Charlotte Checkers Logo
The Charlotte Checkers are an American ice hockey team in Charlotte, North Carolina, playing in the ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League).
Official Charlotte Checkers Website: http://www.gocheckers.com/
Franchise History[]
The Checkers were founded in 1993 and played from then until 2005 in Cricket Arena. In 2005, they moved to St. Lawrence Homes Home Ice at Time Warner Cable Arena. The team set their all time attendance record of 11,237 on February 10, 2007 in a 6–3 loss against the Texas Wildcatters. Their previous record was 10,894 in a win against the Florida Everblades in November 2005. As of February 20, 2007, they are second in the ECHL in attendance, increasing their attendance by 45% over their inaugural season at Charlotte Bobcats Arena. Many people claim that the new arena is part of the reason for increased attendance as well as an increased interest in hockey in North Carolina due to the in-state NHL 2006 Stanley Cup champions, and also the influx of northern transplants into the Charlotte region. However, it should be noted that Charlotte's minor-league hockey influence is much older, dating to 1956, when the Eastern Hockey League's Baltimore Clippers moved to Charlotte after a fire destroyed part of the Baltimore team's arena. They played games in the Charlotte Coliseum (now Cricket Arena) for the balance of the season. The team decided to stay in Charlotte, adopting the Checkers nickname in 1960. The team joined the EHL's other Southern franchises in forming the Southern Hockey League in 1973, where it played until the league's demise in 1977.
The current Checkers are named for the teams of the past, and for years were known for an orange and electric blue checkerboard pattern logo. However, it is possible that the Checkers name comes from the hockey term "checking".
Season-by-Season Record[]
Records as of 2007-08 season.
| Season | League | Division | GP | W | L | T | OTL | SOL | PTS | PCT | GF | GA | PIM | Coach(es) | Result |
| 1993–94 | ECHL | East | 68 | 39 | 25 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 82 | 0.574 | 281 | 271 | 1519 | John Marks | Lost in round 1 |
| 1994–95 | ECHL | East | 68 | 37 | 22 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 83 | 0.544 | 274 | 261 | 1949 | John Marks | Lost in round 1 |
| 1995–96 | ECHL | East | 70 | 45 | 21 | 4 | - | 4 | 94 | 0.643 | 294 | 250 | 2251 | John Marks | Won Championship |
| 1996–97 | ECHL | East | 70 | 35 | 28 | 7 | - | 7 | 77 | 0.550 | 271 | 267 | 1799 | John Marks | Lost in round 1 |
| 1997–98 | ECHL | Southeast | 70 | 35 | 24 | 11 | - | 11 | 81 | 0.579 | 251 | 237 | 1662 | John Marks | Lost in round 2 |
| 1998–99 | ECHL | Southeast | 70 | 29 | 30 | 11 | - | 11 | 69 | 0.493 | 221 | 262 | 1264 | Shawn Wheeler |
Out of Playoffs |
| 1999–00 | ECHL | Northeast | 70 | 25 | 38 | 7 | - | 7 | 54 | 0.357 | 186 | 254 | 1680 | Shawn Wheeler Don MacAdam |
Out of Playoffs |
| 2000–01 | ECHL | Northeast | 72 | 34 | 26 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 80 | 0.556 | 247 | 252 | 1416 | Don MacAdam | Lost in round 2 |
| 2001–02 | ECHL | Northeast | 72 | 41 | 20 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 93 | 0.646 | 256 | 207 | 1599 | Don MacAdam | Lost in round 2 |
| 2002–03 | ECHL | Northeast | 72 | 41 | 28 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 85 | 0.590 | 262 | 234 | 1735 | Don MacAdam | Out of Playoffs |
| 2003–04 | ECHL | Southern | 72 | 31 | 32 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 71 | 0.493 | 206 | 230 | 1460 | Don MacAdam Derek Wilkinson |
Out of Playoffs |
| 2004–05 | ECHL | East | 72 | 39 | 26 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 85 | 0.590 | 226 | 219 | 1301 | Derek Wilkinson | Lost in round 3 |
| 2005–06 | ECHL | South | 72 | 33 | 34 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 71 | 0.493 | 232 | 254 | 1634 | Derek Wilkinson | Lost in round 3 |
| 2006–07 | ECHL | South | 72 | 42 | 27 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 87 | 0.604 | 252 | 220 | 1546 | Derek Wilkinson | Lost in round 2 |
| 2007–08 | ECHL | South | 72 | 34 | 31 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 75 | 0.472 | 212 | 219 | 1276 | Derek Wilkinson | Lost in round 1 |
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T* = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, SOL = Shootout Losses, PTS = Points, PCT = Winning Percentage, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes -T* Includes Overtime and Shootout Losses(Games tied at end of regulation went directly to shootout from 1995-2000)
Team Records[]
Single Season[]
- Goals: 48 Sergei Berdnikov (1993-94)
- Assists: 61 Matt Robbins (1994-95), Scott King (2000-01), Kevin Hilton (2000-01)
- Points: 101 Scott King (2000-01)
- Penalty Minutes: 352 Eric Boulton (1996-97)
- GAA: 2.43 Scott Meyer (2003-04)
- SV%: .923 Scott Meyer (2003-04), Jeff Jakaitis (2008-09),
- Wins: 32 Nick Vitucci (1995-96)
- Shutouts: 3 Scott Meyer(2003-04), Alex Westlund(2006-07)
- Goaltending records need a minimum 25 games played by the goaltender
Career[]
- Career Goals: 174 Darryl Noren
- Career Assists: 229 Darryl Noren
- Career Points: 403 Darryl Noren
- Career Penalty Minutes: 213 Steve MacIntyre
Notable Players[]
- Dusty Jamieson
- Eric Cairns
- Darryl Noren
- Eric Boulton
- Peter Worrell
- Jason LaBarbera
- Antti Laaksonen
- Daniel Girardi
- David Oliver
- Joe Zappala
Retired Numbers[]
- 4 - Kurt Seher