Game Preview: Checkers vs Bridgeport (Oct. 13, 2017)

After months of waiting the home opener is finally here! Here are 9 things to know heading into tonight’s showdown with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers:

1. STRONG START

The Checkers kicked off the 2017-18 campaign with a pair of big wins last weekend. In the opener they battled back for a last-minute victory over the Hartford Wolf Pack, then followed it up with a decisive 5-2 win over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins the next night.

The victories marked the second time in franchise history that the Checkers have begun a season with consecutive regulation wins. They also have a chance to match the best start in team history, which came in 2015-16 when Charlotte went 3-0-0 to kick off the season.

2. FOEGELE GETS THE HARDWARE

No one had a bigger impact on the start of the season than Warren Foegele, and the AHL awarded his efforts by naming him the CCM/AHL Player of the Week. Playing in his first two pro games, Foegele lit the lamp twice in each contest to accumulate a league-best four goals to start the season. Additionally, two of the rookies’ tallies came shorthanded, leaving him just one shy of the franchise’s single-season record.

Foegele is the eighth player in franchise history to earn AHL Player of the Week honors and the fourth forward, joining Aleksi Saarela last season, Brock McGinn in 2014-15 and Zach Boychuk in 2010-11.

3. GOALIE TANDEM

Charlotte entered the season with a new duo in net – second-year pro Alex Nedeljkovic and veteran Jeremy Smith. Both netminders were given a start over the opening weekend and both came away with victories. Nedeljkovic buckled down against a tough Hartford attack and gave his team a chance to pull off a late comeback, while Smith locked down the defending division champion Penguins with 28 saves.

4. WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?

After being named team captain for the second consecutive season, Patrick Brown went out for the opener in Hartford and notched a pair of assists. It matched a career high for the fourth-year pro and was Brown’s third two-assist game since the start of last season.

5. PHIL IT UP

Phil Di Giuseppe came through offensively last weekend for the Checkers, notching two goals and an assist over the pair of games to make himself one of three skaters on the team with over a point-per-game so far.

The fourth-year pro recorded a pair of goals in the win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, the third multi-goal effort of his career and first since Dec. 14, 2016.

Dating back to last season, Di Giuseppe has amassed 13 points in his last 10 games and mas multiple points in four of those 10 contests.

6. DEFENDING THE COLISEUM

The Checkers set a franchise record last season by racking up a staggering 27 wins on home ice. That mark was tied for the most of any team in the AHL, and the Checkers head into tonight’s matchup having won nine of their last 10 contests at Bojangles’ Coliseum.

7. PREVIOUSLY FOR BRIDGEPORT

Tonight marks just the second game of the season for Bridgeport, who dropped their season opener on the road to Binghamton. The Sound Tigers, with Christopher Gibson between the pipes, surrendered a pair of goals in the opening frame and that proved to be enough for the home squad. Scott Eansor lit the lamp midway through the third period in an attempt to start a rally, but it proved to be the visitor’s only goal in the eventual 2-1 loss.

8. OPPONENT SPOTLIGHT

As a rookie last season Devon Toews established himself as a force on the blue line. The young defenseman led all league rookies in helpers and was named to the AHL All-Rookie Team while tying for ninth among all league defensemen in scoring. The 23-year-old fired three shots in the Sound Tigers’ season opener but was held off the score sheet.

9. HOME OPENER

Doors for tonight’s home opener will open at 5:45. Get here early and snag a magnet schedule courtesy of Novant Health!