The Charlotte Checkers registered back-to-back victories over the Hartford Wolf Pack at Bojangles Coliseum over the weekend to clinch a spot in the Calder Cup playoffs.
On Saturday, Gerry Mayhew scored twice and Magnus Hellberg posted a 20-save shutout to power the Checkers to a 4-0 win. Rookie Mackie Samoskevich notched his team-leading 19th goal and Will Lockwood produced a goal and an assist. Justin Sourdif collected a pair of helpers and Michael Benning, Alexander True, Rasmus Asplund, Mitchell Vande Sompel and Ben Steeves added assists. In was the first AHL point for the 21-year-old Steeves.
Spencer Knight stopped 25 of 26 shots to backstop Charlotte to a 4-1 victory on Sunday. Knight was just four seconds away from his sixth shutout of the season when Brett Berard lit the lamp for Hartford. After drawing the lone assist on Wilmer Skoog’s early second period goal, Samoskevich sniped home his 20th goal, unassisted, midway through the third. Vande Sompel opened the scoring from Asplund 7:14 into the first, and Lockwood bagged his 10th, with the assists going to Sourdif and Ryan McAllister, 2:13 after Skoog’s goal to put the Checkers firmly in control of their home finale.
Charlotte will finish out the season with a five-game road trip. They are 8-1-1 in their last ten games.