Category Archives: norfolk admirals

I knew there was #NorfolkingWay the Admirals could take the Checkers. Charlotte wins 3-1.

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During the post-game media scrum, Zac Dalpe was looking on as a group of reporters gathered around his good friend and teammate Zach Boychuk, and you could tell Dalpe was just itching to be able to participate in some way.  I offered my iPhone (which I record the interviews with) to Zac so he could at least ask some questions since he’s still not playing, and he just grinned.

Boychuk, with a huge grin on his face in response to Dalpe’s creeping into the media scrum from the sidelines, had this to say.  “I think he wants to get in here, and get out there on the ice, and play together maybe.”

You can tell that Dalpe’s ready to be back, which is great news for the entire Hurricanes organization.

Even better news for Checkers fans is that with an incredibly shortened bench as far as the regular, more veteran Checkers, the team has found a way to win again, and are beginning to return to their successful special teams again.

Tonight saw birthday boy Beau Schmitz rack up two more points (1g, 1a), bringing his total over the past seven games of his most recall to five points (3g, 2a).

In his fifth game with Charlotte, Casey Pierro-Zabotel registered his first AHL goal.  There’s nothing quite like seeing a player who’s worked so hard to get to this level see the results of his effort in the form of a goal on the scoresheet, especially one that ended up being the game winner.

In his first game played IN Charlotte since December 21, Zach Boychuk registered a goal, a beautiful shot that went over Norfolk goaltender Frederik Andersen’s glove hand. This is Boychuk’s second goal in as many games since being returned to the Checkers after a crazy month that due to waiver claims, saw him play for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Nashville Predators, and now Charlotte again.

“It’s nice to come to a team and play lots of minutes and improve and get better,” said Boychuk, “ And those guys in the locker room there have been really good friends for a long time, and I’m really happy to be back with them.

The biggest story of the night was probably the play of goaltender Rob Madore.  In his second straight start (and third appearance) with the Checkers, he faced 38 shots, turning all but one of them away, and was named the first star of the game for his outstanding performance.  After almost a month of watching games from the bench, his play the past three games has given him and the players in front of him a great deal of confidence about his ability.

Jeff Daniels had only positive things to say about Madore’s performance.

“He competes so hard.  He doesn’t quit on any shot and gets upset when any puck gets past him. “

I believe a win like tonight’s can carry the team through the week, and to the back-to-back games against the San Antonio Rampage this weekend.  The four points on the line will be crucial as the regular season is nearly over.

 

Let’s Go Checkers!

Quick Hits:

  • Though the team is finally finding a way to win again after some struggles that can be credited to losing three goaltenders to Raleigh over the past two months, and an injured list that still boasts 11 skaters, though a few are close to returning. Zac Dalpe, AJ Jenks, Justin Shugg, Marc-Andre Gragnani and Jerome Samson have all been taking part in full practices, and should see a game soon.
  • The win against Norfolk moved the Checkers from fourth to second in the west, though if the playoffs started today, they’d still be a fourth seed, facing at this moment, the Houston Aeros.
  • Attending a game with family is so much fun.  Two nephews, a niece, two brothers and two sisters-in-law all joined me, and it was great fun! As the only member of my family in Charlotte, it’s a rare treat to get to share the team with them!
  • Thank goodness for spellcheck, or I would have had a sentence in this post about “Goat tending” which would bring a whole new idea to the sport of ice hockey.
  • For all of you who read my silly goaltending post yesterday and complimented me on it, whether in comments, tweets, facebook messages or in person, I thank you.  My favorite posts are the ones that make people laugh, and it means a lot when I get feedback that what I’m trying to do is working!

Checkers lose 3-2 to the #NorfolkingAdmirals

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And then there were eight.

