Roar! Or something.

The Charlotte Checkers are kind of owning, currently. They’re 6-1-1 and Justin Peters has recorded a shutout. Drayson Bowman continues to tear it up, Jeremy Welsh got his first 2 professional goals, and even Zac Dalpe has 2 goals. The one really dim spot is Justin Peters’ .894 save percentage, but considering the team’s played 8 games, there’s more than enough time to change that.

The best resource for Checkers news is probably their website. AHL Live is a pretty penny, but – well, let’s just say if you’re a crafty Googler, you can probably find other ways to watch games. And some of them are even televised, oh happy day.

The NHL and NHLPA continue to drag their feet in negotiations. As always, I really can’t blame the NHLPA, but it’s only sensible that we acknowledge that the longer this drags on, the more salary the players lose. That doesn’t mean they should capitulate, especially when you consider that they’re fighting over more than just this year’s salaries – but it does mean that the longer this goes on, the crappier it is for everyone. Rumors of the Winter Classic being cancelled have been swirling since late last week. That would more or less be a death knell on having even half a season, and would most likely get everyone starting up talking about losing an entire season. Two lost seasons in a decade would be a thorough black mark on the NHL’s record. Here’s hoping that won’t happen.