# Charlotte Checkers (1993–2010)

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.
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.
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. Their previous record was 11,237 in a loss against the Texas Wildcatters in February 2007.
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. 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.

## Season-by-season record

Records as of 2009–10 season.
| Season | Conference | Division | Regular Season | Regular Season | Regular Season | Regular Season | Regular Season | Regular Season | Regular Season | Regular Season | Regular Season | Regular Season | Post Season Result | Individual & team honors |
| Season | Conference | Division | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | Pct | GF | GA | Coach | Post Season Result | Individual & team honors |
| 1993–94 | | East | 68 | 39 | 25 | 1 | 3 | 82 | 0.574 | 281 | 271 | John Marks | Lost in round 1 | |
| 1994–95 | | East | 68 | 37 | 22 | 4 | 5 | 83 | 0.544 | 274 | 261 | John Marks | Lost in round 1 | |
| 1995–96 | | East | 70 | 45 | 21 | | 4 | 94 | 0.643 | 294 | 250 | John Marks | Won Championship | Riley Cup Riley Cup MVP (Nick Vitucci) |
| 1996–97 | | East | 70 | 35 | 28 | | 7 | 77 | 0.55 | 271 | 267 | John Marks | Lost in round 1 | |
| 1997–98 | Southern | Southeast | 70 | 35 | 24 | | 11 | 81 | 0.579 | 251 | 237 | John Marks | Lost in round 2 | |
| 1998–99 | Southern | Southeast | 70 | 29 | 30 | | 11 | 69 | 0.493 | 221 | 262 | Shawn Wheeler | Out of Playoffs | |
| 1999–00 | Southern | Northeast | 70 | 25 | 38 | | 7 | 54 | 0.357 | 186 | 254 | Shawn Wheeler Don MacAdam | Out of Playoffs | |
| 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) |
| 2001–02 | Southern | Northeast | 72 | 41 | 20 | 3 | 8 | 93 | 0.646 | 256 | 207 | Don MacAdam | Lost in round 2 | |
| 2002–03 | Southern | Northeast | 72 | 41 | 28 | 3 | 0 | 85 | 0.59 | 262 | 234 | Don MacAdam | Out of Playoffs | |
| 2003–04 | Eastern | Southern | 72 | 31 | 32 | 4 | 5 | 71 | 0.493 | 206 | 230 | Don MacAdam Derek Wilkinson | Out of Playoffs | |
| 2004–05 | American | East | 72 | 39 | 26 | 2 | 5 | 85 | 0.59 | 226 | 219 | Derek Wilkinson | Lost in round 3 | |
| 2005–06 | American | South | 72 | 33 | 34 | 2 | 3 | 71 | 0.493 | 232 | 254 | Derek Wilkinson | Lost in round 1 | |
| 2006–07 | American | South | 72 | 42 | 27 | 1 | 2 | 87 | 0.604 | 252 | 220 | Derek Wilkinson | Lost in round 2 | |
| 2007–08 | American | South | 72 | 34 | 31 | 1 | 6 | 75 | 0.472 | 212 | 219 | Derek Wilkinson | Lost in round 1 | |
| 2008–09 | American | South | 71 | 34 | 29 | 2 | 6 | 76 | 0.535 | 217 | 224 | Derek Wilkinson | Lost in round 1 | |
| 2009–10 | American | South | 72 | 43 | 21 | 4 | 4 | 94 | 0.653 | 253 | 223 | Derek Wilkinson | Lost in round 2 | |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | 1205 | 617 | 462 | 33 | 93 | | | 4141 | 4084 | | | 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 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

List of Charlotte Checkers alumni who played over 25 games in the ECHL and 25 or more games in the National Hockey League.
* Andrei Bashkirov
* Sylvain Blouin
* Eric Boulton
* Kimbi Daniels
* Jason Dawe
* Mike Hartman
* Dwight Helminen
* Boyd Kane
* Jason LaBarbera
* Steve MacIntyre
* Corey Potter
* Dale Purinton
* Bryan Rodney
* André Roy
* Rob Tallas
* Craig Weller
* Peter Worrell

## Retired numbers

* 4 – Kurt Seher