Of the 20 players that dressed tonight in Charlotte, only eight were on the opening-night roster for the Checkers in October.  The list of injured players was even longer than the healthy opening-night Checkers, and came in at nine.  (Just for a refresher, the injured players are: Zac Dalpe, Sean Dolan, Marc-Andre Gragnani, AJ Jenks, Michal Jordan, Andreas Nodl, Luke Pither, Jerome Samson &  Justin Shugg).

Tonight, three more players made their Checkers debut.  Forwards Casey Pierro-Zabotel and C.J. Severyn were signed to professional try-outs yesterday, while defenseman Danny Biega signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Hurricanes today, following the end of his Harvard season.  Biega was a third-round draft pick of the Hurricanes in 2010, and just completed his fourth year of NCAA hockey.  Biega, unfortunately, left the game after only his first three shifts.  Disoriented after a hit, he left the ice with Checkers trainer Brian Maddox and did not return.

Overall, it was a great effort by the Checkers, especially with so many new players on the ice, and chemistry still being developed.

“One advantage is they’re all trying to make an impression and they all want to stay here and they are bringing some energy to the lineup,” said Coach Jeff Daniels about the new additions to the lineup. “They are playing hard, and if they keep playing like that we’ll start winning some games.”

The game was not short on physicality.  Jeremy Welsh nearly fought after the final buzzer, and Nicolas Blanchard threw some hard blows at John Kurtz during the second period. The Checkers penalty kill remained strong, killing four of five penalties, and maintaining their second-place PK in the league.

Brett Sutter’s goal in the third period seemed to inject a new level of energy into the Checkers lineup, but the team was unable to carry on the momentum to a game-tying goal.

Though the game ended as a loss on the scoresheet, a lot can be taken from the energy and level of play that the Checkers exhibited.

“I have to say the new guys have been picking up very quickly and contributing offensively and defensively, and especially working very hard,” said Checkers defenseman Justin Krueger. “Even though we had a loss there was still a lot of energy and good stuff from the new guys and I feel like we are headed in the right direction.”

 

Odds and ends and off-topic rambling:

  • Good news Checkers fans – Zac Dalpe took part in the morning skate today, though he was wearing a yellow no-contact jersey.  Fingers are crossed his recovery is speedy!
  • In honor of the upcoming “Old Time Hockey” weekend, I was tempted to ask the guys at the post game media scrum what advice they thought the Hanson brothers would give a team battling countless injuries, but decided to keep it professional.  I am, however, tempted to ask for a box of foil to be delivered to the locker room.  And to ask the Checkmates to incorporate a pinwheel into their routine this weekend, because that would be epic!
  • Speaking of old time hockey…. by the end of the season I’m going to have a hand-knit retro Checkers sweater, and it’s going to be amazing.
  • I miss Mike Murphy a lot.  And I even miss Justin Pogge.  There, I said it.  I wonder if we could lure either of them back to Charlotte.  Of course, if I was living in Italy like Pogge is, I’m not sure I’d want to leave!
  • I have some great marketing ideas for the Checkers and penalty box sponsorship opportunities that can help the team on and off the ice.  How does the “Brussels Sprouts and Lima Beans Penalty Box” sound for the Checkers? They wouldn’t want to visit it, right? And the “Krispy Kreme” visitors box, complete with a red neon “Hot and Now” sign above it.  Lure the visiting team in there for some glazed goodness!

Admirals Win in Raleigh? Norfolking Way

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First – I must credit the anonymous sign holder in Raleigh today who came up with the title of this post.  It makes me laugh every time I say Norfolking Way.

I thought about doing a true, journalistic post about the game… you know, recap who scored the goals (#Terryiffic!), bad calls (Sutter game misconduct), and post some of the great quotes I got at the post-game media scrum, but honestly, it’s after 11 p.m. and I left my house at 8:30 this morning, so I’d rather talk about how awesome it was to be a fan of the Checkers today, and I’ll let the pro’s stories recap the on-ice action.

