Game Preview: Checkers at Hamilton (Feb. 28, 2015)

The Checkers will look to salvage something from what has so far been a disappointing road trip as they finish a back-to-back set in Hamilton tonight.

A 4-0 loss on Friday marked Charlotte’s third regulation loss in as many games in Canada this week and their fourth consecutive road loss this month. Meanwhile, they have won three straight at home - the site of their next five games beginning next week.

Charlotte

For the second game in a row, the Checkers were not able to recover from a slow start. Friday’s game, in which they allowed all of their goals in the first period, was one of their slowest of the season.

In that game and Wednesday’s loss in Toronto, the Checkers gave up the eventual winning goal within the first six minutes of the game. That was made possible both by their early defensive struggles and their inability to remedy them with the kind of goal scoring they got in previous weeks, when they had found the back of the net three or more times in each of their last four games.

Opponents have out-scored the Checkers 14-4 through the first three games of this trip, with Friday’s effort marking Charlotte’s fifth time shut out this season and dropping it back to last in the AHL in terms of goal scoring. One more shutout would equal the single-season franchise record set in the 2011-12 campaign.

Injuries have enhanced the team’s struggles, with the team managing just one goal in the two games that scoring leader Chad LaRose has missed this week. With LaRose and Greg Nemisz (out for season) expected to miss tonight’s game, the Checkers do not have a player who has scored a goal against Hamilton in their three matchups this season.

On defense, the Checkers appeared to lose Keegan Lowe to injury on Friday and played most of the game with just five defensemen, including recent pro tryout signing Mike Cornell. They did not have a healthy extra at any position on Friday, meaning that they may have to bring someone in tonight unless Rasmus Rissanen, who has missed the last four games but is with the team on this trip, is able to return.

With the team finishing a back-to-back set and having seemingly moved into a more even rotation regardless, John Muse, who enjoyed a stellar start to the month before allowing three goals on 22 shots in Toronto on Wednesday, will likely go tonight. Drew MacIntyre, who rebounded nicely after Friday’s first period, looks set to finish the month of February with a 1-5-0 record, 3.61 goals-against average and .892 save percentage.

Hamilton

A team in the tick of the Western Conference playoff race, one that now has the Checkers 15 points shy of the cutoff line with 21 games to play, Hamilton’s level of desperation was evident Friday as the team came out of the gates swinging to end their three-game losing streak and take hold of the eighth and final seed.

The Bulldogs’ four-goal first was only the Checkers’ second-slowest start of the season, as they had fallen behind 5-0 in the opening frame of an eventual 8-2 loss to Texas on Nov. 8. They were also able to negate any kind of serious pushback in the second period, holding Charlotte to only four shots.

Rookie goaltender Mike Condon, who has played 33 of the Bulldogs’ 55 games this season, made 24 saves to blank the Checkers on Friday and now has a 1.00 goals-against average and .964 save percentage over three starts against Charlotte this season. Veteran Joey MacDonald, who the Checkers have not seen this season but know reasonably well from his time in Grand Rapids, may get the nod tonight.

Eric Tangradi, a 26-year-old who has split his six professional seasons between the NHL and AHL, got the Bulldogs going with a pair of highlight-reel efforts in the first half of Friday’s first period, giving him 16 points in 27 AHL games this season. Daniel Carr, an undrafted, 23-year-old rookie out of Union College, handled the rest by out-muscling the Checkers’ defense to create a one-on-one situation against MacIntyre and tipping in a later shot by Swiss center Sven Andrighetto.

Charles Hudon, the AHL’s top-scoring rookie with 46 points in 55 games, and former AHL All-Star T.J. Hensick also factored in on the scoring with one assist apiece.

The Bulldogs received a pair of reinforcements from the parent Montreal Canadiens on Friday in the form of defenseman Jarred Tinordi and forward Christian Thomas. Tinordi dressed Friday and was +2 but Thomas, who had two points in two previous games against the Checkers in Charlotte, did not play.

