Charlotte Checkers weekend series vs. Toronto Marlies has big-time feel to it
It’s a third-place team facing a fourth-place club, but this weekend’s two-game series in Charlotte between the Checkers and the Toronto Marlies has a big-time feel to it.
The Checkers and Marlies face off at 6 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday at Bojangles Coliseum. It comes in the middle of a six-game homestand for Charlotte.
The Checkers have climbed from eighth place in the American Hockey League’s Atlantic Division to third. Charlotte has won nine of its last 10 games and is 13-3 since Dec. 7.
The Marlies are on a different trajectory. After being in contention for the AHL North lead early in the season, they are 3-7 in their last 10 games and have slipped to fourth.
But it is a meeting of the AHL’s last two champions. Toronto won the Calder Cup in 2018 and Charlotte captured the cup last June.
The Marlies provided Charlotte with its toughest test in the playoffs, pushing the Checkers to six games.
What’s more, the two teams’ NHL parent clubs — the Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina Hurricanes — have two of the league’s strongest farm systems. The Marlies got off to a slow start last season but rallied down the stretch.
The Checkers swept a two-game home series earlier this week off second-place Hershey, beating the Bears, 4-1, on Tuesday night before a sellout crowd at Bojangles Coliseum, then edging the Bears, 5-4, on Wednesday.
Charlotte coach Ryan Warsofsky gave the team a day off Thursday.
“We’ve just got to take a deep breath here,” Warsofsky said after Wednesday’s victory. “We need to catch ourselves, take a step back, and realize we won two hockey games. We’ve got a good team coming in, and we have to learn from what just happened. (Almost blowing a 5-1 lead)”
But Checkers’ forward Steven Lorentz said his team made a statement against Hershey.
“We just beat one of the best teams in the league,” he said. “For confidence’s sake, that’s huge for us. Moving forward, I think that’s kind of a message not to sleep on us.”
Here is a review of the past week for the Checkers, and what lies ahead:
Last Friday: Charlotte’s six-game winning streak ended with a 6-3 loss to AHL Atlantic leader Hartford. The game was tied 3-3 after the first period. Checkers defenseman Jake Bean notching two assists.
Last Saturday: The Checkers got back on the winning track, downing Bridgeport 5-2 in a game that ended Charlotte’s seven-game road trip. Max McCormick scored three goals.
Tuesday: Oliwer Kaski scored two goals and goalkeeper Anton Forsberg made 26 saves in Charlotte’s 4-1 romp over Hershey. The game drew 8,359 fans to Bojangles Coliseum.
Wednesday: Before a home crowd of 4,426, the Checkers held off Hershey 5-4. Five different Charlotte players scored goals, Janne Kuokkanen had three assists, and goalkeeper Alex Nedeljkovic notched his fifth straight victory.
What’s ahead: The Checkers host Toronto at 6 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. The Bojangles Coliseum homestand ends next weekend with home games against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Penguins (7 p.m. Friday, 6 p.m. Saturday). That series will mark the return to Charlotte of Penguins’ coach Mike Vellucci, who directed the Checkers to the AHL championship last season.
Standings: Charlotte is third in the AHL Atlantic, despite playing the fewest games of anyone in the division. The Checkers are four points behind second-place Hershey and seven in back of first-place Hartford.
Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle