Weekly Report: April 13

The Checkers split their penultimate regular-season series over the weekend, earning lopsided revenge on the Hershey Bears courtesy of a historic performance from Sandis Vilmanis.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Bears 2, Checkers 1

The first matchup between Charlotte and Hershey of the weekend was a tight, low-scoring affair. The Bears were able to find the back of the net early in the first and late in the second to build a 2-0 lead, and that would prove to be enough. Mikulas Hovorka got the home side on the board early on in the third, but the equalizer never came and Clay Stevenson’s 21 saves were enough to earn the win for Hershey.

Checkers 6, Bears 1

The rematch ended up being a far cry from the previous day’s tilt. After Jack Studnicka’s opening strike 28 seconds in and a Sandis Vilmanis power-play tally early in the second, the Bears punched back to pull within one just past the midway point of regulation. The Checkers would hit the gas from there, though, pulling away with four straight goals to reach the lopsided final score. Vilmanis would carry the brunt of the offensive weight, lighting the lamp a franchise-record four times on the night.

QUICK HITS

PLAYOFF PICTURE

Following Saturday’s results, the Checkers officially locked into the third seed in the Atlantic Division. With that, they will host the entirety of their best-of-three, first-round series - which kicks off with Game 1 on Wednesday, April 22, followed by Game 2 on Friday, April 24, and if necessary Game 3 on Saturday, April 25. Tickets for all three of those possible games are on sale now.

As for who Charlotte’s opponent in the first-round series will be, that remains to be determined. The Checkers will face the sixth seed in the Atlantic Division, but there is a log jam for that spot. In contention are the fourth-place Islanders (72 points), the fifth-place Bears (69), the sixth-place Thunderbirds (68) and the seventh-place Phantoms (66) - all of which have three games remaining.

HISTORIC HATTY

Sandis Vilmanis recorded his third goal of Sunday’s game with about three minutes to go in regulation, pulling off a spectacular power move to beat the defender and lift a backhander into the top corner. It marked his first hat trick as a pro and the second by a Checker this season - joining Robert Mastrosimone.

Then, just under two minutes later he scored again and made history. With that goal Vilmanis became the first player in franchise history to score four goals in a single game.

Since returning from his NHL stint, the Latvian forward has 16 points in his last 15 games.

POWERING UP

Despite clocking in fifth from the bottom of the AHL rankings, the Charlotte power play has been trending upward as of late. With Vilmanis’ power-play tally on Sunday, the Checkers have now scored a power-play goal in four of their last six games - posting a 4-for-22 clip over that stretch.

BETWEEN THE PIPES

A member of the tandem of Cooper Black and Louis Domingue has gotten the starting nod in nine of Charlotte’s last 10 games, and the duo have performed well. In fact, the netminders allowed two or fewer goals in eight of those appearances.

Five of those starts went to Black, who posted a 1.79 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage over that run. In Domingue’s four starts he recorded a 1.22 goals-against average and a staggering .953 save percentage.

HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK

Relive all four(!) of Sandis Vilmanis' goals from Sunday!

Charlotte Checkers who have scored four goals in a game:

• Sandis Vilmanis

That’s it. That’s the list. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/HpC5Ze0FzA

— Charlotte Checkers (@CheckersHockey) April 12, 2026

Transactions

Incoming

• 4/10 - Dennis Cesana - Recalled from Savannah (ECHL)
• 4/7 - Tyler Muszelik - Signed to ATO

Outgoing

• 4/11 - Wilmer Skoog - Recalled by Florida (NHL)
• 4/9 - Marek Alscher - Recalled by Florida (NHL)
• 4/9 - Ludvig Jansson - Recalled by Florida (NHL)

By the Numbers

CATEGORY	RECORD	AHL RANK
Power play	14.2%	28th
Penalty kill	84.8%	t-3rd
Goals per game	3.34	6th
Shots per game	29.77	7th
Goals allowed per game	2.63	t-5th
Shots allowed per game	25.19	1st
Penalty minutes per game	12.46	19th

LEADERS

CATEGORY	LEADER(S)
Points	Ben Steeves (44), Jack Devine (42), Wilmer Skoog (37)
Goals	Ben Steeves (22), Wilmer Skoog, Jack Devine (18)
Assists	Jack Devine (24), Mike Benning (23), Ben Steeves (22)
Power play goals	Ben Steeves (8), Jack Devine (4), Robert Mastrosimone (3)
Shorthanded goals	Jack Studnicka (3), Brett Chorkse, Brian Pinho (2)
Game-winning goals	Nolan Foote, Ben Steeves, Brett Chorske (4)
Shots on goal	Ben Steeves (163), Brian Pinho (147), Nolan Foote (142)
Penalty minutes	Ben Steeves (96), Trevor Carrick (69), Jack Devine (57)
Plus/minus	Mikulas Hovorka (+23), Marek Alscher, Sandis Vilmanis (+18)
Wins	Cooper Black (25)
Goals-against average	Cooper Black (2.50)
Save percentage	Cooper Black(.902)