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Charlotte Checkers

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For old teams with the same name see Charlotte Checkers (disambiguation).
Charlotte Checkers
CityCharlotte, North Carolina
LeagueAmerican Hockey League
ConferenceWestern
DivisionCentral
Founded1990
Operated2010–present
Home arenaBojangles' Coliseum
ColorsRed, Black, Silver, White
       
Owner(s)MAK Hockey, LLC (Michael Kahn, president/CEO)
Head coachUlf Samuelsson
MediaFox Sports Carolinas
610 The Fan
AffiliatesCarolina Hurricanes (NHL)
Florida Everblades (ECHL)
Franchise history
1990–1993Capital District Islanders
1993–2010Albany River Rats
2010–presentCharlotte Checkers
Current season

The Charlotte Checkers are a minor-league professional ice hockey team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL), and are the AHL affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Checkers play their home games at Bojangles' Coliseum. The current organization is the third team by this name; it succeeded a Checkers franchise which played in the ECHL from 1993 until the end of the 2009–10 ECHL season. The original Checkers team played in the city from 1956 to 1977, originally in the Eastern Hockey League and then in the Southern Hockey League. The franchise is one of five teams to directly replace and share a name with a predecessor from a lower-tier league; the others are the Bakersfield Condors, Ontario Reign, Rockford IceHogs, and San Diego Gulls.

History

The franchise was originally the Capital District Islanders from 1990–1993. They then became the Albany River Rats from 1993–2010, until the River Rats were sold to MAK Hockey, LLC, led by Charlotte beer distributor Michael Kahn, owner of the ECHL Checkers.[1] The new ownership relocated the team to Charlotte for the 2010–11 season, renaming the franchise the "Charlotte Checkers", and relinquished the ECHL franchise to the league.[2][3] The Checkers are the second North Carolina-based team to play at the highest level of minor-league hockey, following the Carolina Monarchs, which played in Greensboro from 1995 to 1997.

Playing at the Time Warner Cable Arena, the Checkers' first home game on October 15, 2010, in front of 12,512 spectators which set an attendance record for a hockey game in Charlotte. On February 26, 2011, the attendance record was broken as 12,933 fans watched the Charlotte Checkers defeat the Connecticut Whale 1-0. Almost a year later, on February 25, 2012, the attendance record was broken yet again as 13,102 fans watched the Checkers fall to the Oklahoma City Barons, 3-2.[4] On April 11, 2015, the attendance record was broken a third time as 13,219 fans watched the last Checkers game at Time Warner Cable Arena, a 2-0 loss to the Rockford Icehogs.[5]

In late 2014, the Checkers announced they would return in the following season to the Bojangles' Coliseum, the home of the previous Checkers teams until 2005.[6] As Kahn detailed, the move would reconnect with said team legacy, and having a dedicated arena allowed for "greater control over every aspect of our business, including scheduling, amenities, game presentation and sponsorship inventory." To make sure the Coliseum is up to AHL standards, the Charlotte City Council arranged to provide $16 million to fund renovations.[7][8]

Season-by-season results

Regular Season Playoffs
Season Games Won Lost OTL SOL Points PCT Goals
for 		Goals
against 		Standing Year 1st
round 		2nd
round 		3rd
round 		Finals
2010–11 80 44 27 2 7 97 .606 265 243 3rd, East 2011 W, 4-2, HER W, 4-2, WBS L, 0-4, BNG —
2011–12 76 38 29 3 6 85 .559 209 214 3rd, Midwest 2012 Out of playoffs
2012–13 76 42 26 4 4 92 .605 226 202 2nd, South 2013 L, 2-3, OKC — — —
2013–14 76 37 36 1 2 77 .507 228 241 4th, West 2014 Out of playoffs
2014–15 76 31 38 6 1 69 .454 172 231 4th, West 2015 Out of playoffs
2015–16 76 36 32 3 5 80 .526 214 229 5th, Central 2016 Out of playoffs

Players

Current roster

Template:Charlotte Checkers roster

Team captains

References

  1. ^ "Capital District Sports announce River Rats sale". Albany River Rats. 2010-02-10. Archived from the original on 2010-02-21. Retrieved 2010-06-16. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ "AHL Hockey coming to Charlotte in 2010-11". Charlotte Checkers. 2010-02-10. Retrieved 2010-02-10. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ "Charlotte added to AHL for 2010-11". American Hockey League. 2010-02-10. Retrieved 2010-02-10. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ "Checkers break record in loss to Barons". Charlotte Observer. 2012-02-25. Retrieved 2012-02-25. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ "Checkers fall to Rockford in front of record crowd". Charlotte Checkers. 2015-04-11. Retrieved 2015-04-11. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ The Charlotte Checkers would like to move back to Bojangles’ Coliseum
  7. ^ Checkers Make Return to Bojangles' Coliseum Official
  8. ^ [1]
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