There were 10,256 lucky fans in Raleigh today (ok, I suppose the Norfolk Admirals booster club who roadtripped didn’t feel as lucky, but I am glad they came down for a historic event!).  Checkers and Hurricanes fans alike saw a great match-up with Charlotte’s original AHL rival, the only other AHL team in the REAL South (Sorry, Texas, you aren’t the South!).

Today’s game made me incredibly proud of the Checkers organization, the fans, and the people of both North Carolina hockey communities who came together for a great event.  As someone who takes traveling shows from venue to venue for a living, I know how tough it is to move a big production to a new place, and the Checkers staff did this so well, and merged the two environments seamlessly.  From the way Ron the Ref and Wilson co-hosted the in-game activities, the use of both mascots, and the blending of Hurricanes organ music (I WANT MORE ORGAN!) and the Checkers videos, both the Hurricanes and Checkers should be commended for a job well done.

I had a lot of favorite moments today, so here’s a recap of a few of them:

  • Whenever the pool of Admirals fans from their booster club would try to start a “Let’s Go Admirals” chant, Carolina hockey fans promptly responded with the roar of “LET’S GO CHECKERS!”  It was great to see that just happen naturally.
  • Holy cow, y’all.  The lockout is over!  I mean, tentatively…. it was exciting to know that today’s game was the FIRST of the 2012-13 season in Raleigh, but it’s not going to be the last.  I’m first and foremost a fan of the AHL, but I’m glad the fans of the NHL will no longer have to suffer, because I truly believe they were the biggest losers in the lockout.
  • I loved how electric the atmosphere was from the second I walked into PNC Arena.  How responsive a full house of hockey fans can be.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the 10K fan nights in Charlotte, but there’s a very different vibe between the Boy Scout nights and NASCAR night fans and the ones who were at the game today that are true, passionate hockey fans of both the Checkers and the game in general.
  • The fantastic twitter conversations I had on the way home from Raleigh. Thanks to the nimble fingers of my car pooling friends, we kept the conversations going for most of the three hour drive home to Charlotte.  Considering I’m kind of a social media scholar, I know I don’t use the medium as well as I should, and it was fun to converse with you all tonight!
  • Not at all Hockey related, but a trip to Raleigh means a trip to LUSH.  Hands down, they have the best beauty products in the world, and a visit to the only store in North Carolina makes my wallet a little more empty, but my skin and hair thank me for it.

So… the obligatory question about the end of the lockout:

  1. Who gets invited to Hurricanes camp?
  2. From that invite list, who actually makes the final Canes roster? By my estimation, there is room for one goalie (assuming Boucher is still out, and maybe even if he IS healthy again), two defensemen (including Justin Faulk), and three forwards (including Drayson Bowman, who is only with the Checkers right now on an AHL contract, but is obligated to the Hurricanes when their season starts, unless they choose to subject him to waivers and return him to Charlotte.)
  3. How is the departure of some of the young talent in Charlotte going to affect the team? Will the team take a dive in the standings, or do you think with other teams losing guys as well, it’ll all balance out?

So… thanks for staying up so late and reading my disjointed thoughts.  It’s been a long, and exciting day!  Please share your thoughts in the comments.

Additionally, for my Canes fans reading, I’m looking for a Hurricanes corespondent.  Is anyone anxious to contribute to Chasing Checkers from time to time? Drop me a line if you are!

 

As always, Let’s Go Checkers!

Roadtripping to Raleigh – Norfolk Admirals visit the Charlotte Checkers

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It’s been a long nine months since the last professional hockey was played at PNC Arena in Raleigh on April 5, 2011.  Fortunately, those 276 days are over as the Charlotte Checkers take the ice for the first time in their history tomorrow, a game fans from across North Carolina have been looking forward to all season.  I’ve got a carload of Checkers fans ready to head to Raleigh first thing in the morning, and I can’t wait!

For a couple of great previews of the game tomorrow, be sure to read Michael Smith’s story on the Hurricanes website, and Paul Branecky’s piece on the Checkers website.

