With the second-best record in the AHL, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers

head to Charlotte for two games with the league-leading Checkers

this weekend.

CHARLOTTE, NC— The top two teams in the American Hockey League will go at it this weekend when the Bridgeport Sound Tigers head south to challenge the Charlotte Checkers in two games at Bojangles Coliseum in the Queen City. The Checkers, the top minor league affiliate of Carolina Hurricanes (or the team formerly known as the Hartford Whalers) are playing at a level head-and-shoulders above everyone else in the American Hockey League with a 22-6-2-0 record, good for 46 points. The Sound Tigers, the top affiliate of the New York Islanders, enter the weekend with a 17-8-4-1 record, seven points behind the Checkers. Bridgeport leads the Rochester Amerks, who lead the AHL’s North Division, and the Central Division-leading Milwaukee Admirals, by one point for the league’s second-best record. Both the Sound Tigers and Checkers compete in the AHL’s Atlantic Division.

In the Sound Tiger’s last contest, a 4-3 overtime loss to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre Township, PA, on Wednesday, Bridgeport twice held—and lost—a two-goal advantage. Michael Dal Colle, Travis St. Denis and Mitch Vande Sompel all scored for Bridgeport, while netminder Christopher Gibson turned away 28 of the 32 shots the Pens took at him, extending his unbeaten streak in regulation to 10 games (6-0-4).

FRIDAY’S GAME

Tonight's contest marks the second of eight matchups between the Sound Tigers and Checkers this season, and the first of four in the Tar Heel State. Bridgeport currently leads the series 1-0-0-0 following a 4-2 victory at Webster Bank Arena on Nov. 11. In that game, Ryan Bourque led the way with two assists and Connor Jones potted the game-winner early in the third period. The Sound Tigers were 3-5-0-0 overall vs. the Checkers last season, and 1-3-0-0 at Bojangles Coliseum last season.

The series continues tomorrow night at Bojangles. Faceoff for Friday's game is at 7 p.m, while first puck drops at 6 p.m. on Saturday. The Sound Tigers will next be home on December 27 when they face their in-state archrivals, the Hartford Wolf Pack. faceoff at the Webster Bank Arena will be at 7 p.m.