Are you a hockey fan in the Carolinas? Here’s how Checkers, Canes have brought you joy

This is a good time to be a hockey fan in the Carolinas.

The NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes are 6-4, with one of the losses coming in overtime, and sit second in the Metropolitan Division behind the Pittsburgh Penguins.

And the Hurricanes’ top farm club, the Charlotte Checkers, continue to terrorize the American Hockey League with an 8-1 record – including a 7-0 mark on the road.

The Checkers were on the road last week, sweeping their three games and running their road record this season to 7-0, a franchise record.

Perhaps what’s most impressive is the balance in Charlotte’s attack.

The Checkers’ percentage – the percentage of possible points they’ve earned in games this season – is the AHL’s highest at .889. And they rank second of the AHL’s 31 teams in goals scored with 35. Yet their leading scorer, center Andrew Poturalski, ranks only 15th in the league in scoring.

It’s been a different player stepping forward every night, including some of the rookies, such as forward Morgan Geekie and defenseman Jake Bean, who scored the game-winning goal Friday night in Binghamton.

The only league-leader on the team is goalkeeper Alex Nedeljkovic, who tops the AHL in victories with six. And even in that category, the Checkers have three goalies who have won a game this season.

Other items of note from this big October start:

▪ Charlotte has scored four or more goals in six of its seven road games.

▪ The eight victories is the most in October in the Checkers’ nine AHL seasons.

Here’s a look at the past week and what’s ahead:

Wednesday: Poturalski, Geekie and Clark Bishop scored in Charlotte’s 3-1 victory over the Utica Comets. In goal for the Checkers was Scott Darling, sent down by the Carolina Hurricanes to get some work while recovering from an injury. Darling, playing his first AHL game in 3 1/2 years, made 25 saves. He was called back up to Carolina the next day.

Friday: Callum Booth made his first appearance in goal this season, and the Checkers topped the Binghamton Devils 4-3 in overtime. Bean scored the winning goal, less than a minute into overtime. It was his first goal as a professional and the first Charlotte goal by a defenseman since November 2016.

Saturday: Charlotte pummeled the injury-riddled Syracuse Crunch 6-3. Nedeljkovic was back in goal, earning the victory and even getting an assist on the Checkers’ final goal, by Clark Bishop.

Personnel moves: In addition to Darling’s brief appearance with Charlotte, the Checkers saw center Nicolas Roy called up by the Hurricanes. Roy had led Charlotte in goals, with five in six games. Bishop, who’d played two games with the Hurricanes, was sent down to Charlotte and scored for the Checkers on Saturday.

Week ahead: The Checkers come home, where they’ve played only twice this season. They host the Providence Bruins at 7 p.m. Friday and 6 p.m. Saturday. Then it’s back on the road for six more games, before the Checkers return home around Thanksgiving.

This story was originally published October 28, 2018 at 11:01 AM.