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Charlotte Checkers

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

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".

History of the Charlotte Checkers

Season-by-season record

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

Records as of October 30, 2006. >

Season	League	Division	GP	W	L	T	OTL	SOL	PTS	PCT	GF	GA	PIM	Coach(es)	Result
1993–94	ECHL	East	68	39	25	0	4	0	82	0.574	281	271	1519	John Marks	Lost in round 1
1994–95	ECHL	East	68	37	22	0	9	0	83	0.544	274	261	1949	John Marks	Lost in round 1
1995–96	ECHL	East	70	45	21	0	4	0	94	0.643	294	250	2251	John Marks	Won Championship
1996–97	ECHL	East	70	35	28	7	0	0	77	0.550	271	267	1799	John Marks	Lost in round 1
1997–98	ECHL	Southeast	70	35	24	11	0	0	81	0.579	251	237	1662	John Marks	Lost in round 2
1998–99	ECHL	Southeast	70	29	30	11	0	0	69	0.493	221	262	1264	Shawn Wheeler	Out of Playoffs
1999–00	ECHL	Northeast	70	25	38	0	7	0	57	0.357	186	254	1680	Shawn Wheeler, Don MacAdam	Out of Playoffs
2000–01	ECHL	Northeast	72	34	26	12	0	0	80	0.556	247	252	1416	Don MacAdam	Lost in round 2
2001–02	ECHL	Northeast	72	41	20	11	0	0	93	0.646	256	207	1599	Don MacAdam	Lost in round 2
2002–03	ECHL	Northeast	72	41	28	3	0	0	85	0.590	262	234	1735	Don MacAdam	Out of Playoffs
2003–04	ECHL	Southern	72	31	32	9	0	0	71	0.493	206	230	1460	Don MacAdam, Derek Wilkinson	Out of Playoffs
2004–05	ECHL	East	72	39	26	7	0	0	85	0.590	226	219	1301	Derek Wilkinson	Lost in round 3
2005–06	ECHL	South	72	33	34	5	0	0	71	0.493	232	254	1634	Derek Wilkinson	Lost in round 3
2006–07	ECHL	South	72	34	31	7	1	6	75	0.472	212	219	1270	Derek Wilkinson
Totals	1	5	993	467	355	76	24	0	1034	0.470	3226	3209	21374	4	9/13 Playoff Seasons, 1 Championship

Current Roster

As of December 31, 2006. Taken from ECHL Website.

Goaltenders
#	align=left	Player	Catches	Date of birth	Place of birth
1	Chris Holt	L	June 5, 1985	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
30	Alex Westlund	R	December 28, 1975	Flemington Village, New Jersey, USA

Defencemen
#	align=left	Player	Shoots	Date of birth	Place of birth
2	Ryan Constant	L	May 1, 1985	Opaskwayak Cree Nation, Manitoba, Canada
3	Corey Potter	R	January 5, 1984	Lansing, Michigan, USA
5	Jan Vodrazka	L	November 10, 1976	Plzeň, Plzeň Region, Czech Republic
6	Kenny Smith	L	December 31, 1981	Stoneham, Massachusetts, USA
8	Dan Murphy	L	April 26, 1983	North Andover, Massachusetts, USA
17	Kenton Smith	L	September 10, 1979	Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
19	Bryan Rodney	R	April 22, 1984	London, Ontario, Canada
24	Kirk DeWaele	R	March 24, 1976	Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Forwards
#	align=left	Player	Position	Shoots	Date of birth	Place of birth
9	Hugh Jessiman	RW	R	March 28, 1984	New York, New York, USA
11	Adam Nightingale	F	R	December 19, 1979	Cheboygan, Michigan, USA
12	Zdenek Bahensky	F	L	March 1, 1986	Most, Ústí nad Labem Region, Czech Republic
13	Blake Bellefeuille	C	R	December 27, 1977	Framingham, Massachusetts, USA
14	Daymen Rycroft	F	L	May 2, 1979	Beaverlodge, Alberta, Canada
16	Bruce Graham	F	L	December 2, 1985	Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada
20	Mike Ouellette	F	R	July 6, 1982	Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada
21	Nathan Gillies	F	R	October 31, 1980	Cambridge, Ontario, Canada
25	Lee Falardeau	C	L	July 22, 1983	Midland, Michigan, USA
44	Dusty Jamieson	LW	L	May 26, 1981	Forest, Ontario, Canada