Despite a rough patch at home, the Checkers have gotten at least a point in six of the last seven home games.  Their last five games were on the road, and they had a record of 1-3-1 over that stretch, including a win in their most recent game in Cleveland on Friday night.

The Checkers have always been dominant over the Admirals, and have a lifetime record of 11-7-1-2 against Norfolk, though as with everything this season, the Checkers fare better on the road, and their home record vs. Norfolk is 3-6-0-1

The Charlotte Checkers currently sit atop the South division with a 19-11-2-3 record, and are in second in the Western Conference with 43 points.  At home, they aren’t quite as dominant with a record of 8-7-0-1

The Norfolk Admirals have 29 points (14-16-1-0, and are 6-9 on the road), and are last in the East Division, and 14th in the Eastern Conference.  The Admirals the Checkers will face tomorrow in Raleigh are a very different squad than the one that won the Calder Cup last season, as the their NHL affiliation changed, and the Admirals are now the AHL team of the Anaheim Ducks.

The Admirals are an incredibly young team, with six rookies. (The Checkers, on the other hand, have two rookies, Tommi Kivisto and Jeremy Welsh. With four years of NCAA hockey under his belt, Welsh has a lot more experience then the young 20 year olds in Norfolk!)

I figured I’d highlight a handful of the Admirals players, who Checkers and Hurricanes fans may be less familiar with as compared with the outstanding team of prospects and NHL hopefuls in Charlotte.

  • Goaltender Jeff Delauriers who was recently signed to a PTO by the organization, but has not played a game yet for Norfolk.  Delauriers has split time during the past three seasons between the NHL and AHL teams of Edmonton and Anaheim, and is in his eight season in the AHL.  The Admirals had a pair of rookie goaltenders the first half of the season (including former Hurricanes prospect Frederik Andersen who refused to sign with Carolina and re-entered the NHL draft last summer and was chosen by Anaheim) and both have struggled, so a veteran presence should make a big impact.
  • Carolina fans will recognize Troy Bodie, who spent 2010-11 with the Hurricanes, and has a number of NHL seasons under his belt.
  • Ryan Parent, who was originally signed to the team under a PTO, is a former first-round pick, and has played for Philadelphia and Vancouver at the NHL level.
  • Peter Holland is the offensive leader on the Admirals with 29 points (12g, 17a).  He’s a 2009 first round pick of the Ducks, and is in his second full professional season.
  • Also in the 2009 first round, the Ducks drafted Kyle Palmieri.  He’s having a great season in Norfolk with 21 points (10g, 11a) and has split the past two full seasons between the NHL and AHL.
  • Sami Vatanen is a first year pro in their organization, and as a defenseman, is fourth in points on the team.  He’s got 4g and 14 assists.
  • Long Beach, California born (woo! SoCal natives represent!) Emersen Etem is a first year pro on the Admirals, and another former first-round pick by the Ducks.  I can’t wait to see him make his NHL debut in his home town!

And for some brief Checkers notes:

  • Dan Ellis is expected to get the start in goal, and will hopefully debut his new red and black mask (I, for one, will not miss the Ducks one he wore during the first half of the season!)  Should the lockout end, Ellis is the most likely candidate to become Cam Ward’s backup, so this could be the first of many starts for him at PNC Arena.
  • Defensemen Marc-Andre Gragnani and Rasmus Rissanen remain out of the lineup.  Gragnani has missed the past seven games, and Rissanen has missed four.
  • Bobby Raymond, who was signed to a PTO by the Checkers, is expected to play his fourth game for Charlotte tomorrow.
  • Nicolas Blanchard was injured in a fight in Cleveland this week, and will not play.  If Justin Soryal is also unable to play (due to a fighting injury on Friday in Cleveland), Jared Staal will play in only his second game since December 11.
  • Since the NHL has been locked out since the Hurricanes acquired Jordan Staal over the summer, Jared will become the second Staal brother to play for the home team at PNC Arena. 

I hope to see lots of you in Raleigh tomorrow!  Puck drop is at 1:30 p.m.

