Patrick WilliamsTheAHL.com Features Writer
That first game back on home ice after a long road trip can be a trap.
After a seemingly endless number of nights in hotels, criss-crossing the map on planes and buses, hitting the snow in front of your fans has a chance to come off the ground. Coaches warn against that disappointment.
So the Charlotte Checkers were ready when the schedule brought them back to Bojangles Coliseum after a 10-game, 18-day road trip that took them to Rochester, Syracuse, Bridgeport, Springfield, Hershey and the Lehigh Valley. With the Bridgeport Islanders, an Atlantic Division playoff contender, coming to town for a few games last weekend, the Checkers took care of their business and then some, shutting out their opponents on back-to-back nights.
Friday, veteran Louis Domingue made his first start in six weeks and made 18 saves in a 3-0 win. On Saturday, it was Kirill Gerasimyuk stopped 28 shots in a 2-0 win, his fourth shutout of the season. In that win the Checkers burned Bridgeport’s four-minute power play and scored a shorthanded goal for their fifth straight victory.
“These are not easy games to play,” the head coach Geordie Kinnear said after the first win back home. “You’ve been on the road for a long time, you come back, give the guys a few days to buy new groceries, and get old food out of their freezers and stuff. I give the guys a lot of credit. The first game after a road trip is not easy to play, and they did a great job.”
For most of this season, Kinnear and the Checkers have used a three-goal system. Cooper Black he took the bulk of that job, playing 35 games, while Domingue and Gerasimyuk complemented him.
For Domingue, who has played 144 NHL games, coming to Charlotte to help mentor Black and Gerasimyuk made for a perfect fit on all fronts.
“I’m very happy,” Domingue said after his shutout. “They are good kids and eager to learn. I see improvement in both of them. They are curious, they ask questions and we joke every day. The attitude is always there, and it was easy to come to work.”
They have time to continue adjusting to home life again. After two home games this week against the Hartford Wolf Pack, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms will travel for two more games this weekend. Last year’s Calder Cup finalist, the Checkers are on track for their fifth straight postseason berth since teaming with the Florida Panthers.
The Checkers made significant personnel changes after last season, but used the same all-business approach to last season’s hockey that carried them through two championship wins last year.
There is no time to relax in playoff hockey – especially in the first round of a best-of-three when one loss leaves you facing elimination. So the Checkers closed good practices, learned to play strong games like this past weekend. Having players – young and old alike – step in as needed.
The Calder Cup Playoffs are just over a month away, but the Checkers are making sure they’re ready now.
In the American Hockey League for two decades, TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams and currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor to SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for the league’s top scorer in 2016.
