Weekly Report: Feb. 23

The first leg of Charlotte’s lengthy road trip is in the books, and aside from a rough showing in the middle contest things are off to a strong start for the Checkers.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Checkers 3, Americans 2 (SO)

The Checkers’ first visit to Rochester this season was a tightly contested battle. A late strike to open the scoring in the first and a quick tally from Nate Smith in the second gave the visitors a 2-0 lead as the contest progressed past its midway point, but the Amerks struck on both sides of the second intermission to knot the score and force things beyond regulation. A high-octane overtime couldn’t provide a winner, though, and the game moved on to a shootout. The first two rounds only had one conversion - courtesy of a laser from Jack Studnicka - and with the game on the line Cooper Black completed his perfect shootout performance by slamming the door on Zac Jones and earning his team two points.

Crunch 4, Checkers 0

The Checkers stumbled in the first of two tilts against the Crunch. Two goals in each of the first two frames gave Syracuse plenty of cushion on the scoreboard, and - despite a staggering 35 saves from Black - Charlotte’s couldn’t kickstart a rally from there, eventually finding themselves on the wrong side of a shutout.

Checkers 4, Crunch 3

The Checkers shook off the previous night’s defeat and put up quite a fight in the back-and-forth rematch. Deadlocked at one through 40 minutes, MacKenzie Entwistle kicked off the third period by snatching back the lead for his side, then Robert Mastrosimone pulled off a highlight reel snipe to extend that advantage. Things got hectic in the waning minutes of the contest - Syracuse converted on a late power play to narrow the lead, but Nate Smith hit the empty net minutes later to throw some water on the Crunch’s attempted rally. That empty netter would prove important as the Crunch scored once more in the final minute to make it 4-3. Charlotte would hold on the rest of the way, though, coming away with a big road victory.

QUICK HITS

ROAD WARRIORS

With two wins out of three to begin this trip, the Checkers continue to stand as one of the league’s top road teams. They boast the fourth-best road points percentage in the AHL and have outscored their opponents 27-17 over the last six contests away from home.

Looking at the remainder of their regular season slate, the Checkers have 13 more road games compared to 10 at the Coliseum.

SHUTTING DOWN THE SHOOTOUT

With Cooper Black and Jack Studnicka playing the heroes on Wednesday, the Checkers improved to 2-0 in shootouts this season. Charlotte - which has played the second fewest games beyond regulation this season - is one of six teams without a shootout loss. In fact, the Checkers - led by a 5-for-5 performance from Kirill Gerasimyuk and a 3-for-3 showing from Black - are one of only three teams in the AHL that have not surrendered a goal in the shootout thus far.

BENNING LIGHTS IT UP

Mike Benning has been pouring on the production from the blue line as of late. He has found the scoresheet in 11 of the team’s last 17 games and racked up 14 points (5g, 9a) along the way. Across that stretch only one defenseman in the AHL has scored more (Laval’s Adam Angstrom, who has 16 points in 19 games).

HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK

Unreal effort from Robert Mastrosimone in Saturday's win!

Unreal individual effort from Mastrosimone! pic.twitter.com/CQvjNLq2V5

— Charlotte Checkers (@CheckersHockey) February 22, 2026

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Injury Notes

• Trevor Carrick is out for at least two weeks with an upper-body injury, per head coach Geordie Kinnear on Feb. 13
• Mitch Vande Sompel returned to action on Feb. 21 after missing the previous game due to injury

RANKINGS

• Mikulas Hovorka is tied for the lead among AHL defensemen in shorthanded goals (1)
• Kirill Gerasimyuk is tied for the lead among AHL rookies in shutouts (3)
• Brett Chorske is tied for the lead among AHL rookies in shorthanded goals (2)
• Cooper Black ranks second among AHL rookies in wins (19)
• Cooper Black ranks third among AHL rookies in goals-against average (2.50)
• Kirill Gerasimyuk is tied for third in the AHL in shutouts (3)
• Jack Devine is tied for fourth among AHL rookies in shorthanded goals (1)
• Cooper Black ranks fourth among AHL rookies in save percentage (.905)
• Cooper Black ranks fourth in the AHL in wins (19)
• Cooper Black ranks fifth in the AHL in minutes played (1776:57)
• Jack Devine ranks sixth in the AHL in points (32)
• Jack Devine is tied for seventh among AHL rookies in assists (19)
• Jack Devine is tied for seventh among AHL rookies in plus-minus (+15)
• Jack Devine is tied for eighth among AHL rookies in goals (13)
• Mitch Vande Sompel is tied for ninth among AHL defensemen in shorthanded assists (1)
• Jake Livingstone is tied for ninth among AHL defensemen in shorthanded assists (1)
• Jack Devine is tied for ninth among AHL rookies in game-winning goals (3)
• Brett Chorske is tied for ninth among AHL rookies in game-winning goals (3)
• Cooper Black ranks 10th in the AHL in goals-against average (2.50)
• Mike Benning is tied for 10th among AHL defensemen in goals (8)

By the Numbers

CATEGORY	RECORD	AHL RANK
Power play	17.1%	23rd
Penalty kill	85.2%	3rd
Goals per game	3.37	7th
Shots per game	30.63	5th
Goals allowed per game	2.76	7th
Shots allowed per game	25.14	2nd
Penalty minutes per game	12.22	t-22nd

LEADERS

CATEGORY	LEADER(S)
Points	Wilmer Skoog, Ben Steeves (33), Jack Devine (32)
Goals	Ben Steeves (18), Wilmer Skoog (17), Jack Devine (13)
Assists	Jack Devine, Mike Benning (19), Wilmer Skoog (16)
Power play goals	Ben Steeves (7), Robert Mastrosimone, Jack Devine (3)
Shorthanded goals	Brett Chorkse (2), Four tied (1)
Game-winning goals	Nolan Foote (4), Jack Devine, Brett Chorske, Ben Steeves(3)
Shots on goal	Ben Steeves (125), Nolan Foote (124), Wilmer Skoog (109)
Penalty minutes	Ben Steeves (64), Jack Devine (37), Nolan Foote, Mike Benning (36)
Plus/minus	Mikulas Hovorka (+17), Jack Devine (+15) Jake Livingstone, Wilmer Skoog (+12)
Wins	Cooper Black (19)
Goals-against average	Cooper Black (2.50)
Save percentage	Cooper Black(.905)