Let’s Go Checkers!

The One About the ’12-’13 Schedule.

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Tess and Haley here again! First of all, our apologies for not posting our thoughts earlier, Haley and I have been pretty busy between moving, school, work, and life. Regardless, better late than never!

We’ll go ahead and start this off with the massive elephant in the room. To rip it off like a band-aid, the Checkers don’t play at home until November 4th, nearly a month after their season starts. Luckily, the nine away-game stretch that starts out the season is the longest our fellas will be away. The hockey gods giveth, and the hockey gods taketh… and thankfully they made up for that nine game stretch by giving us a 10 game stretch at home from November 24th to December 15th!

As for the competitors this season, though the Checkers have once again changed divisions, the opponents won’t be all too unfamiliar. All of Charlotte’s adversaries this season are in the Western conference, with the exception of area rival, Norfolk Admirals. The team will face each of their South Division foes (Houston, Oklahoma City, San Antonio, and Texas). Since joining the Western Conference the Checkers have yet to face Hamilton, Rochester, and Toronto and will continue not oppose them during the regular season. However they will face Norfolk, Houston, OKC, Peoria, Milwaukee and Texas eight times and Abbotsford, Chicago, Grand Rapids, Lake Erie, and Rockford four times.

There are a few notable games in the schedule. The Checkers will have two doubleheaders with the Bobcats this season, December 15th and January 12th. On both dates the Checkers will play at noon and the Bobcats will follow at 7 pm. The November 24th game coincides with the team’s 5K Run & Walk, which is still open for registration and volunteer help.

The last game to keep your eye out for is on January 6th. The team will play in Raleigh against the Norfolk Admirals, the reigning Calder Cup champions. Keep in mind that the ‘Canes play the Isles the night before in Raleigh as well so make a weekend out of it! We’d also like to make note that the promotional schedule has yet to be released, so we’ll be sure to make mention of more notable games later.

Lastly, the Checkers have a huge advantage towards the end of the season. During the month of February the team only plays eight games, two of which are at home, then play 14 of their next 18 games at home, spanning from March 1st to April 12th. After the 12th, the team closes the season with four away games, ending regular season on April 20th.

To check out the Checkers schedule for yourself, go here. For the full AHL schedule, click here.
As always, we look forward to writing much more about the season to come!

 

 

Gameday: Norforlk Admirals at Charlotte Checkers

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Norfolk Admirals (43-18-1-2) at Charlotte Checkers (32-20-3-5)

  • The Admirals hold the number one spot in the AHL with 89 points. The Checkers are eighth in the league with 72 points.
  • Charlotte is 3-2-1-0 against Norfolk this year.  This weekend’s games are the last meetings of the two teams in 2012 (unless of course they meet in the Calder Cup Finals).  In the points match-up, Charlotte has taken seven points, while Norfolk has six.
  • The Admirals have a 16 game winning streak.  Yes, 16 games, which is over one-fifth of the season, straight.  They last lost in Springfield on February 5.
  • Norfolk has a winning record against every team they have played except for Albany. A sweep of this weekend’s games by the Checkers would change that statistic to include Charlotte as one of the only teams who could beat the Ads this season.
Norfolk Notes:
  • In six games against Charlotte, Cory Conacher has seven points (3G, 4A).  He leads all AHL rookies with 68 points, and is third overall in points as well (31G, 37A).
  • Norfolk goaltender Jaroslav Janus is 2-2 against Charlotte (3.27 GAA, .894 SV%).  Regular starter Dustin Tokarski is under recall with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Checkers notes:
  • Mike Murphy should get the start tonight.  He last played on Sunday, when he posted a 4-0 shutout against the Midwest division leading Chicago Wolves.  In two games against Norfolk this year, Murphy is 1-1.  His numbers on the year are pretty outstanding, with a 16-11-2-1 record (2.58 GAA, 0.912 SV%).
  • In six games against Norfolk, Chris Terry leads the Checkers with eight assists.
  • Four of Charlotte’s top scorers against Norfolk are not with the Checkers for tonight’s matchup.  Jon Matsumoto was traded in January, and Jersome Samson, Bobby Sanguinetti and Drayson Bowman are all with the Hurricanes.
  • Bobby Sanguinetti is still in Raleigh with the big club.  He had 13:45 minutes of ice time in last night’s 2-0 win over the league-leading St. Louis Blues.  My fingers are crossed the Hurricanes send him down for tonight’s Checkers game…
  • Rasmus Rissanen has missed the past five games with an upper body injury.  He participated in the full morning skate today and looked as if he could go tonight.
  • Based on the absence of key forwards, I assume today’s morning skate was optional, so I’m not going to read to much into three missing skaters.
  • Justin Krueger is still out with a broken hand.  He did skate later in practice wearing a yellow no-contact jersey.

