Game Preview: Checkers at Lake Erie (Feb. 1, 2014)

The Checkers look to split a two-game set against the Lake Erie Monsters as they continue their four-game road trip tonight.

Charlotte’s 1-0 loss on Friday marked Cam Ward’s Charlotte debut, the first time the Checkers have been shut out this season and the end of a four-game winning streak that tied their season high. It also dropped them to 1-1-3 in five all time games at Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena, with tonight’s rematch counting as the last game they will play there this season. The teams play each other just four times this season, with the Monsters coming to Charlotte in mid-March.

Tonight’s game concludes the first leg of the team’s four-game road trip. The group will then travel to Abbotsford for two games against the Heat on Tuesday and Wednesday before returning home to host the Oklahoma City Barons for its annual Pink in the Rink event on Friday.

Charlotte

Much like Anton Khudobin, the last Carolina Hurricanes goaltender to join the Checkers on a conditioning stint, Cam Ward wasn’t able to record a win in his debut with the team. In both cases, that had little to do with the goaltender’s performance.

Ward finished Friday’s game with 35 saves, giving the Checkers more than enough chances to stay in the game and make a breakthrough against Lake Erie counterpart Calvin Pickard that never came. On either side of allowing a one-time goal from the slot by the Monster’s Paul Carey late in the first period, he made a shorthanded breakaway save in the first and a two-on-one stop and flashy glove save in the third, among others, while playing his first game at any level since suffering an injury with Carolina on Dec. 31.

Ward’s first AHL game since suiting up for the Lowell Lock Monsters on Dec. 18, 2005, marked the first time the Checkers have been shut out since April 6 of last season. Provided he has no ill effects from Friday’s game, Ward is likely to get another start tonight in what could be his final game in a Charlotte jersey.

Friday’s game was near the polar opposite of the Checkers’ previous outing, a 9-3 victory over the Oklahoma City Barons exactly one week earlier. Having hit the nine-goal mark for just the third time in team history in that game, the Checkers seem to have used up all their offense for an entire week. After a sluggish start in a game marred by penalties – the teams went a combined 0-for-14 on the power play on Friday – the visitors did come alive in the third period but weren’t able to break through Pickard.

In another reversal from last week, the Checkers went 0-for-6 on the man advantage after tying a franchise record with a 5-for-7 performance against the Barons. Aaron Palushaj (seven games) and Greg Nemisz (six games) saw lengthy point streaks come to an end.

In terms of lineup changes, the Checkers have forward Brendan Woods, who is ready to return from an injury that kept him out for the previous five games, and defenseman Keegan Lowe ready to jump in if needed or desired by coach Jeff Daniels.

Lake Erie

The Monsters’ mighty struggles of late seem to be ending at an inopportune time for the Checkers.

The only other AHL team aside from Charlotte to lose seven consecutive regulation games this season, the Monsters have now won back-to-back games after going through an eight-game winless streak (0-8-1). Friday’s win marked their first regulation victory since Jan. 4 and put them just one point behind the Checkers in the Western Conference standings, though the Checkers have played one fewer game.

With 33 saves on Friday, Pickard exacted a manner of family revenge for his older brother, Chet, who the Checkers chased from the game with four first-period goals in Oklahoma City on Jan. 10 and again victimized for nine goals last week. It’s no lock that he will get a chance to build on his shutout against the Checkers, as he has split starts with teammate Sami Aittokallio, whose 2.89 goals-against average and .900 save percentage are nearly identical to Pickard’s stats.

Pickard and Aittokallio are the only two goalies that the Monsters have used this season – a number slightly lower than the nine used by Charlotte. Friday was the third shutout of the season for the Monsters, who now rank 24th in the AHL in team defense with an average of 3.16 goals per game. Pickard is responsible for two of those.

The Checkers will have an excellent chance to win tonight’s rematch if they give their goaltender any kind of support, with the Monsters scoring two or fewer goals (excluding those credited for a shootout win) in each of their last seven games. The Monsters rank 23rd in the league with an average of 2.60 goals per game and do not have a skater who has hit the 30-point mark.

Checkers Notes

Goalies Galore

Cam Ward, who began a conditioning stint with the Checkers on Friday, became the ninth goalie to play for the team this season, marking the most of any AHL team and extending a single-season franchise record that previously stood at five. Goalies that have previously played for the Checkers this season are, in order of appearance: Justin Peters, Mike Murphy, Jesse Deckert, John Muse, Allen York, Rick DiPietro, Rob Madore and Anton Khudobin.

Ward, a 29-year-old former Stanley Cup champion, Conn Smythe winner and NHL All-Star, on Friday played his first AHL game since another conditioning stint during his first season with the Carolina Hurricanes on Dec. 18, 2005. In 52 previous AHL games with the Lowell Lock Monsters, Ward went 27-19-3 with a 2.02 goals-against average, .936 save percentage and six shutouts.

