CHARLOTTE, NC—Charlotte Checkers head coach and general manager Derek Wilkinson announced today that defenseman Ethan Graham has been returned to the team from the Norfolk Admirals of the American Hockey League.
Graham played in 16 games with the Admirals notching one goal and three assists. At the time of his loan in November, he led all Checkers defensemen in scoring with one goal and three assists in six games. The 27-year-old blueliner had prior AHL experience with Iowa Stars and Hartford Wolf Pack.
In 2008-09, Graham notched five goals and 20 assists in 40 games in his second season as a professional. He led all Checkers defensemen in power-play points with 14 and chipped in with two game-winning goals.
Prior to turning pro, the hard-shooting defender played four seasons at Michigan State University, where he helped the Spartans capture the 2007 NCAA National Championship and was voted the team’s Most Outstanding Defenseman.
In a separate transaction, recent ECHL All-Star Game nominee Matt Schepke was returned to the team from the Albany River Rats (AHL) prior to Sunday’s game.
The Checkers (17-10-4-0) will host the Gwinnett Gladiators today at Time Warner Cable Arena. Game time is 2 p.m. and ticket information can be obtained by calling 704-342-4-ICE or visiting www.gocheckers.com.
Notes: Ryan Munce ranks second among all ECHL goaltenders with a .922 save percentage…Tyler Doig has 14 points in his last 12 games…Randy Rowe has five goals in the last four games and now has 401 career ECHL points…Miika Wiikman has only one regulation loss in 10 games this season (6-1-2)…the Checkers are 9-3-1 in their last 13 home games…T.J. Reynolds leads all ECHL defensemen with 137 penalty minutes, and is second in overall plus-minus with a +19 rating…Derek Couture and Daniel Tkaczuk are on loan to Hartford and Matt Ford remains with Lake Erie (AHL)…Trevor Glass, Codey Burki and Chris Chappell are on the 21-day injured reserve.