Gametime:  7:00 p.m. EST

Charlotte Radio: None

 

Norfolk Twitter: @NorfolkAdmirals, @BeekerAdmirals

 

Officials:
Referee:  Jeff Smith (#49)
Linesman: Ben Shiley (#21), Mark Hamlett (#81)

Checkers beat the NorAds 4-2 in an aggressive 60-minute game

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  • As the Checkers were taking the ice, we learned that goaltender Mike Murphy was injured and unable to play.  John Muse was scheduled to be the backup, but Mike Murphy couldn’t even take the warm up, let alone play, so with just a few minutes notice, Muse prepared to start.  Murphy stayed dressed and in the runway, which is a good sign, but the extent of his injury is unknown.
  • John Muse – Yet another strong game for backup goaltender John Muse.  He stopped all but two shots in the game, and was attacked time and time again by Norfolk.  A running theme of Admirals games has been their aggressive style. During the first period in particular, they played a bit on the dirty side when it came to Muse, but this is nothing new during Checkers/Admirals games. Muse played a great game, thanks especially to his teammates who had his back and watched out for him during the fill 60 minutes.
  • Joe Sova, in one of his first shifts of the game, he was put on the power play, and then made a key save for Muse, diving into the crease and stopping a shot.  This is the kind of play I love seeing from Checkers defensemen.  I’m anxious to see Sova in person on Thursday.
  • When I watch Chris Terry, especially on a special teams unit like the power play, it’s easy to see how smart he is, and how he is truly a playmaker.  He is completely responsible for Bowman’s goal in the first period.  He’s definitely a worthy All-Star!
  • Matt Pistilli’s goal, which ended up being the game winner, was a great rebound shot.  It’s refreshing to see the Checkers deep in the offensive zone, making plays and forcing rebounds.
  • Evgenii Dadonov registered his first two points as a Checker, an assist and an empty net goal.
  • The Checkers and Admirals each scored two power play goals.  Since they were essentially tied at fifth for best power play, the fact the Ads had less power play chances (five, versus the Checkers eight), and they are one game back, they will take the legitimate fifth spot and move the Checkers to sixth instead of the silly tie they had going into the game.
  • Chris Terry and Bobby Sanguinetti continue their point streaks to six games.  Terry registered one assist, and Sanguinetti had two on the night.
  • The Checkers hop on the bus and head back to Charlotte tonight.  They face the division rivals Rockford IceHogs on Thursday and Friday night in Charlotte.
  • Speaking of division rivals, the Milwaukee Admirals have had a terrible January.  They are 3-6-1 since I visited their fine arena on New Years Day.  They lost today in a work-day matinee to the Peoria Rivermen by a score of 6-3.
  • Jared Staal was a healthy scratch, along with Everblade regular Ryan Donald.

Gameday: Charlotte at Norfolk

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Had this ready to post last night, but forgot to click on the schedule button.  Oh, WordPress, you are so easy to use, and yet I fail sometimes!  Better late than never, and now I can make some additions with recent transaction news!

