CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The first weekend of November saw the Charlotte Checkers host a back-to-back series at Bojangles Coliseum against the Syracuse Crunch. Before that, the team was on a three-game road trip to end October and start off the month of November. Unfortunately, all three of those games were losses with only one point gained. Although, the back-to-back homestand this past Friday and Saturday saw the Checkers split the series against the Crunch. Friday night saw a Charlotte 3-2 win followed by a 4-0 shutout loss on Saturday. Within those two games, a specific player stood out in that series. It was none other than the captain himself, Zac Dalpe. 

Zac Dalpe Shines in a 3-2 Friday Win

The first game of the Checkers’ back-to-back series at home saw the captain do everything and anything to help the team claim a win to stay undefeated at home. Dalpe managed to score two goals in the game, the last one being the game-winner, and also a fight in the process.

Dalpe’s first of two goals of that game can only be defined as unworldly as he managed to dangle what seems like the entire Crunch penalty kill unit and fool the goalie in the process. The setup by defenseman Michael Del Zotto was superb. He managed to zip a tape-to-tape pass through the neutral zone to Dalpe who already had great positioning to attack the Crunch zone. Plus, it goes without saying that getting a goalie assist by Alex Lyon was the cherry on top.

The captain gets us going! pic.twitter.com/jg6kc9G211

— Charlotte Checkers (@CheckersHockey) November 4, 2022

What make’s Dalpe’s first of the game even better was that it came 18 seconds into the second period. Getting a powerplay goal is spectacular but doing it very quickly into a period for a lead is even better.

The second goal by Dalpe was the game-winner, which has to be said, was set up beautifully by Gerry Mayhew. Mayhew drove around the net and snapped a cross-crease pass to an open Dalpe who one-timed it home to give the Checkers a 3-2 lead. That goal would eventually lead to being the game-winner.

Zac Dalpe is having himself a night pic.twitter.com/2KzG9ybhpT

— Charlotte Checkers (@CheckersHockey) November 5, 2022

Just by looking at the two goals, it was clear that Dalpe was on a mission to keep the Checkers undefeated at home at the time. Two goals, one a game-winner, is certainly a way to do it. He also managed to tie the team lead in shots on goal for the game with four and lead with seven penalty minutes. After a rough three-game road trip with only one point gained, a 3-2 in like that was very much needed for the Checkers. Even more so, adding a fight in the middle of that win to keep the team fired up does boost the confidence of a team rather quickly.

Goal ✅
Fight ✅

The Captain is doing it all! pic.twitter.com/rbJ0dTMCZq

— Charlotte Checkers (@CheckersHockey) November 5, 2022

Basically, the Checkers have a man who can do it all in the name of Zac Dalpe.

Charlotte Got Crunched by Syracuse

While game one of the back-to-back was great for Charlotte, they would not find the same success in game two. The Checkers would go on to lose the game 4-0 and snap their undefeated home winning streak at 5-0-0. In this game, Dalpe would tie with several players in shots on goal with three, but also manage a minus-2 as well. Overall, not the greatest game of hockey from the team.

Dalpe Snags “Player of the Series”

Despite the 4-0 shutout loss on Saturday, Dalpe stood out from everyone else in both games over the back-to-back. He did manage to finish with a minus-2 over both games, although he also accumulated seven shots on goal with two going in, including a game-winner. Even more so, Dalpe claimed seven penalty minutes and served as the catalyst for a much-needed win after a three-game road skid before Friday’s game. That is a type of performance over a weekend that teams want to see from their captain and that is what the Checkers got from Dalpe.

Can Dalpe manage this production over the whole season? Only time will tell, but it should give Checkers fans a much-needed boost in confidence in this team before their six-game road trip over eight days starting November 11th in Providence.

You can follow Zachary Martin on Twitter @FPHCheckers! For the latest news on the American Hockey League, be sure to follow our AHL team and listen to The Holy GrAHL Podcast each week!