Game Preview: Checkers at Lake Erie (Feb. 12, 2015)

Having gotten back on track with a 2-1 victory in their first meeting of the season against Lake Erie on Tuesday, the Checkers will now look to build that elusive winning streak in tonight's rematch.

Charlotte concludes its quick two-game trip to Cleveland hoping to win consecutive games for just the second time this season and first since Nov. 29-30. That, and many more results like it, will be necessary for Charlotte to get back into a playoff race that currently has them 14 points out of eighth place with six teams to catch, including tonight's opponent.

Following tonight's game, the Checkers will have three days off, including a rare game-free weekend, before returning to Charlotte to play three home games in four nights starting Monday.

Charlotte

In desperate need of a win, the Checkers turned in a solid performance in Lake Erie to emerge with a victory and snap their four-game losing streak.

Winless since the All-Star break, the Checkers hit the road to take on a tough Lake Erie team in an extremely important contest. Despite being outshot 26-20 through the first two periods, strikes from Phil Di Giuseppe and Alex Aleardi gave the visitors a 2-0 advantage heading into the second intermission. The Monsters cut the lead in half less than a minute into the final frame, but the Checkers dug in and held on for the remainder of regulation to secure their first win since Jan. 23.

With a two-point night, Aleardi continues to produce when called upon. The undersized forward has four points in his last five games and now has 13 points on the season despite playing significantly fewer games than most of his teammates. In fact, after returning from an extended stint with the Florida Everblades of the ECHL on Jan. 4, only one Checkers player (Chad LaRose, with nine in 15 games) has more points than Aleardi’s eight, although he put those up in just 11 games. His production, along with Di Giuseppe’s, whose tally Tuesday night was his first goal since Dec. 28, will be vital to the Checkers success going forward, as head coach Jeff Daniels has preached an “offense by committee” philosophy all season.

With Drew MacIntyre starting the last five games, John Muse was tapped to take the net Tuesday in Lake Erie, his first start since Jan. 22. Despite being without a regulation win in his previous seven starts, Muse turned in a stellar 39-save game and came away with the victory. The team still struggled to give him much goal support to work with, but Muse helped them avoid the late collapse that the Checkers have seen all too often this year.

The win helped the Checkers inch closer to pulling themselves into contention, as there are now 14 points separating them from the eighth and final playoff spot. With the rest of their schedule for the month filled with teams just ahead of them in the race, each point will be crucial from here on out. They will try to start that final push with tonight’s rematch against the Monsters, looking for just their second winning streak of the season.

Lake Erie

With Tuesday night’s loss to the Checkers, the Monsters find themselves trending in the wrong direction. Lake Erie has lost two in a row to teams also fighting for the last playoff spot by a combined score of 6-1.

One of the Monsters’ biggest problems currently is their lack of scoring punch, which can be attributed to the loss of their top three scorers. Leader Maxim Noreau is done for the season with a hurt shoulder, while Colin Smith is out four-to-six weeks with a knee injury. Add to that the fact that Stefan Elliott is currently in the NHL with the Avalanche and Lake Erie is lacking the attack that they had earlier in the season.

The positive for Lake Erie is that they have been getting contributions from other players, but they will need them to continue to step up. With a helper in Tuesday’s game against the Checkers, Ben Street has nine points in 11 games since being sent down from Colorado, while Paul Carey, Tuesday’s lone goal scorer on Tuesday, has edged his way into a tie for third on the team in scoring.

Calvin Pickard continues to be the man in goal for the Monsters, having started each of the last six games. Despite turning aside 27 of the 29 shots he face on Tuesday, Pickard was saddled with his eighth loss of the season. The third-year netminder has struggled in his last two outings, putting up a goals against average north of three, but has suffered the same issue that has plagued the Checkers’ goalies season: a lack of support. In Pickard’s last four losses, the Monsters have scored a combined five goals.

Checkers Notes

Against Lake Erie

Tonight's game is the second of the four-game season series between the Checkers and Lake Erie, with Charlotte winning the first game by a 2-1 score on Tuesday. Including an even 2-2-0 split in last season's series, the Checkers have an all-time record of 6-4-3 against the Monsters.

Alex Aleardi (1g, 1a) had a hand in both Checkers goals on Tuesday, his first-ever meeting with Lake Erie. In goal, John Muse made 39 saves, giving him a 2-0-0 record, 1.50 goals-against average and .961 save percentage in two career meetings with the Monsters dating back to last season.