 

 Charlotte Checkers (24-15-2-2) at Norfolk Admirals (25-14-1-2)

  • Tonight is the Checkers final game of four in Norfolk.  They will face the Admirals three more times in Charlotte.  The Checkers are 2-1-1 against the Ads.
  • Chris Terry, who has five assists in four games against Norfolk this year, is on quite the scoring streak.  In the past five games, he has 11 points (4G, 7A). (That’s what we call Terryiffic!)
  • Admirals starting goaltender Dustin Tokarski is 17-9-0-2 on the season (2.53 GAA, 0.898 SV%).  His numbers aren’t as impressive against the Checkers though.  He’s 1-1 in two starts (3.97 GAA%, 0.867 SV%).
  • In four games against the Checkers this year, AHL leading rookie goal-scorer Cory Conacher leads the Admirals with six points (2G, 4A).  As a rookie, he also leads the team in points with 46 in 41 games played (24G, 22A).
  • Norfolk’s captain, Mike Angelidis, was recalled by Tampa Bay this morning.  Admirals defenseman Evan Oberg was also recalled to the NHL.
  • Charlotte’s Alternate captain (and formerly the Norfolk captain), Chris Durno, remains sidelined with a concussion.
  • Norfolk and Charlotte are tied at fifth for the best power play in the league.  Charlotte has a significantly better PK, so hopefully this will be the difference maker tonight.
  • This season, the games against Norfolk have been high scoring affairs.  Charlotte is going to need to play their kind of hockey, and not let the Admirals take control early on.  Discipline is going to be a key, and staying out of the penalty box! If the Checkers maintain control of the pace of the game, it should be a great contest between two highly skilled teams.

Other Checkers Notes:

  • Matt Beca was assigned to the Florida Everblades yesterday.
  • Zac Dalpe was assigned to Charlotte this morning.  With the Hurricanes on their All-Star break, it’s no surprise, since Dalpe can get three games in with the AHL.  With Dalpe’s return, the Checkers have a couple of healthy extras up front.
  • Tonight could be rookie defenseman Joe Sova’s debut in a Checkers jersey.  If he plays, one of the Checkers other healthy D will have to sit. (On the blueline, Mathieu Roy and Chris Murray are still injured.)
  • Paul Branecky had a tidbit that just cements my theory that the Checkers are a really great team for 40 minutes, and then they forget.  How many times have I written the words “They need to learn how to play a full 60…”:
“The Checkers have five regulation losses when leading after two periods, more than any other AHL team. Each of their last two regulation losses, against Hershey on Jan. 12 and at Abbotsford on Jan. 21, came with the team holding a 2-1 lead at the second intermission. The third period is the only period in which the Checkers have a negative goal differential (-11).”

Gametime:  7:15 p.m. EST

Charlotte Radio: WBCN 1660 AM

 

Norfolk Twitter: @NorfolkAdmirals, @BeekerAdmirals

 

Officials:
Referees:  Jason Rollins (#37), Steve Patafie (#85)
Linesman: Francis Trempe (#56), Alex Stagnone (#7)

Gameday – Charlotte at Norfolk

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Charlotte Checkers (10-6-1-1) at. Norfolk Admirals (10-7-0-1)

