Charlotte Checkers Host Hartford Wolf Pack After 10-Game Road Swing

The Charlotte Checkers returned to Bojangles Coliseum on Monday riding one of the hotter stretches in the Atlantic Division, welcoming a Hartford Wolf Pack team that arrived having just been blanked 7-0 in Providence.

Charlotte entered the matchup at 35-18-5-0 with 75 points, having gone 5-0-0-0 over their previous five games. The most recent two came at Bridgeport's expense: a 3-0 win Friday followed by a 2-0 victory Saturday, a clean sweep that continued a run in which the Checkers scored 3.8 goals per game while surrendering just 1.6. That is the kind of two-way efficiency that changes a team's playoff ceiling, not just their record.

Hartford, meanwhile, came in at 22-30-4-2 with 50 points and sitting dead-last in the Atlantic Division. The 7-0 shellacking at Providence that preceded this trip to Charlotte was not an aberration for a franchise that has struggled to find traction all season. The Wolf Pack carry a record more than 50 points behind the Checkers and precious little runway to reverse course.

The season series between the two clubs was knotted at 2-2-0-0 heading into Monday's contest, so Charlotte could not take Hartford lightly despite the gap in the standings.

On the playoff picture, the Checkers hold the third seed in the Atlantic with a 13-point cushion over the Hershey Bears, which makes their position relatively secure. The more interesting chase is upward: Charlotte sits seven points behind the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for the second seed, with 14 games left to close that gap. Under current standings, the Checkers would open the postseason against the Springfield Thunderbirds in a best-of-three first-round series.

The game at Bojangles Coliseum tipped off at 7:00 PM EST with coverage available on FLO Sports.