Preview: Monsters at Checkers - Round 3
Cleveland Monsters at Charlotte Checkers
Friday, January 13th, 2017 - 7:15 pm EST
Bojangles Colisieum; Charlotte, North Carolina
Radio: 99x(99.1), 99x Online
Twitter: @checkershockey
@monstershockey , #CLEMonsters
Cleveland Monsters, 17-13-1-2, 37 points, 4th Central, 9th West
vs
Charlotte Checkers, 14-20-2-0, 30 points, 7th Central, 15th West
Both the Monsters and the Checkers are coming into tonight’s game after much-needed wins. In fact, the Checkers 5-1 win over the Milwaukee Admirals took them out of the bottom spot in the division. The Checkers are hungry to move up in the standings and only need four points to move past the Manitoba Moose.
3 Keys
- Win All Three Periods
The Checkers don’t do well when trailing after the first or second period. In fact, when trailing after the second period their record is a paltry 1-18-1-0. The Monsters need to create a large lead right off the bat and maintain it until the horn blows.
| Checkers | Monsters | |
| 4-1-1-0 | Leading After 1 | 6-1-0-2 |
| 8-0-1-0 | Leading After 2 | 9-1-0-2 |
| 7-2-0-0 | Tied After 1 | 8-6-1-0 |
| 5-2-0-0 | Tied After 2 | 6-3-1-0 |
| 3-17-1-0 | Trailing After 1 | 3-6-0-0 |
| 1-18-1-0 | Trailing After 2 | 2-9-0-0 |
| 10-6-1-0 | Out Shooting Opponent | 9-5-1-0 |
| 4-1-1-0 | Out Shot by Opponent | 8-8-0-1 |
2. Team Chemistry
Between the backup goalie situation in Columbus and the revolving door Markus Hannikainen has to walk through on a daily basis, the Monsters need to have comradery across the board. They need to figure out how to anticipate each teammate’s move on the ice. All of the players can already read the thoughts of half of their teammates. If they want to leapfrog the Wolves in the standings, they need to play as a cohesive unit, a brotherhood.
3. Trust No Opponent With the Puck
Even though Wallmark, Zykov, and Poturalski are three of the Checkers’ top players, the Monsters can’t focus all of their energy on them. There are multiple players lurking in the shadows waiting for their chance to create a highlight reel play.
Players like Nestrasil and Carrick who are coming back from injuries ready to prove to the world why they deserve to play professional hockey.
Robertson is currently on a four-game point streak. The Monsters will also need to find a way to cool down his hot streak.
Season Series
12/20/2016 - Checkers (2) @ Monsters (4) = W
12/22/2016 - Checkers (2) @ Monsters (3) = W
01/13/2017
01/14/2017
02/24/2017
02/25/2017
03/28/2017
03/30/2017
Stats Matchup
| Checkers | Stat | Monsters |
| 2.39% (30th) | GPG | 2.70% (21st) |
| 2.94% (17th) | GAPG | 2.79% (10th) |
| 11.5% (30th) | PP% | 15.8% (23rd) |
| 78.5% (24th) | PK% | 84.8% (5th) |
| Wallmark, Zykov, 9 | G Leader | Oliver Bjorkstrand, 10 |
| Andrew Poturalski, 15 | A Leader | TJ Tynan, 18 |
| Andrew Poturalski, 22 | P Leader | TJ Tynan, 22 |
| Kyle Hagel, 48 | PIM Leader | Brett Gallant, 53 |
| 8-4-0-0 | Road/Home | 7-7-0-1 |
| 3-7-0-0 | Last 10 | 7-2-0-1 |
| 1-0-0-0 | Streaks | 1-0-0-0 |