Patrick WilliamsTheAHL.com Features Writer
The first game back at home after a long road trip can be a trap.
After spending countless nights in hotels, crisscrossing the map on planes and buses, and rinking in front of your own fans, it’s possible to achieve nothing. Coaches warn against these disappointments.
So the Charlotte Checkers were ready when they returned to Bojangles Arena after 10 games in 18 days on the road, with a schedule that included Rochester, Syracuse, Bridgeport, Springfield, Hershey and Lehigh Valley. The Bridgeport Islanders, a team fighting for an Atlantic Division playoff spot, came here last weekend for a pair of games, and the Checkers took care of their business before shutting out their opponents on back-to-back nights.
Friday, veteran Luis Domingue He made his first start in six weeks and made 18 saves in the team's 3-0 victory. Saturday, yes Kirill Grasimiyuk Stopped 28 shots and helped the team win 2-0. This was his fourth shutout of the season. In that win, the Checkers went on a four-minute power play in Bridgeport and notched their fifth straight win while shorthanded.
“These games are not easy to play,” head coach Jody Kinnear Said after his first win back home. “You've been on the road for so long and you come back and give the guys a few days to get new groceries and get old food out of the refrigerator and stuff like that. I give the guys a lot of credit. It's not an easy first game after a road trip, but they did a great job.”
Kinnear and the Checkers have operated a three-goaltender system for much of the season. cooper black He did the bulk of the work, playing 35 games, while Domingo and Grasimiuk supplemented him.
For Domingue, who has played 144 career NHL games, coming to Charlotte to help mentors Blake and Grasimiuk make everything a smooth adjustment.
“Honestly, I had a lot of fun,” Domingue said after the shutout. “They're both good kids, eager to learn. I see them all improving. They're curious, they ask questions, we joke around every day. The mood is always there, and it's easy to come to work.”
They were given time to further adjust to family life again. After playing two home games against the Hartford Wolfpack this week, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms will play two more games this weekend. The Checkers reached the Calder Cup finals last year and are on track to reach the postseason for the fifth straight time since joining the Florida Panthers.
The Checkers went through some major personnel changes after last season, but they adopted the same all-business approach to late-season hockey that put them within two wins of the championship a year ago.
There's no time to ease into playoff hockey, especially in the first round of best-of-three games where one loss and you're facing elimination. So the Checkers are getting into good habits and learning how to play hard games like they did last weekend. Let players – young and old – step in as needed.
The Calder Cup playoffs are still more than a month away, but the Checkers are making sure they're ready now.
About two decades in the American Hockey League, TheAHL.com feature writer Patrick Williams also currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor to SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. In 2016, he received the AHL's James H. Ellery Memorial Award for outstanding coverage of the league.