Of the three goaltenders on Carolina's roster prior to Ward's assignment to Charlotte (Peters and Khudobin), Ward became the third to play for the Checkers this season.

No Offense

Charlotte's 1-0 loss to Lake Erie on Friday marked the first time the team has been shut out since a 3-0 loss to Milwaukee on April 6 of last season. The Checkers, who were coming off a season-high, nine-goal performance in their previous game, had managed one goal on nine previous occasions this season.

Extreme Special Teams

One game after tying a franchise record with five power-play goals on seven chances against the Oklahoma City Barons on Jan. 24, the Checkers went 0-for-6 on the man advantage in a 1-0 loss to Lake Erie on Friday. Together with a pair of 0-for-6 performances on Jan. 18 and 23, it marked the most opportunities the Checkers have received in a single game without scoring a power-play goal this season.

On the other side of the equation, the Checkers killed all eight Lake Erie power plays on Friday, marking the most opportunities they have given up without surrendering a power-play goal in team history. The Checkers had not given up eight power plays in a single game since killing seven of eight at Peoria on Feb. 11, 2012. It was also the first time that Charlotte had negated eight power plays in a single game since going 8-for-10 at Houston on Oct. 30, 2011.

All He Does Is Win

Checkers goalie John Muse has won each of his last five decisions, putting him just one short of his season high set from Nov. 30-Dec. 19 that tied the franchise record held by teammate Mike Murphy. Starting with his earlier streak, Muse has won 12 of his last 14 games to improve to 16-8-0 this season, while the other eight goalies the team has used are a combined 5-12-1.

Since rejoining the Checkers on a professional tryout contract on Oct. 23 (he later signed an AHL contract), Muse has a 2.39 goals-against average, .922 save percentage and three shutouts, including a 31-save performance against Oklahoma City on Jan. 23. A winner of two NCAA National Championships with Boston College and an ECHL Kelly Cup with the Florida Everblades, he has an all-time AHL record of 34-18-3 and is tied with Justin Peters for second in Checkers history with 33 wins. The team record of 42 is held by Murphy.

Floodgates Open

Defenseman Mark Flood scored his ninth goal of the season against Norfolk on Jan. 19, pulling him into a second-place tie for most goals and power-play goals (six) among AHL defensemen.

In just 41 games, Flood, a 29-year-old veteran who scored just one goal in 52 games in the Russian KHL last season, has already tied Bryan Rodney (2010-11) for the second-highest goal total by a Checkers defenseman in a single season and is only one away from the team record of 10 set by Bobby Sanguinetti in 2011-12. He is also just two away from his AHL career high of 11 set with Manitoba during the 2010-11 campaign.

Against Lake Erie

Tonight will mark the 10th all-time meeting between Charlotte and Lake Erie since the Checkers joined the Western Conference prior to the 2011-12 season. Charlotte has a 3-3-3 record against the Monsters during that time, including a 2-1-1 record last season and an all-time record of 1-1-3 in Lake Erie. Three of the five games the Checkers have played in Lake Erie over the last two seasons have gone to overtime, with the Monsters winning all three.

The Checkers have given up just three total goals in their last three games in Lake Erie, but are just 1-1-1 in those games.

Quick Hits

• The Checkers are 0-5-0 against the North Division this season (0-4-0 against Toronto, 0-1-0 against Lake Erie)
• Prior to Friday, the Checkers had won 10 of their last 11 one-goal games
• Zach Boychuk's 12 power-play goals lead the AHL and are tied for the most by a Checkers player in a single season
• Aaron Palushaj was held off the score sheet for just the third time in his last 19 AHL games on Friday
• Friday's game marked the first time that forward Greg Nemisz did not record a point in a Checkers uniform. He started his stint with the team with points in six consecutive games (3g, 5a)
• Charlotte's current four-game road trip is its longest since playing six consecutive games on the road from Oct. 25-Nov. 2. Charlotte's 17 road games played are the fewest in the AHL.
• The Checkers have scored three or more goals in 10 of their last 13 games. They are 19-6-0 when scoring three or more and 2-14-1 when scoring fewer than three.
• The first period is the only period in which the Checkers have a positive goal differential (40 for, 38 against).

Player Streaks

• None

Milestones

• Zach Boychuk is one goal shy of 100 AHL goals
• Mark Flood played his 500th professional game against Lake Erie on Jan. 31
• Aaron Palushaj played his 300th professional game against Lake Erie on Jan. 31
• Brody Sutter played his 100th professional game against Lake Erie on Jan. 31

Injuries

• Jared Staal - missed nine games starting Jan. 3
• Nicolas Blanchard - missed six games starting Jan. 17

Transactions

Incoming

• Jan. 30 - (G) Cam Ward assigned to Charlotte on a conditioning stint from Carolina (NHL)
• Jan. 29 - (RW) Aaron Palushaj reassigned to Charlotte from Carolina (NHL)

Outgoing

• Jan. 25 - (D) Beau Schmitz assigned to Florida (ECHL) from Charlotte