, the latter of which is currently tied for seventh in the ECHL in goals. They’ll look to help pick up the slack, but Charlotte’s forward corps still boasts formidable weapons with the likes of Steven Lorentz and Morgan Geekie. The Checkers will have their work cut out for them against a Hershey squad that ranks second in goals-allowed per game. The Bears have allowed at least three goals in four of their last five games, however, and lost their top defenseman at the deadline when Christian Djoos was dealt.BETWEEN THE PIPES
Bad luck struck the Canes this past weekend, when both James Reimer and Petr Mrazek suffered injuries in the same game. The loss of their tandem led to the recall of both Alex Nedeljkovic and Anton Forsberg, which in turn led to the Checkers recalling Callum Booth and Jeremy Helvig from the ECHL. Helvig has handled the brunt of the workload in Greenville, going 13-11-3 with a 3.65 goals-against average and a .902 save percentage for the Swamp Rabbits, while Callum Booth is 4-5-0 with a 3.22 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage for Atlanta, though he has spent most of his year recovering from injury. Booth, a fourth-round pick by Carolina in 2015, has logged 14 games for Charlotte over his career, with his most recent 10-game stint coming last season. Helvig, a fifth-round pick by Carolina in 2016, appeared in relief once last season to make his AHL debut.POWERING BACK UP
After netting just two goals in 19 games with Grand Rapids, Oliwer Kaski has found his scoring touch with the Checkers. The blueliner lit the lamp in both contests over the weekend in Binghamton to give him 10 in 27 games as a Checker. That brought his season total to 12 goals, moving Kaski into second among all AHL defensemen, trailing Colorado’s Jacob MacDonald by just two. The Finn has been especially deadly on the man advantage, as his six power-play goals are tied for the most by any defensemen in the league.PREVIOUS MATCHUPS
Nov. 15 – Charlotte 3 at Hershey 0CHA Standouts: Alex Nedeljkovic (36-save shutout), Steven Lorentz (1 power-play goal), Colin Markison (1 goal)
HER Standouts: Pheonix Copley (25 saves)
Nov. 16 – Checkers 1 at Hershey 2
CHA Standouts: Anton Forsberg (35 saves), Max McCormick (1 power-play goal), Janne Kuokkanen (1 assist)
HER Standouts: Mike Sgarbossa (Game-winning power-play goal), Liam O'Brien (1 goal), Christian Djoos (1 assist)
Jan. 14 – Hershey 1 at Charlotte 4
CHA Standouts: Oliwer Kaski (2 goals), Janne Kuokkanen (3 assists), Jake Bean (2 assists)
HER Standouts: Pheonix Copley (28 saves), Eddie Wittchow (1 goal), Liam O'Brien (1 assist)
Jan. 15 – Hershey 4 at Charlotte 5
CHA Standouts: Janne Kuokkanen (3 assists), Steven Lorentz (1g, 1a), Oliwer Kaski (1 power-play goal)
HER Standouts: Brian Pinho (2 goals), Philippe Maillet (3 assists), Eddie Wittchow (1 goal)
COMING IN
CHA: 1-game winning streak, 6-3-1 in last 10HER: 1-game winning streak, 6-3-1 in last 10
WHO TO WATCH
CHA
Jake Bean - 6 points in last 6 gamesSteven Lorentz - 12 points in last 8 games
Oliwer Kaski – 3 goals in last 4 games
HER
Beck Malenstyn – 4 points in last 3 gamesAxel Jonsson-Fjallby – 4 points in last 3 games
Philippe Maillet – 10 points in last 7 games
WATCH PARTY
Join us at Ed’s Tavern in Dilworth for a watch party tonight! Catch the game and enjoy $4 draught beer throughout the night.TUNE IN
Tonight's game starts at 7 p.m. You can tune in to every broadcast this season with a subscription to the league’s streaming platform AHLTV.As always, the radio broadcast will be available via the Checkers app on iPhone or Android, or this link, so tune in and tweet Jason Shaya to let him know you’re listening!