  • Charlotte is 1-1-1 this year against the Admirals, losing both contests in Norfolk opening weekend.  Last year, the Checkers were virtually unbeatable when playing in Virginia, with a record of 5-0-1.
  • This is the Checkers third of four road games in Norfolk this season.
  • Overall, the Checkers and Admirals are incredibly evenly matched, with almost identical records, and positions within the West and East Conference standings.
  • The Checkers will be without the services of their Captain, as Brett Sutter is still currently with the Hurricanes, who face the Montreal Canadiens in Raleigh tonight.  Zac Dalpe and Zach Boychuk have been returned to the Checkers, and should be eligible to play against the Admirals.
  • Justin is still my favorite player, even though we ONLY have four of them, but my friend James said that Chris is his favorite, since we have three of them.
  • Bobby Sanguinetti may play tonight.  He’s been out for a couple of weeks, though after Chris Murray’s AMAZING INCREDIBLE FANTASTIC game on Sunday, I kind of hate to see him benched…. though we desperately need Sanguinetti back.
  • In three games this year against Norfolk, Jon Matsumoto leads the Checkers with seven points (2G, 5A).  Drayson Bowman has four points (3G, 1A).
  • Justin Peters should play tonight.  Not only is it his “turn” in the goalie rotation, but Murphy left the game with an apparent upper body injury.  He practiced with the team, and will be able to serve as the backup tonight though.
  • I will be watching/listening to the game tonight from the light booth at a theater.  Where will you be watching?  (Look for a tweet during the game of how I watch road games!)

 

Happy Thanksgiving!  

 

 

Gametime:  7:15 p.m. EST

Charlotte Radio:  WBCN 1660 AM
Charlotte Twitter: @CheckersHockey, @PaulBranecky,
Norfolk Twitter: @NorfolkAdmirals
Officials
Referees: Steve Patafie (#85), Darcy Burchell (#42)
Linesmen: Tom George (#61), Bill Lyons (#27)

Guest post: Thoughts on the Norfolk Game/Canes

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Editor’s Note:  Another “guest” post for you to enjoy, and a further step towards Chasing Checkers becoming more of a community effort!  Some good thoughts regarding the Norfolk game from this past Sunday, a team we will see an additional three times in Charlotte, and twice on the road.

 

Some thoughts on Sunday’s Norfolk game:

1. I do not think I have seen a team that is more of a polar opposite of the Checkers than the Admirals.  They play a super fast, aggressive style with lots of forechecking and believe “put the puck on net and see what happens”.  Honestly, with the offensive potential the Checkers have I would love to see them forecheck a little more.  Norfolk caused a ton of turnovers with their pressure and swarming forwards that picked off a ton of the Checkers stretch passes.  The Checkers did a great job pressing their forwards out to the boards which made Mike Murphy’s life a lot easier.  While he made some great saves the D did what they were supposed to do against a team that is “shoot first.”

2. Matt Pistilli continues to impress with his hustle and grit, he went right to the front of the net to screen and help set up the Cedric McNicoll goal and he even got a little chippy on the boards a few times with Norfolk.  He did not play that way last season but he is showing the beginning of the make-up of a grinder at the NHL level.  Jared Staal could learn a thing or two from him—get in front and cause some havoc with your size, please.

3. The team really held up well after getting down a goal and stuck with their system (which can be frustrating to watch) and it lead to the rush that Jordan scored on–not a pretty goal but it shows good things happen when you crash the net.

4. Drayson Bowman looked a lot more active this game as did Zach Boychuck. It was nice to see both going hard at the end of a 3 in 3.

5. Overall the faceoff circle is very hit and miss–a lot like the Canes.  The Checkers offense would be a lot more dangerous if they could win more offensive zone faceoff’s.

6. Back to forchecking–Norfolk caused what looked like a powerplay rush shorthanded by attcking the Checkers while they tried to bring it up.  Murphy got beat on the first shot but it hit the post.  High risk, high reward as the pressure made the Checkers PP goal easier but I wish the Checkers would apply a little more pressure than their usual Hurricane-style let the other team bring it to the blue line approach.

7. I commented on a post a few days back but Justin Faulk needs to stay in Charlotte to learn; not play 10 minutes or sit on the bench in Raleigh–either keep him in Raleigh or leave him in Charlotte.  Also, how are you going to see whether a young player is any good if he only gets 6 minutes of TOI in a Canes game?  The Canes do not use their 4th line correctly as Boychuck gets a call up to basically sit and watch?  He is not a grinder if he is going to make stick in the NHL he needs to be a top-6 scoring wing.  Of course I think Maurice frustrates a lot of Canes/Checkers fans.