This lengthy trip hits Chocolate Town this week as the Checkers look to string some wins together on the road against the Bears.
THE MATCHUP
- Record/Standings
- CLT - 30-18-4-0 (3rd Atlantic)
- HER - 25-20-6-2 (4th Atlantic)
- Power Play / Penalty Kill
- CLT - 16.0% (25th) / 84.4% (5th)
- HER - 18.8% (t-16th) / 81.3% (t-16th)
- Offense / Defense
- CLT - 3.31 GF/Game (8th) / 2.81 GA/Game (8th)
- HER - 2.91 GF/Game (22nd) / 3.04 GA/Game (13th)
- Head-To-Head
- 2-1-1-0
THE STORYLINES
ON THE ROAD
The Checkers are in the middle of a beast of a road trip, spanning 10-games and nearly three weeks. The results have been up and down - the team is currently sitting at 3-2-1-0 on this trip, with all three of the wins coming via one-goal games and the two regulation losses seeing Charlotte outscored 9-1.These two matchups with Hershey have big stakes in the Atlantic Division race. The Bears - who have won three straight by a combined score of 15-5 - are directly behind the third-place Checkers in the division standings, trailing by six points with a game in hand.
FREE HOCKEY
Only two teams in the AHL have had fewer games go beyond regulation than Charlotte’s 10, but the Checkers have seen an influx of overtimes as of late. Five of the team’s last 17 contests have been decided in overtime or a shootout, including three of the last six.The Checkers have been perfect in the shootout, earning the win on the two occasions thus far - both of which have come since Jan. 18 - while surrendering zero goals. As for games that end in overtime, they are an even 4-4 - including splitting the most two recent instances during this current road trip.
SPECIAL TEAMS STRUGGLES
Since an impressive 3-for-7 outing in their 9-0 win on Feb. 16, the Checkers have gone cold on the man advantage. They have not scored a power-play goal on their current road trip and are stuck in an 0-for-16 stretch over the last six games.The penalty kill - which has been a strength of Charlotte’s this season and still ranks fifth in the AHL - has also hit a rough patch during this trek. The Checkers have surrendered a power-play goal in five of the six games and their opponents are 5-for-15 on the man advantage over the last five games.
NATE THE GREAT
Nate Smith has been a strong producer since joining the Checkers this season, and he’s taken his game to another level recently. The forward heads into this series on a four-game point streak and has racked up nine points (5g, 4a) over his last seven games.THE PLAYERS TO WATCH
- Charlotte
- Mitch Vande Sompel - 4 points in last 6 games
- Nate Smith - 9 points in last 7 games
- Robert Mastrosimone - 3 points in last 4 games
- Hershey
- Sonny Milano - 3 points in last 2 games
- Andrew Cristall - 4 points in last 3 games
- Brett Leason - 11 points in last 9 games
THE INFO
Both of this week's games are available to stream via AHLTV on FloHockey! Click here to watch.Fans can also listen to the radio broadcast on the Checkers App or online.
