Game Preview: Checkers at Grand Rapids (April 17, 2015)

The Checkers roll into Grand Rapids tonight to kick off their final series of the season, a two-game swing against the Griffins.

The team wrapped up the home portion of their schedule last week with a win over Rockford, clinching a winning record on their own ice, but have not had the same success on the road. The Checkers currently are tied for the lowest road point total in the season, and will be looking to shake that with these final two contests.

Charlotte

In their third consecutive contest against the IceHogs last night, the Checkers struggled to get any substantial pressure for the majority of the game. They only registered four shots in the first period, marking the seventh time in the last 12 periods that they have failed to reach double digits. Even with the chances they did get, the Checkers could not solve the IceHogs' veteran netminder Michael Leighton until it was too late.

Heading into this weekend's matchup with the Griffins, the Checkers will need to ratchet up their offensive power as they face another strong goalie in either Tom McCollum or Jared Coreau. To get that production they will need need other players to step up, as they will be without several strong contributors. Zach Boychuk, Ben Holmstrom and Brody Sutter all missed Wednesday's contest and will most likely not be in the lineup this weekend either. Replacing them will be a trio of newcomers in Mario Lamoureux, Thomas Frazee and Stephane Pattyn, who all made their Checkers debut Wednesday night. Lamoureux made the biggest impact of the three, hammering home a rebound for the visitors lone goal.

The Checkers will also need to see improvement in several aspects if they want to take down the Griffins. Leading goal scorer Justin Shugg has just one marker in his last eight games, while Chad LaRose, who trails Shugg by two goals, has only found the back of the net twice in his last 10 contests since returning from injury. The two skaters following them in terms of goals scored are Brock McGinn, who has one goal in his last six games, and Brendan Woods, who has been held without a goal for the last 10 games.

Charlotte's team defense has been stellar as of late, holding a high-powered Rockford attack in check for both of last weekend's matchups. But they came falling back to earth last night, getting torched for five goals, the fourth-highest total they have allowed this season. Their biggest downfall in last night's tilt were two defensive lapses that resulted in shorthanded breakaway goals for the IceHogs.

The Checkers defensive corps, which has been made up of a rotating cast for much of the last few weeks, currently features the fewest amount of rookies that it has in quite a while, so the team will certainly lean on the likes of Danny Biega and Keegan Lowe to help right the ship for the final two contests.

The team's most impressive facet continues to be their penalty kill, which held Rockford scoreless on five man-advantages last night. The Checkers are now currently in a stretch of five games where they have killed 22 of their last 23 penalties.

Grand Rapids

Although they have had their playoff spot wrapped up for a while now, the Griffins still have plenty to play for. With just two games remaining on each of their schedules, Grand Rapids holds a one point lead over Rockford for the top spot in the Midwest Division thanks to a big 6-4 win over Lake Erie last night.

After trading goals for much of regulation, the Monsters netted two consecutive tallies to knot the game at four midway through the third. In the end, the hero ended up being recent ECHL call up Alden Hirschfeld, who lit the lamp for the first time this season for what would hold up as the game winner. The victory marked the seventh for Grand Rapids in their last nine contests.

The Griffins biggest strength this season has been their lethal offense. The boast the top-ranked attack in the AHL in terms of goals per game, as well as one of the most dynamic forces in the league in Andy Miele. The former Hobey Baker Award-winner ranks second in the AHL in scoring and has eight points in his last eight games. Alongside Miele, forward Tomas Nosek has been extremely effective as of late, with 11 points in his last 11 games.

Tom McCollum has been the main man in net for Grand Rapids, starting 13 of the last 16 games. The netminder has been commendable down the stretch, going 9-3-1 in those 13 games. Backing his up is rookie Jared Coreau, who has been lights out when called upon. The young goalie has won nine of his last ten appearances dating back to Jan. 24.

Checkers Notes

Against Grand Rapids

Tonight's game is the seventh of eight contests between Charlotte and Rockford. The Griffins have won four of the six meetings so far, though the Checkers took a 2-1 shootout win in their most recent matchup.

Charlotte holds an all-time record of 10-7-1 against Grand Rapids and a 5-2-1-0 mark in Grand Rapids.

Brendan Woods and Alex Aleardi lead all Checkers skaters against Grand Rapids this season with three points each in six and five games, respectively. Andy Miele has paced the Griffins this season with five points in five games against the Checkers.

In goal, Drew MacIntyre has played all six games for the Checkers, going 2-3-1 with a goals-against average 2.30 and a save percentage of .935. For Grand Rapids, Tom McCollum has been lights out in his four appearances against Charlotte, going 3-0-1 with a 1.45 goals-against average and a .945 save percentage.

