“It’s part of the mental toughness, and you need that mental toughness moving forward” - Geordie Kinnear
To say that this season is a wild one for the Charlotte Checkers is an understatement. The American Hockey League is known for craziness and difficult schedules, yet the Checkers have had more obstacles than usual.
Pair that with the style they play, and there’s been plenty of inconsistent hockey. The Checkers will win seven in a row, followed by a four-game losing streak, preventing them from being a top team in the Atlantic Division.
“Consistency hasn’t been there with how we’ve played. It’s understandable with a lot of new faces, a lot of new guys in the lineup,” Checkers head coach Geordie Kinnear noted in a conversation with The Hockey News. That said, this team is still set up for a run as they are within striking distance of a bye and in a good position to win in the playoffs.
Checkers Had Their Battles
The Checkers are already at a disadvantage, playing in the Atlantic Division. They are the only team that isn’t in the New England region or Pennsylvania, and it makes every road game a road trip. A 10-game road trip was a common occurrence back in the day but few, if any, teams will have one anymore. The Checkers will have them all the time.
This season, the Checkers had to battle the road and the weather. They’ve had four games postponed or affected in some capacity because of snowstorms, including one game at Bojangles Coliseum with the roof damaged.
It made the Checkers a battle-tested group. The first postponement was following the holiday break, and half the team was stuck in Charlotte while the other half was left in a hotel in Allentown. Sometimes, these obstacles work against a team or wear them down. For the Checkers, it’s paid off. “It allowed us to come together,” Kinnear noted.
Last season, the travel made them a tougher group for the playoffs, and this season, it’s made them a better team at the right time. “It’s part of the mental toughness, and you need that mental toughness moving forward,” Kinnear added.
Checkers Identity Sets Up For Inconsistencies
In a league that values possession and quality looks, the Checkers love to play with high pressure and high volume. “It’s what we believe in with how the game should be played. It’s different but we’ve had success,” Kinnear mentioned after a Jan. 28 7-1 win over the Hartford Wolf Pack. That game was one of the many where they’ve run up the score on teams, showing how pressure has become part of their identity.
The recent game against the Bridgeport Islanders, in some ways, was a look-in-the-mirror type of matchup. The Islanders, under new head coach Rocky Thompson, play a similar style where they dare teams to make mistakes and generate a surplus of shots on the net. In a back-and-forth game, goals ironically were hard to come by as the Checkers lost 3-2.
The Checkers have their highs and can get hot at any time. That said, they’ve gotten cold multiple times as well. The high pressure results in scoring chances the other way, and they’ll make multiple mistakes on the defensive end as well. It can happen at any point, and for the Checkers, a cold streak in the playoffs will end their season.
Where Charlotte Can Become a Juggernaut
The key to success for the Checkers is to click at the right time, like they did last season. However, they also must become a more consistent team if they want to sustain success in the playoffs, especially with a new group that hasn’t done it before.
The Checkers clinched a playoff spot on Wednesday night and sit only seven points out of a bye in the division. “Overall, this group has been together and working towards a common goal," Kinnear stated, and with the team buying into his style, they can make a push to close out the season.