Checkers Notes

Against Hamilton

Tonight's game will conclude the four-game season series between the Checkers and Hamilton, with the Bulldogs currently holding a 2-1-0 advantage thanks to Friday's 4-0 win. Prior to this season, the teams had never faced each other despite being members of the Western Conference for each of the last three campaigns, making this weekend Charlotte's first-ever visit to Hamilton.

With Greg Nemisz (2g) out for the season and Chad LaRose (1g) expected to miss tonight's game due to injury, i the Checkers will not dress a player who has a goal against Hamilton this season. Drew MacIntyre played all three previous games, going 1-2-0 with a 2.34 goals-against average and .911 save percentage.

Seven Bulldogs players are tied for their team's scoring lead against the Checkers with two points apiece. Goalie Mike Condon went 2-1-0 with a 1.00 goals-against average and .964 save percentage while starting all three games against Charlotte.

MacIntyre, who led the team to the 2011 Western Conference final, and Kyle Hagel, a Hamilton native who played 67 games for the club in 2012-13, are both former Bulldogs. Hamilton forward Drayson Bowman played 130 games for the Checkers between 2010 and 2013, ranking seventh on the club's all-time list with 39 goals, and 176 games for the parent Carolina Hurricanes between 2009 and 2014. Bulldogs defenseman Bryan Allen played 101 games for Carolina between 2010 and 2012.

Offense Stalls Again

After scoring three or more goals in four consecutive games from Feb. 16-22, their longest such stretch of the season, the Checkers have totaled just one goal in their last two games, both losses.

Charlotte's 4-0 loss in Hamilton on Feb. 27 marked its fifth shutout of the season, one shy of the single-season franchise record set in 2011-12.

During their current slump, the Checkers have fallen back into last place in the AHL in terms of total goals (119) and goals per game (2.20).

Home And Road

By sweeping a three-game home stand last week, the Checkers improved their record at Time Warner Cable Arena to 14-11-2 this season. Meanwhile, they have lost four consecutive road games, including three on their current trip, and are now 6-18-4 on the road, with their 16 points earned away from home marking the fewest of any AHL team. The Checkers' longest road losing streak of the season is six games, set from Nov. 15-Dec. 12.

During the Checkers' current three-game road trip, opponents have out-scored them by a margin of 14-4.

Important Games

The Checkers are nearing the end of a stretch in which 13 of 14 games played are against teams currently ranked between fifth and 15th in the Western Conference. Thus far during the stretch, which started Jan. 30 and ends March 5, the Checkers have posted a record of 3-8-0 against those teams. Two of the victories were against the only team trailing them in the conference, the Iowa Wild.

Killing It

The Checkers have killed 18 consecutive penalties since allowing their most recent power-play goal in the third period of a game at Lake Erie on Feb. 16. It marks the second time the Checkers have gone six full games or more without allowing a power-play goal this season. The penalty kill's longest streak this season was a 25-for-25 stretch from Dec. 19-Jan. 7 that contained seven full games with no power-play goals allowed.

Charlotte's penalty kill ranks ninth in the league at 85.7 percent. The Checkers are tied for sixth in the league with seven shorthanded goals, which are two behind the league lead and four more than their AHL-low total from all of last season.

Brock's Breakout

After going 29 games without a goal (Nov. 30) and 20 games without a point (Dec. 29), Checkers rookie forward Brock McGinn has found the back of the net five times in his last six games (5g, 1a). McGinn has scored at least one goal in eight games this season, with the Checkers posting a 6-2-0 record in those contests.

McGinn, who scored 43 goals in his final junior hockey campaign with Guelph last season, has recorded two multi-goal games this season (Nov. 21 and Feb. 18). He is third on the team with 10 goals and ranks fourth with 19 points in 52 games, leading all Checkers rookies.