Man of the Year

The American Hockey League honored Checkers forward Kyle Hagel with the Yanick Dupre Award for outstanding contributions to the community in a surprise ceremony prior to Saturday's game against Rockford. It marked the first league award for Hagel, who has captured five team awards from five different teams (Rockford, Peoria, Hamilton, Portland) in his five AHL seasons.

Hagel leads the Checkers and ranks 18th in the AHL with 154 penalty minutes. He ranks fourth in the AHL with 22 major penalties, all of which are fighting majors.

Turned Away

The Checkers' 2-0 shutout loss to Rockford last Saturday was their sixth shutout of the season, tying a single-season franchise record set in 2011-12. It was their first at home since April 6, 2013 (Milwaukee), with each of the team's eight shutouts since then all taking place on the road.

Charlotte is the only AHL team that has yet to record a shutout of its own.

MacIntyre's Workload

Checkers goalie Drew MacIntyre, who has played in 11 of the team's last 15 games, set a franchise record by appearing in his 49th game of the season on Saturday. In doing so, he broke the old mark set by Justin Pogge in the inaugural 2011-12 campaign. He now ranks sixth in the AHL with 2,817 minutes played and is third with 1,394 saves.

MacIntyre's most recent victory in Norfolk on March 25 was the 211th of his career, moving him into a tie with Nick Damore for ninth in AHL history. He is now just 21 away from tying Frederic Cassivi for fifth. MacIntyre, a 31-year-old veteran now playing his 12th professional season with his eighth AHL club, has a 211-142-26 record, 2.48 goals-against average, .934 save percentage and 16 shutouts in 402 career AHL games dating back to the 2004-05 season.

Though he has yet to record a shutout, MacIntyre has won five games by a 2-1 score. He owns a .920 save percentage in overtime games this season (46 saves on 50 shots) and has stopped 21 of 23 in the shootout. He is tied for second in the league in shootout victories this season (4-1 record).

LaRose's Shorty Success

With his goal on April 3, Chad LaRose is now tied for the AHL lead with five shorthanded points. That also establishes a new franchise single-season record, snapping the previous mark of four, set by both Brett Sutter and Chris Terry during the 2010-11 season. Three of LaRose's shorthanded points this season have been helpers, tying him for the league lead in that category as well.

LaRose now ranks fourth on the Checkers all-time shorthanded points list. He has factored in on five of the team's eight shorthanded goals this season - a total that is five more than its league-low total from last season.

Carrick Lights It Up

With 14 points (3g, 11a) in his last 19 games, Trevor Carrick currently leads all Charlotte defensemen in goals (seven), assists (21) and points (28), all of which are new records for a Checkers rookie defenseman. Of his five multi-point outings this season, four occurred during the month of March.

Carrick is currently tied for third on the team in scoring and leads the team in assists. Eleven of his assists have come on the power play, a total that leads the Checkers, is tied for fourth among all AHL rookies and is first among AHL rookie defensemen.

A fourth-round pick in 2012, the 20-year-old Carrick put up 51 points in his final season of junior last year, split between Mississauga and Sudbury, and ranked second among OHL defensemen in goals (22).

Eliminated

The Checkers have been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. This will be the third time in Checkers' five seasons as an AHL franchise in which they did not qualify for the Calder Cup Playoffs and the first time that they have missed the postseason in back-to-back years.

Streaks

• Danny Biega has taken a penalty in each of his last three games

Injuries

• Ben Holmstrom - missed one game starting 4/15
• Brody Sutter - missed one game starting 4/15
• Zach Boychuk - missed one game starting 4/15
• Haydn Fleury - missed one game starting 4/15
• Jared Staal - missed three games starting 4/11
• Greg Nemisz - missed 53 games starting 12/8 (out for season)

Milestones

• Keegan Lowe is eight shy of 200 AHL/pro PIM
• Justin Shugg is two shy of 50 AHL goals
• Brendan Woods is seven shy of 150 AHL/pro PIM

Transactions

Incoming

• April 14 - (C) Stephane Pattyn signed to amateur tryout contract from North Dakota (NCAA)
• April 14 - (C) Thomas Frazee signed to professional tryout contract from Greenville (ECHL)
• April 14 - (C) Mario Lamoureux signed to professional tryout contract from Quad City (ECHL)
• April 12 - (D) Keegan Lowe reassigned to Charlotte from Carolina (NHL)

Outgoing

• April 14 - (D) Brett Pesce released from ATO
• April 14 - (G) Rasmus Tirronen released from ATO
• April 14 - (G) Daniel Altshuller assigned to Florida (ECHL)