The Charlotte Checkers have a so-so record - but it contains some hidden gems
Hidden in what has been a so-so season for the Charlotte Checkers are some sparkling special teams statistics.
A season after winning the Calder Cup, Charlotte is lodged near the bottom of the AHL’s Atlantic Division standings, but the Checkers are by far the league’s best team at killing off penalties.
Charlotte has a 92.7 percent success rate on the penalty kill, 5 percentage points better than Utica, the next-best team. The Checkers also are sixth in scoring on the power play, converting 20.4 percent of the time.
A lot of that reflects on head coach Ryan Warsofsky, who was hired as Checkers’ assistant coach last year by Mike Vellucci to improve special teams play. Under Warsofsky, Charlotte led the league in most of those categories.
Vellucci is gone, and Warsofsky is now head coach, but the strong play continues.
“The system that we run is pretty aggressive and makes everyone be on the same page,” Warsofsky said this week, according to the Checkers’ website. “I’ve had success with the system before, so we really didn’t want to change it.”
“It can change the game in a split second. If you kill off a 5-on-3 or if you kill off back-to-back power plays, all of a sudden the tide changes in the game.”
The exception to this is also on the power play. When skating with a man advantage, the Checkers are far more likely than any other AHL team to give up a short-handed goal. Charlotte has allowed nine goals to short-handed opponents this season. The next-most is six, by Grand Rapids.
Here is a look at the past week, plus a look at the week ahead, which includes a lengthy home stand:
Last Wednesday: Julien Gauthier scored twice in 83 seconds, and Anton Forsberg played a strong game in goal, as Charlotte beat host Syracuse Crunch 5-1.
Friday: The Checkers lost 4-0 at red-hot Rochester, despite outshooting the Americans 9-1 and having a two-man advantage early in the game. Rochester broke it open with three goals midway in the second period.
Saturday: The Checkers handed Rochester its first loss in regulation since Oct. 30, winning 3-1. Gauthier and Morgan Geekie scored power-play goals, and Forsberg got his second assist of the season.
Personnel changes: Gauthier, whose 10 goals lead the Checkers, was promoted to the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday for their five-game Western trip. The Hurricanes sent Clark Bishop and Brian Gibbons down to Charlotte.
Week ahead: The Checkers open a six-game home stand with contests Friday and Saturday night at Bojangles’ Coliseum against Syracuse. Game times are 7 p.m. Friday and 6 p.m. Saturday.
Charlotte is then home against Atlantic Division co-leader Hartford at 7 p.m. Tuesday and next Wednesday, and against Lehigh Valley on Dec. 21 and 22.
Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle