Overall Record: 11-4-2 (Home 7-2-1, Away 4-2-1)
Previous 10: 7-2-1
Standings: 3rd – South Division
An explosion of offense of late has the Checkers atop several ECHL statistical categories, including goals per game (4.35) and shots per game (36.06). Charlotte has picked up 15 points in the last nine games (7-1-1) and has scored at least four goals in seven straight games. Randy Rowe played his first game of the season on Thursday after being activated from injured reserve and has recorded a goal in three straight games to go along with four assists. The Checkers will look to continue their winning ways against Gwinnet Wednesday and Elmira Friday.
Nov. 26 @ Gwinnett (W 6-3)
The two teams combined for eight third-period goals and Daniel Tkaczuk recorded a hat trick, along with two assists. Randy Rowe added a goal and two assists in his first game of the season. Frank Doyle stopped 33 of 36 shots and the Checkers won their fifth in a row.
Nov. 28 @ Gwinnett (L 5-4)
Ryan Munce returned from injury and stopped 55 shots in a losing effort as the Checkers’ win streak was snapped at five. Daniel Tkaczuk added a goal an assist, bringing his point streak to six games (5g, 7a). The two teams traded goals all game long, Charlotte tied it in the third period but Gwinnett scored with 27 seconds left to seal the victory.
Nov. 29 vs. Gwinnett (W 5-4, OT)
Down 4-2 with five minutes to play, the Checkers battled back and scored on the power play before David Marshall potted his third with twelve seconds to play. In overtime, T.J. Reynolds made a beautiful pass to Tyler Doig who skated in alone on the Gwinnett goaltender but was taken down. Doig was awarded a penalty shot and made good use of it as he faked a slap shot, fooling the netminder, and tucked it home for the victory. The overtime penalty shot game-winner was the first since the ECHL began tracking penalty shots in 1995.
PLAYER NOTES:
Tyler Doig has 16 points (4g, 12a) in his last nine games…Kenny Roche has seven goals in his last seven games…Randy Rowe has a three-game goal and point streak (3g, 4a) since being activated from injured reserve on Thursday…Michel Leveille leads the team and ranks sixth in ECHL scoring with 25 pts (10g, 15a) in 17 games…Daniel Tkaczuk has 15 points (5g, 10a) in nine games since joining the Checkers…T.J. Reynolds leads all ECHL defensemen with eight fighting majors and ranks second with 72 penalty minutes…Julien Brouillette is the only ECHL defenseman with a shootout-winning goal… Tyler Doig’s overtime penalty shot game-winning goal is the first since the league began tracking penalty shots in 1995…Derek Couture remains on loan to Hartford, Matt Ford and Kevin Schaeffer remain with Lake Erie (AHL) and Ethan Graham is with Norfolk (AHL)...Trevor Glass and Aaron Slattengren are on the 21-day injured reserve.
UPCOMING MILESTONES/RECORDS:
• 1500 PIM – T.J. Reynolds currently sits at 1445 career penalty minutes
• 500 games – Randy Rowe has skated in 495 career games as a professional
• Home win streak – The Checkers need two more wins to match the franchise record of eight straight home wins
TEAM NOTES:
The Checkers have won six in a row at home… Charlotte has scored 41 goals in its last seven games (5.85 goals per game) and is 6-1-0 over that span…the team is 4-2-1 on the road this season…Charlotte is the highest scoring team in the ECHL at 4.35 goals per game…Charlotte is 7-3-2 against South Division opponents.
UPCOMING GAMES:
The Checkers will host Gwinnett again on Wednesday and Elmira on Friday. Game times are 7 p.m. and ticket information can be obtained by calling 704-342-4-ICE or visiting www.gocheckers.com.
