Game Day: Islanders at Checkers
Oct 26, 2024THE STORY COMING IN
The Bridgeport Islanders (1-4-1-0) face the Charlotte Checkers (4-1-0-0) in a 6 p.m. rematch at Bojangles Coliseum tonight. It’s a good opportunity for the Islanders to bounce back after suffering an 8-2 loss to Charlotte less than 24 hours ago. The Checkers had five different players record a multi-point game, scored three times on the power play, and five times in the second period. Brian Pinho (PPG) and Hudson Fasching notched the Islanders’ goals, while Chris Terry logged his 800th professional point. Both Jakub Skarek (1-2-0) and Marcus Hogberg (no decision) saw time in net.
Watch tonight's game live: AHLTV on FloHockey
Listen to tonight's radio broadcast: Mixlr
ISLANDERS VS. CHECKERS
Tonight’s game is the third of eight meetings between the Islanders and Checkers this season, and the second of four in North Carolina. Charlotte leads the series 2-0-0-0 following last night’s win and a 3-0 victory on Oct. 13th at Total Mortgage Arena. Checkers forward Rasmus Asplund has a series-best four points (3g, 1a) through two meetings including one goal and one assist last night.
VIEW FROM CHARLOTTE
Head coach Geordie Kinnear’s club has won four of its first five games and currently sits second in the Atlantic Division, one point behind Hershey. The Checkers have scored at least seven goals twice this season and boast the best offense in the Eastern Conference with 5.00 goals per game. They also have the AHL’s best power play (34.8%) after going 3-for-6 against the Islanders last night. Trevor Carrick, Rasmus Asplund, Aidan McDonough, and Sandis Vilmanis each had one goal and one assist, while Oliver Okuliar recorded two assists. Chris Driedger (3-0-0) made 34 saves. McDonough is second among all AHL players in goals (seven) and is tied for the league lead in power-play goals (three).
MR. 800
Chris Terry logged an assist on Hudson Fasching’s late third-period goal last night, giving him 800 total points between the NHL, AHL, and KHL. It also extended his assist streak to four games - tied for the longest active streak in the AHL. The 34-year-old forward shares the team lead in assists with Liam Foudy (who was recalled by the New York Islanders on Tuesday) and the team lead in scoring with Alex Jefferies (five points). He is already the AHL’s all-time active leading scorer and now has 746 points (312g, 434a) in the AHL, 38 points (22g, 16a) in the NHL, and 16 points (8g, 8a) in the KHL.
DANGEROUS A MAN DOWN
Brian Pinho scored his second shorthanded goal in five games last Sunday, which stood as the winner in a 4-0 victory against Hartford. He and Charlotte’s Rasmus Asplund remain tied for the league lead in shorthanded goals and shorthanded points. Pinho has nine career shorthanded goals in 303 AHL games dating back to his rookie season in 2018-19. Sunday was his first game-winning goal since Feb. 19, 2022 - which also came shorthanded.
QUICK HITS
Sam Bolduc could play his 200th professional game tonight... William Dufour has points in back-to-back games (1g, 1a) after collecting a power-play assist last night... Pierre Engvall played his 100th AHL game last night... Marcus Hogberg played the third period in relief of Jakub Skarek last night and has now appeared in four of the team’s six games this season... Alex Jefferies recorded a career-high six shots last night... Jefferies shares sixth among AHL rookies with five points (3g, 2a) in five games... His two power-play goals are tied for the league lead among rookies.
AFFILIATES
New York Islanders (3-2-2): Last: 4-3 OTW at New Jersey, last night -- Tonight vs. Florida, 7:30 p.m. ET
Worcester Railers (1-2-0-0): Last: 4-3 OTW at Trois Rivières, last night -- Tomorrow at Maine, 3 p.m. ET