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Charlotte Checkers (1993–2010)

{{About|the ECHL franchise that played from 1993–2010|the current AHL franchise|Charlotte Checkers{{!}}Charlotte Checkers|the Eastern Hockey League and Southern Hockey League franchise|Charlotte Checkers (1956–1977)}}

{{Pro hockey team| logo = Charlotte Checkers (ECHL) logo.svg

| bg_color = background:#FFFFFF; border-top:#9BB8D3 5px solid; border-bottom:#0C2340 5px solid;

| text_color = #000000

| logosize = 200px

| city = Charlotte, North Carolina

| league = ECHL

| operated = 1993–2010

| arena = Time Warner Cable Arena

| colors = Powder blue, navy blue, red, white
{{color box|#9BB8D3}} {{color box|#0C2340}} {{color box|#C8102E}} {{color box|white}}

| owner = Michael Kahn

| media =

| name1 = Charlotte Checkers

| dates1 = 1993–2010

|reg_season_titles = none

|division_titles = none

|conf_titles = 1995-96

|kelly_cups = 1995-96

}}

The Charlotte Checkers were an American ice hockey team in Charlotte, North Carolina, and played in the ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League).

Franchise history

Following a 17-year break from ice hockey, the Checkers returned in 1993 and made the playoffs ten times, including winning the ECHL Championship in 1996.{{cite book|last=Mancuso|first=Jeff|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eQALBnDckHUC&q=Charlotte+Checkers+riley+cup+1996&pg=PA101|title=Hockey in Charlotte|author2=Pat Kelly|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|year=2005|isbn=0-7385-4230-X|page=101|access-date=July 7, 2011}}

The Checkers franchise was founded in 1993, and was owned by a consortium headed by local auto dealer and NASCAR team owner Felix Sabates, with former Charlotte Hornets president Carl Scheer and NASCAR drivers Richard and Kyle Petty among the minority partners. They played in the old Charlotte Coliseum, which was heavily renovated and renamed Independence Arena.{{cite news|author1=Spanberg|first=Erik|date=November 3, 2015|title=Sabates looks back as Checkers ready coliseum makeover reveal|work=Charlotte Business Journal|publisher=|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/blog/queen_city_agenda/2015/11/checkers-speech-es-to-salute-arena-makeover.html|access-date=November 3, 2015}}

Soon after winning the Jack Riley Cup in 1996, Sabates sold controlling interest minority partner Tim Braswell, who claimed he could make the team more popular. However, in a case of exceptionally bad timing, this came just as the NFL's Carolina Panthers were due to open their new downtown stadium. The team's popularity faded, forcing Braswell to sell the Checkers to Hornets owners George Shinn and Ray Wooldrige in 2000 for $3 million. However, Shinn and Wooldridge were unable to revive the team at the gate, forcing them to sell the team back to Sabates and Scheer for $500,000. By comparison, Sabates had sold the team in 1996 for $5 million.

The Checkers played at the old coliseum, which was later renamed Cricket Arena, until 2005 when they moved to Time Warner Cable Arena in downtown Charlotte. The team set their all-time attendance record of 12,398 on February 21, 2009 in a 5-2 win against the Florida Everblades.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=February 21, 2009|title=Gamesheet: Florida at Charlotte - Feb 21, 2009|url=https://lscluster.hockeytech.com/game_reports/official-game-report.php?client_code=echl&game_id=6342|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210203111426/https://lscluster.hockeytech.com/game_reports/official-game-report.php?client_code=echl&game_id=6342 |archive-date=2021-02-03 |access-date=January 28, 2021|website=Hockeytech.com}} Their previous record was 11,237 in a loss against the Texas Wildcatters in February 2007.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=February 10, 2007|title=Gamesheet: Texas at Charlotte - Feb 10, 2007|url=https://lscluster.hockeytech.com/game_reports/official-game-report.php?client_code=echl&game_id=1469|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210207135647/https://lscluster.hockeytech.com/game_reports/official-game-report.php?client_code=echl&game_id=1469 |archive-date=2021-02-07 |access-date=January 28, 2021|website=Hockeytech.com}}

