Sunday, Feb. 21, 3:00 p.m. Allstate Arena
On Jan. 23, the Charlotte Checkers rallied in the third period to earn a 6-5 win over the Chicago Wolves and pick up a split of the teams’ two- game series at Charlotte. That gave the Checkers a 25-12-1-2 record and 53 points while the Wolves stood at 19-18-1-2 with 41 points.
In the four weeks since the teams’ last matchup, the Checkers have gone 1-9-2-0 and dropped to fifth place in the Central Division. Their lone win came Friday night at Grand Rapids. The Wolves, meanwhile, have posted a 4-5-2-0 record over the same stretch and pulled within 6 points of the Checkers with one game in hand.
Their race for fifth place in the Central Division is particularly relevant due to the new American Hockey League postseason format. The top four teams in each of the four divisions earn Calder Cup Playoff bids — except the fifth-place team in the Central can take the place of the fourth-place team in the Pacific Division if it owns a better points percentage.
Charlotte’s points percentage stands at .548, which would have displaced the Pacific Division’s current fourth-place team (San Jose at .543) if the regular season ended Saturday.
By The Numbers
2: After going 1 for 41 on the power play during the previous nine games, Chicago delivered on both of its power-play opportunities Saturday night against Rockford.
15: Right wing DANNY KRISTO had scored 15 straight goals on the road before producing during Saturday night’s second period. His last goal at Allstate Arena had been on Oct. 17 during a 9-5 victory over Charlotte.
21: The Wolves allowed 21 shots in the first period Saturday night, which was the most for a Chicago opponent in any period since the second period on April 12, 2013, at Rockford.
Follow The Action
Today’s game begins at 3:00 p.m and can be seen on WCIU The U TOO or streamed on www.ahllive.com. Those away from a TV or computer can follow @Chicago_Wolves or @ChiWolvesLive on Twitter for live in-game play-by-play.
