Charlotte Checkers Viewing Party and Playoff Rally Tonight

The Charlotte Checkers are being featured tonight on ESPN’s E:60 and are inviting fans to come watch the TV show with them. E:60 is a weekly, primetime newsmagazine show—think 60 Minutes for sports—and the cable network is telling the story of the Checkers’ relationship with eleven-year-old Zach Bennett, who suffers from neurofibromatosis (NF1), a condition that causes tumors to grow on nerve tissue.

In April, the Checkers announced they’d raised money and purchased a home in Charlotte for Zach, his parents, and sister, Jenna, Randy, and Danielle Bennett. Many of the Checkers players had befriended the Bennett family when the team was located in Albany, New York and played as the Albany River Rats. The Bennett family were season ticketholders. Now with a home in Charlotte, Zach is once again close to his favorite team and is also able to receive better medical care because of the great hospitals we have here.

In addition to watching this touching story unfold on national TV, you’ll also be able to celebrate the hockey team’s current playoff run. Tonight’s Viewing Party and Playoff Rally will be held 6:30-10 p.m. at Pavilion at EpiCentre (210 E. Trade St.). The party will feature Checkers players, staff members, the CheckMates (hockey cheerleaders), Chubby (mascot), and the Bennett family. There will also be raffle prizes and giveaways. The screening of E:60 begins at 7 p.m. and will be shown in the Pavilion’s new Biergarten (beer garden). All ages are welcome and admission is free.

The Checkers continue their quest for the Calder Cup at home later this week when they open the AHL Eastern Conference Finals against the Binghamton Senators. Games 1 and 2 of the best-of-seven series take place this Thursday and Friday night at Time Warner Cable Arena. For more details, visit GoCheckers.com.