Struggling Charlotte Checkers are still among AHL’s leaders in attendance
The Charlotte Checkers are struggling for an American Hockey League playoff berth, but they remain a hit with fans.
As they prepare to open a six-game home stand, the Checkers have the ninth-best attendance of the AHL’s 31 teams, according to HockeyDB.com.
The Checkers have filled about 80 percent of the seats at Bojangles Coliseum in their 22 home games, averaging 6,648 home fans.
As is the case with most AHL teams, Charlotte’s average attendance is down slightly from last season’s totals. But hockey teams tend to draw their biggest crowds from mid-February into early April, after the end of football season and before the start of baseball and milder spring weather.
In their last two home games, the Checkers had an average attendance of nearly 8,000.
Leading the way is Cleveland, with an average of 9,163 fans per home game. A Canadian team, the Belleville Senators, sits last in attendance, with an average of 2,746.
The AHL’s top 10 teams in average attendance:
- Cleveland: 9,163
- Hershey: 8,434
- Ontario (Calif.): 7,938
- San Diego: 7,479
- Providence: 7,365
- Lehigh Valley: 7,108
- Grand Rapids: 7,074
- Chicago: 6,775
- Charlotte: 6,648
- Iowa: 6,272
Here’s a look at the Checkers’ past week, and what lies ahead:
Friday: Charlotte suffered its third straight loss, falling 6-2 in Toronto. Morgan Geekie and Max McCormick got the Checkers’ goals.
Saturday: The Checkers snapped the losing streak, edging Toronto 4-3. Alex Nedeljkovic made 31 saves in goal, and Julien Gauthier’s 22nd goal of the season proved to be the winner.
Standings: Having lost three of their last four, the Checkers have slipped back to sixth place in the AHL’s Atlantic Division, after earlier climbing from eighth to fourth. However, Charlotte is just one point out of fourth place (the last playoff spot). Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Springfield are tied for fourth, but Charlotte has played two fewer games than Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and three fewer than Springfield.
What’s next: The Checkers hope to improve their playoff position and pad their attendance figures with a six-game homestand. They host Hartford at 7 p.m. Friday and 6 p.m. Saturday at Bojangles’ Coliseum. Then they entertain Rochester at 7 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by home games Feb. 15 (6 p.m.) and Feb. 16 (1 p.m.) against Springfield.
Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle