Weekly Report: Top Of The Atlantic – Charlotte Checkers Hockey

The Checkers wrapped up their regular season schedule in thrilling fashion, picking up a pair of road victories to earn their second division title in franchise history.

Week in Review

Checkers 2, Hartford 1

The Checkers went into Hartford and locked in a tightly contested battle, with the two sides only combining for 48 shots across the 60 minutes of play. The Wolf Pack broke the ice with a strike in the final two minutes of the first, but the Checkers answered back with a Chase Priskie tally in the middle frame to set up Scott Wilson’s game-winning power-play goal in the third. Making his final start of the regular season, Joey Daccord came up big once again, turning aside 21 of the 22 shots he faced to pick up the victory. Full recap

Checkers 2, Providence 1

With a division title on the line, the Checkers rose to the occasion in their regular season finale. It was a goaltending duel for the majority of regulation, until Zac Dalpe connected on a quick one-timer over halfway through the third to give the visitors the lead. Gustav Olofsson would snipe a full-ice empty netter in the final minute, and that would prove to be the game winner as Providence poked one across the goal line with nine seconds left in regulation. Christopher Gibson turned in a 34-save gem between the pipes, playing over 59 minutes of perfect hockey and helping lift the Checkers to the Atlantic Division crown. Full recap

Three Stars Of The Week

QUICK HITS

KINGS OF THE ATLANTIC

The Checkers found themselves in fifth place in the division at the end of February. From there, they went 16-3-2-1 over the final two months of the season – and with their win over Providence on Saturday, the Checkers officially clinched the Atlantic Division title.

The Checkers only spent 10 days in first place in the Atlantic, a total that is tied with Hershey and less than Providence (19 days), Hartford (24) and Springfield (128).

This marks the second time the Checkers have won their division, with the first instance coming during the 2018-19 season. By capturing the division the Checkers have also claimed a bye on to the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs, as well as home-ice advantage through round three of the postseason.

DALPE DELIVERS

With his third-period tally in Saturday’s win, Zac Dalpe reached 30 goals for the season – making him the fifth player in franchise history to hit that mark. This is the second time that Dalpe has hit the 30-goal mark in his career, with his career high coming in 2018-19 with 33 goals for Cleveland.

DACCORD STANDS TALL

Joey Daccord made 21 saves on Friday to finish the regular season with a career high of 19 wins. The netminder ended up with a .925 save percentage, breaking the franchise single-season record that was set in 2012-13 by Justin Peters. Since the start of March, Daccord posted a 10-2-0 record over 14 appearances and surrendered two or fewer goals in 10 of those games.

WELCOME BACK GIBSON

After missing a large chunk of the season due to injury, Christopher Gibson returned to the lineup in April and has been lights out between the pipes. The veteran netminder went 3-0-2 over his five appearances since coming back from injury, allowing seven total goals across that stretch and giving up one or fewer goals in four of the five outings. That hot streak culminated with a huge 34-save effort on Saturday to help clinch a division title for the Checkers.

HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK

Zac Dalpe came through in the clutch on Saturday and made history with his 30th goal of the season!

You can always count on the Captain! pic.twitter.com/zB0ULZSIEm

— y – Charlotte Checkers (@CheckersHockey) April 24, 2022

RECORD WATCH

• Zac Dalpe is the fifth 30-goal scorer in franchise history
• Joey Daccord posted the best single-season save percentage in franchise history (.925)
• Cale Fleury set a franchise with four shorthanded assists this season

RANKS

• Zac Dalpe is tied for seventh in the AHL in goals (30)
• Cole Schwindt is tied for 10th in the AHL overall, tied for seventh among forwards and tied for second among rookies in plus-minus (+22)
• Cale Fleury leads the AHL in shorthanded assists (4)
• Serron Noel ranks fifth among AHL rookies in penalty minutes (74)
• Cole Schwindt is tied for fourth among AHL rookies in shorthanded goals (2)
• Connor Carrick is tied for eighth among league defensemen in goals (10)
• Connor Carrick is tied for third among defensemen in power-play goals (5) and and tied for second in shorthanded goals (1)
• Joey Daccord is tied for fourth in the AHL in goals-against average (2.28) and ranks second in save percentage (.925)

By the Numbers

CATEGORY	RECORD	AHL RANK
Power play	19.2{194d821e0dc8d10be69d2d4a52551aeafc2dee4011c6c9faa8f16ae7103581f6}	t-17th
Penalty kill	85.0{194d821e0dc8d10be69d2d4a52551aeafc2dee4011c6c9faa8f16ae7103581f6}	2nd
Goals per game	3.25	11th
Shots per game	29.94	15th
Goals allowed per game	2.74	t-3rd
Shots allowed per game	30.00	t-11th
Penalty minutes per game	11.97	21st

LEADERS

CATEGORY	LEADER(S)
Points	Alexander True (42), Cole Schwindt (40), Three tied (39)
Goals	Zac Dalpe (30), Scott Wilson (24), Cole Schwindt (19)
Assists	Aleksi Heponiemi (30), Logan Hutsko (28), Cale Fleury (26)
Power play goals	Zac Dalpe (11), Kole Lind, Scott Wilson (7)
Shorthanded goals	Five tied (2)
Game-winning goals	Scott Wilson (6), Zac Dalpe (4), Five tied (3)
Shots on goal	Zac Dalpe (205), Scott Wilson (160), Connor Carrick (157)
Penalty minutes	Kole Lind (106), Serron Noel (74), Connor Carrick (67)
Plus/minus	Cole Schwindt (+22), Max McCormick (+17), Alexander True (+15)
Wins	Joey Daccord (19)
Goals-against average	Joey Daccord (2.28)
Save percentage	Joey Daccord (.925)