Welcome Back Alex

Since returning from the ECHL's Florida Everblades on Jan. 4, forward Alex Aleardi has posted 13 points (7g, 6a) in 18 games, including seven in his last eight (4g, 3a). Even though Aleardi did not dress for four games since that recall, he ranks second on the Checkers in scoring behind Chad LaRose (14 points in 20 games) during that time.

Aleardi, an undrafted forward who the Checkers signed to an AHL contract during the offseason, has 36 points (17g, 19a) in 74 career AHL contests with Springfield and Charlotte. He scored 19 points (8g, 11a) in 16 ECHL games with the Everblades this season.

We Meet Again

This weekend's series against Hamilton marks the 22nd time the Checkers have faced the same opponent in two consecutive games this season. They are a combined 5-13-4 in the first halves of those series and are 11-9-1 in the second.

In those two-game series, the Checkers have won both games twice (against Milwaukee on Nov. 29 and 30 and agianst Iowa on Feb. 18 and 19) and have suffered five sweeps (vs. Grand Rapids on Oct. 17-18, at San Antonio on Nov. 14-15, at Oklahoma City on Nov. 21-22, vs. Chicago on Feb. 6-7 and at Toronto on Feb. 22 and 25).

Penalty Shot Party

Including one saved by John Muse in Toronto on Feb. 25, the Checkers have been involved in six penalty shot situations this season, tying their single-season record set during the inaugural 2010-11 campaign. In both seasons, those situations break down to four attempts for (with one goal scored) and two attemps against (with one goal scored).

In the three seasons between 2010-11 and this season, the team had been involved seven total penalty shot situations (three for, four against). Ben Holmstrom's goal in the team's first opportunity this season was the Checkers' first penalty shot goal since Jon Matsumoto scored against Oklahoma City on Dec. 20, 2011. A goal by Lake Erie's Troy Bourke against Drew MacIntyre on Feb. 12 marked the Checkers' first penalty shot goal allowed since Albany's Michael Swift scored against Justin Pogge on Jan. 7, 2011.

The Checkers were involved in two penalty shot situations in the same game for the first time in team history on Jan. 31 of this season, with Texas goalie Jussi Rynnas stopping attempts by Alex Aleardi and Zach Boychuk.

Quick Hits

• The Checkers have suffered seven consecutive regulation losses in Canada. They have an all-time record of 3-8-0 north of the border, with their last victory coming against Abbotsford on Feb. 13, 2013.
  
• The Checkers' current streak marks the fourth time they have lost three in a row in regulation this season. Their season high is four, set from Jan. 30-Feb. 7.
• Charlotte has allowed the eventual game-winning goal within the first six minutes of the first period in each of their last two games.
• The Checkers are 0-3-0 without scoring leader Chad LaRose in the lineup this season, scoring three total goals in those games.
• Kyle Hagel ranks tied for second in the AHL in major penalties (17)
• Drew MacIntyre ranks second in the AHL in saves (1,036) and fourth in minutes played (2,115)
• The Checkers are the only AHL team that has yet to record a shutout

Injuries

• Chad LaRose - missed two games starting 2/25
• Rasmus Rissanen - missed four games starting 2/19
• Gabriel Desjardins - missed 23 games starting 1/4
• Greg Nemisz - missed 35 games starting 12/8 (out for season)

Streaks

• Chad LaRose has points in each of his last three games (Feb. 18-22: 2g, 2a)

Milestones

• Justin Shugg is two shy of 100 AHL points
• Jared Staal is three shy of 100 AHL penalty minutes
• Kyle Hagel is 24 shy of 1,000 pro penalty minutes
• Jared Staal recorded his 100th pro penalty minute on 2/27
• Justin Shugg recorded his 100th pro penalty minute on 2/27
• Jared Staal played his 250th pro game on 2/25
• John Muse played his 100th AHL game on 2/25

Transactions

Incoming

• Feb. 22 - (D) Mike Cornell signed to PTO

Outgoing

• Feb. 21 - (D) Michal Jordan recalled by Carolina (NHL)