On January 21, 2010, it was reported that Michael Kahn, who had bought the team from Sabates and Scheer in 2006, was in talks to buy the Albany River Rats, the American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes.{{cite web|last=Lavalette|first=Cory|date=January 22, 2010|title=AHL To Charlotte Closer To Becoming A Reality?|url=http://www.canescountry.com/2010/1/22/1265397/ahl-to-charlotte-closer-to|url-status=live|access-date=September 3, 2010|website=Canes Country|publisher=SB Nation|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100124045037/http://www.canescountry.com:80/2010/1/22/1265397/ahl-to-charlotte-closer-to |archive-date=2010-01-24 }} On February 10, the sale of the River Rats to Kahn was confirmed. Kahn then moved the Rats to Charlotte and changed their name to the Checkers starting with the 2010–11 season. As a result of this, Kahn returned the Checkers ECHL franchise to the ECHL at the end of the 2009–10 ECHL season, ending the franchise's ECHL history.{{cite web|last=|date=February 9, 2010|title=Capital District Sports Announces River Rats Sale|url=http://wnyt.com/wnytimages/2-9-10%20River%20Rats%20release.pdf|url-status=live|access-date=July 7, 2011|website=WNYT|publisher=Albany River Rats|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003124011/http://wnyt.com/wnytimages/2-9-10%20River%20Rats%20release.pdf |archive-date=2011-10-03 }}{{cite web|last=|date=February 17, 2010|title=ECHL Concludes Mid-Season Board of Governors Meeting|url=http://echl.com/echl-concludes-mid-season-br-board-of-governors-meeting-p165278|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710165939/http://echl.com/echl-concludes-mid-season-br-board-of-governors-meeting-p165278|archive-date=July 10, 2011|access-date=July 7, 2011|website=ECHL|publisher=}}

Season-by-season record

Records as of 2009–10 season.{{cite web|date=|title=Season-by-season record|url=http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/display_standings.php?tmi=5177|access-date=December 1, 2008|website=HockeyDB|publisher=}}

class="wikitable" style="margin:auto; font-size:95%;"
rowspan="2" style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"|Season

| rowspan="2" style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"|Conference

| rowspan="2" style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"|Division

| colspan="10" style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"|Regular Season

| rowspan="2" style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"|Post Season Result

| rowspan="2" style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;"|Individual & team honors

style="text-align:center; background:#f8f8f8;"{{abbr|GP|Games played}}{{abbr|W|Wins}}{{abbr|L|Losses}}{{abbr|OTL|Overtime losses}}{{abbr|SOL|Shootout losses}}{{abbr|Pts|Points: 2 for wins, 1 each for OTL and SOL}}{{abbr|Pct|Win percentage}}{{abbr|GF|Goals For (goals scored by the Checkers)}}{{abbr|GA|Goals Against (goals scored by opponents)}}Coach
style="text-align:center;"

|1993–94

|

|East

|68

|39

|25

|1

|3

|82

|0.574

|281

|271

|John Marks

|Lost in round 1

|

style="text-align:center; background:#e8e8e8;"

|1994–95

|

|East

|68

|37

|22

|4

|5

|83

|0.544

|274

|261

|John Marks

|Lost in round 1

|

style="text-align:center;"

|1995–96

|

|East

|70

|45

|21

|

|4

|94

|0.643

|294

|250

|John Marks

|Won Championship

|Riley Cup
Riley Cup MVP (Nick Vitucci)

style="text-align:center; background:#e8e8e8;"

|1996–97

|

|East

|70

|35

|28

|

|7

|77

|0.55

|271

|267

|John Marks

|Lost in round 1

|

style="text-align:center;"

|1997–98

|Southern

|Southeast

|70

|35

|24

|

|11

|81

|0.579

|251

|237

|John Marks

|Lost in round 2

|

style="text-align:center; background:#e8e8e8;"

|1998–99

|Southern

|Southeast

|70

|29

|30

|

|11

|69

|0.493

|221

|262

|Shawn Wheeler

|Out of Playoffs

|

style="text-align:center;"

|1999–00

|Southern

|Northeast

|70

|25

|38

|

|7

|54

|0.357

|186

|254

|Shawn Wheeler
Don MacAdam

|Out of Playoffs

|

style="text-align:center; background:#e8e8e8;"

|2000–01

|Southern

|Northeast

|72

|34

|26

|6

|6

|80

|0.556

|247

|252

|Don MacAdam

|Lost in round 2

|ECHL MVP (Scott King)
Leading Scorer (Scott King)

style="text-align:center;"

|2001–02

|Southern

|Northeast

|72

|41

|20

|3

|8

|93

|0.646

|256

|207

|Don MacAdam

|Lost in round 2

|

style="text-align:center; background:#e8e8e8;"

|2002–03

|Southern

|Northeast

|72

|41

|28

|3

|0

|85

|0.59

|262

|234

|Don MacAdam

|Out of Playoffs

|

style="text-align:center;"

|2003–04

|Eastern

|Southern

|72

|31

|32

|4

|5

|71

|0.493

|206

|230

|Don MacAdam
Derek Wilkinson

|Out of Playoffs

|

style="text-align:center; background:#e8e8e8;"

|2004–05

|American

|East

|72

|39

|26

|2

|5

|85

|0.59

|226

|219

|Derek Wilkinson

|Lost in round 3

|

style="text-align:center;"

|2005–06

|American

|South

|72

|33

|34

|2

|3

|71

|0.493

|232

|254

|Derek Wilkinson

|Lost in round 1

|

style="text-align:center; background:#e8e8e8;"

