CHARLOTTE, N.C. β After a first round bye, the Charlotte Checkers have not missed a beat on their quest to the Calder Cup. They enter the postseason in the Atlantic Division Semifinal and are one win away from advancing.
Checkers began the series on the road in Providence against the Bruins. Charlotte leads the series 2-0 and has outscored the Bruins 7-2 over the first two games. On Wednesday night, Checkers return home for their first playoff game in Charlotte and a chance to take the best three-out-of-five series.
Well obviously the crowds is important,” said Checkers coach Geordie Kinnear. “You look at any home team: itβs a building, itβs a crowd and we want to make sure theyβre behind us. Momentum can go up and down in playoffs quite a bit so we want to make sure that we get our crowd involved and make them proud too with how we play.”
Checkers finished the regular season with a 44-22 record, the second-best in the Atlantic. At home, they went 21-13 and have felt the positive effects from the home crowd all season.
“On the bench we bring a lot of energy and we get an extra boost from the crowd,” said Checkers right wing Will Lockwood. “This year has been even better than last year, people have been really showing up and now that its playoff time thereβs a little buzz around Charlotte. It should be a fun one.”
The winner advances to the Atlantic Division Final, where they will meet either the Lehigh Valley Phantom or Hershey Bears. Lehigh Valley leads the series 2-1.
Checkers and Bruins will face off at the Bojangles Coliseum on Wednesday with a 7:00 puck drop.Β