In his last four meetings against the Checkers, including three last season and Tuesday's game, Calvin Pickard is 1-3-0 with a 3.03 goals-against average, .893 save percentage and one shutout. Sami Aittokallio has not faced the Checkers since the 2012-13 season, when he went 1-1-0 with a 3.51 GAA and .892 SV% in two games.

Welcome Back Alex

Since returning from the ECHL's Florida Everblades on Jan. 4, forward Alex Aleardi has posted eight points (4g, 4a) in 11 games, including his second multi-point game of the season on Feb. 10 (1g, 1a). Even though Aleardi did not dress for four games since that recall, he ranks second on the Checkers in scoring during that time, trailing Chad LaRose (15 games) by one point.

Aleardi, an undrafted forward who the Checkers signed to an AHL contract during the offseason, has 31 points (14g, 17a) in 68 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 week’s series against Lake Erie marks the 19th time the Checkers face the same opponent in two consecutive games this season. They are a combined 4-11-4 in the first halves of those series and 10-7-1 in the second.

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

MacIntyre's Workload

Checkers goalie Drew MacIntyre, who has started five of the Checkers' last six games, ranks fifth in the AHL with in minutes played (1,877) and third in saves (910). His most recent start on Feb. 7 marked his 450th game played as a professional.

MacIntyre, a 31-year-old veteran now playing his 12th professional season with his eighth AHL club, ranks 10th on the league's all-time wins list with 205 and is just 27 wins away from tying Frederic Cassivi for fifth. He has a 205-133-25 record, 2.45 goals-against average, .936 save percentage and 16 shutouts in 386 career AHL games dating back to the 2004-05 season.

LaRose Takes Over

During a current stretch that has seen him score 15 points (9g, 6a) in his last 21 games, Chad LaRose has taken sole possession of the team's scoring lead with 26 points (13g, 13a). In addition to being the team's overall points leader, he also leads the team in shorthanded points (three - t-4th AHL) and is tied with Ryan Murphy for first in power-play points (seven). He also leads the team in shots on goal (129), having topped the seven-shot mark twice in his last five outings.

LaRose's six-game point streak from Jan. 15-30 marked the Checkers' longest of the season, eclipsing his own previous five-game run and another by Murphy, both of which occurred in December. It also tied the longest of his professional career set during his previous AHL season (4g, 7a for Lowell between Nov. 18-26, 2005).

LaRose, a 32-year-old veteran of 508 NHL games with Carolina, is playing in the AHL for the first time since 2005-06 after taking last season away from hockey. He now has 110 points (54g, 56a) in 174 career AHL games with Lowell and Charlotte.

Lack Of Firepower

After totaling just six goals in their last five games, the Checkers have fallen back to the AHL cellar in terms of total goals (101) and goals per game (2.10). The Checkers are the only team in the AHL with two or fewer 20-point scorers on their roster (Chad LaRose and Justin Shugg). LaRose's 26 points are tied for the second-lowest for a team leader in the AHL.

The Checkers also rank last in the league on the power play with a season-long percentage of 9.6, including a 1-for-18 slide in five games since returning from the All-Star break.The lowest recorded power-play percentage for a season in AHL history is 10.4, set by the Rochester Americans in 2001-02.

Quick Hits

• The Checkers have won consecutive games only once this season - Nov. 29 and 30 vs. Milwaukee.
• John Muse has stopped 120 of the last 125 shots he's faced (.960 save percentage) over his last four appearances.
• Kyle Hagel is tied for the AHL lead in major penalties (16)
• Chad LaRose is tied for the AHL lead in shorthanded assists (3) and is tied for fourth in shorthanded points (3)
• The Checkers are the only AHL team that has yet to record a shutout.
• Charlotte ranks last in the AHL in terms of victories (six) and points earned (16) on the road.

Streaks

• None

Injuries

• Brendan Woods - missed five games starting 1/30
• Gabriel Desjardins - missed 15 game starting 1/4
• Greg Nemisz - missed 27 games starting 12/8 (out for season)

Milestones

• Zach Boychuk is one shy of 150 AHL assists
• Rasmus Rissanen is five shy of 300 AHL/professional penalty minutes
• Brock McGinn played his 50th career AHL/professional game on Feb. 10

Transactions

Incoming

• Feb. 6 - (C) Jason Bast signed to PTO from Idaho (ECHL)

Outgoing

• None