|2006–07

|American

|South

|72

|42

|27

|1

|2

|87

|0.604

|252

|220

|Derek Wilkinson

|Lost in round 2

|

style="text-align:center;"

|2007–08

|American

|South

|72

|34

|31

|1

|6

|75

|0.472

|212

|219

|Derek Wilkinson

|Lost in round 1

|

style="text-align:center; background:#e8e8e8;"

|2008–09

|American

|South

|71

|34

|29

|2

|6

|76

|0.535

|217

|224

|Derek Wilkinson

|Lost in round 1

|

style="text-align:center;"

|2009–10

|American

|South

|72

|43

|21

|4

|4

|94

|0.653

|253

|223

|Derek Wilkinson

|Lost in round 2

|

style="text-align:center; background:#e8e8e8;"

| colspan=3|Totals

12056174623393colspan=2| 41414084 1 Riley Cup
3 individual player awards

Notes: There were no conferences in the ECHL prior to the 1997–98 season. Games tied at end of regulation went directly to shootout from 1995–2000

Playoffs

  • 1993–94: Lost to Greensboro 2-1 in first round.
  • 1994–95: Lost to Greensboro 3-0 in first round.
  • 1995–96: Defeated Roanoke 3-0 in first round; defeated South Carolina 3-2 in quarterfinals; defeated Tallahassee 3-1 in semifinals; defeated Jacksonville 4-0 to win championship.
  • 1996–97: Lost to South Carolina 3-0 in first round.
  • 1997–98: Defeated Birmingham 3-1 in first round; lost to Pensacola 3-0 in quarterfinals.
  • 1998–99: Did not qualify.
  • 1999–00: Did not qualify.
  • 2000–01: Lost to Dayton 3-2 in first round.
  • 2001–02: Lost to Atlantic City 3-2 in first round.
  • 2002–03: Did not qualify.
  • 2003–04: Did not qualify.
  • 2004–05: Defeated Columbia 3-2 in first round; defeated Gwinnett 3-1 in quarterfinals; lost to Florida 4-2 in semifinals.
  • 2005–06: Lost to South Carolina 2-1 in first round.
  • 2006–07: Lost to Florida 3-0 in first round.
  • 2007–08: Lost to Gwinnett 3-0 in first round.
  • 2008–09: Lost to South Carolina 4-2 in first round.
  • 2009–10: Defeated Toledo 3-1 in first round; lost to Cincinnati 4-2 in quarterfinals.

Team records

=Single season=

:Goals: 48 {{flagicon|RUS}} Sergei Berdnikov (1993–94)

:Assists: 61 {{flagicon|USA}} Matt Robbins (1994–95), {{flagicon|CAN}} Scott King (2000–01), {{flagicon|USA}} Kevin Hilton (2000–01)

:Points: 101 {{flagicon|CAN}} Scott King (2000–01)

:Penalty Minutes: 352 {{flagicon|CAN}} Eric Boulton (1996–97)

:GAA: 2.43 {{flagicon|USA}} Scott Meyer (2003–04)

:SV%: .923 {{flagicon|USA}} Scott Meyer (2003–04), {{flagicon|USA}} Jeff Jakaitis (2008–09),

:Wins: 32 {{flagicon|CAN}} Nick Vitucci (1995–96)

:Shutouts: 3 {{flagicon|USA}} Scott Meyer (2003–04), {{flagicon|USA}} Alex Westlund (2006–07)

  • Goaltending records need a minimum 25 games played by the goaltender

=Career=

:Career Goals: 174 {{flagicon|USA}} Darryl Noren

:Career Assists: 229 {{flagicon|USA}} Darryl Noren

:Career Points: 403 {{flagicon|USA}} Darryl Noren

:Career Penalty Minutes: 213 {{flagicon|CAN}} Steve MacIntyre

Notable players

List of Charlotte Checkers alumni who played over 25 games in the ECHL and 25 or more games in the National Hockey League.

{{columns-list|colwidth=20em|

}}

Retired numbers

References

{{reflist}}

External links

  • [http://www.gocheckers.com Charlotte Checkers Official Website]

{{s-start}}

{{succession box | before = Richmond Renegades | title = Riley Cup Champions | years = 1995–96 | after = South Carolina Stingrays}}

{{s-end}}

{{ECHLdefunct}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charlotte Checkers (1993-2010)}}

Category:1993 establishments in North Carolina

Category:2010 disestablishments in North Carolina

Category:Charlotte Checkers

Category:Defunct ECHL teams

Category:Ice hockey clubs established in 1993

Category:Defunct ice hockey teams in North Carolina

Category:Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2010

Category:Boston Bruins minor league affiliates

Category:Colorado Avalanche minor league affiliates

Category:Ottawa Senators minor league affiliates