Game Preview: Checkers at Norfolk (Feb. 26, 2014)

The race for the GEICO Challenge Cup could come to its conclusion when the Checkers begin a four-game road trip in Norfolk tonight.

Charlotte currently has an 8-4 lead in the annual competition between the rival clubs to see which can accumulate the most points in the eight-game season series. A Checkers win in regulation or overtime would allow them to clinch their second straight win in the competition with two games remaining in March.

Following a 5-2 loss in Norfolk on Nov. 27, Charlotte has won each of the last four games, all at home, with all four decided by one goal and two decided in overtime. The Checkers, who are in the midst of the longest run of consecutive road games (10) in team history, will return to Norfolk next Tuesday following a two-game set in Hershey this weekend.

Charlotte

While they didn’t get the results they needed as they began their road swing against the Western-Conference-leading Texas Stars last weekend (one point from two games), the Checkers hope that they’ve built the kind of foundation they’ll need to make a big push for the playoffs in the season’s final 24 games. Including a three-goal comeback against Abbotsford that ended a five-game winless skid on Feb. 16, they’re 2-1-1 in their last four.

“Obviously we need wins but we’ve got to keep playing the way we’re playing,” said coach Jeff Daniels. “The last four games we’ve played the right way. You look back at the way we came back in Abbotsford, played in Norfolk and then the two games in Texas - that’s got to be the way we play.”

“I think we played five good periods out of six in Texas,” said Chris Terry, excluding three goals allowed in the first period of Friday’s 4-1 loss. “After that we played them even that game and the second game was a playoff-like game.”

In that second game, the Checkers received a boost from veteran goalie Justin Peters, who made 34 saves in the first start of his conditioning stint from Carolina and his first AHL appearance since Charlotte’s first game of the season on Oct. 4. According to Daniels, Peters will start every remaining game for as long as his stint lasts.

“We threw him right in the deep end, but he wants to compete,” said Daniels of using Peters on Saturday with only two practices under his belt since returning from the NHL’s Olympic break. “That’s why he’s here - because he wants to play. I really liked his game and I know he’ll keep getting better just with more time on the ice.”

“I’ve been working hard to try to avoid (being rusty),” said Peters. “I knew I was going to get an opportunity at some point. I didn’t know when and I didn’t know where, but I knew at some point that it was going to come. It was fun that it was a close, competitive game to get the juices flowing again in a game situation.”

With Peters in net, the Checkers held their opponent to fewer than three goals in regulation for the first time since Jan. 31. Another Hurricanes goalie, Cam Ward, was in goal for that night’s 1-0 loss in Lake Erie.

Peters’ presence and anticipated workload allow the Checkers to be cautious with John Muse, who is close but not yet available following an injury suffered in the most recent game against Norfolk – a 4-3 victory on Feb. 18. He is on the team’s trip along with Greg Nemisz, who has missed the last six games, with both potentially available to play in Hershey. Rookie forward Brendan Woods, who missed the last game in Texas, is out four-to-six weeks.

If the current injury situation holds, Charlotte would have no extra players available at forward. They do have an extra defenseman, with veteran Matt Corrente and rookie Keegan Lowe taking turns on the sidelines in the last four games.

Norfolk

Even after earning points in 18 of their last 24 games (15-6-3) – a run very similar to the kind Charlotte will need to make the playoffs – Norfolk is fighting to stay above the cutoff line in a tight Eastern Conference race. As the eight seed, they are only one point ahead of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and four points behind fourth-place St. John’s. Since their loss to Charlotte, they dropped a 4-1 game in Albany before rebounding with a 3-2 win in Springfield on Sunday.

Tonight’s game could be a battle of NHL goaltenders on conditioning stints, with Peters going for Charlotte and Viktor Fasth joining from Anaheim on Friday. Fasth, who posted a 2.18 goals-against average and .921 save percentage with the Ducks last season, has only played seven total games at all levels during the current campaign.

In his first game action since suffering an injury prior to an NHL game on Nov. 22, Fasth stopped 29 of 32 in Saturday’s loss to Albany. Should he rest against the Checkers, the Admirals could turn to former AHL Goaltender of the Year Brad Thiessen, who made 49 saves against the Checkers on Jan. 19 but took last week’s loss, or top rookie John Gibson, who leads the league with five shutouts.

“No matter who they put in the net they’ve got a lot of options,” said Daniels. “Gibson’s been lights out for them this year, Thiessen always plays well against us and Fasth is there now. Pick your poison.”

For the season, the Admirals rank second in the AHL with an average of 2.53 goals allowed per game. However, the Checkers scored four or more in each of the last four meetings at Time Warner Cable Arena.

“We’ve got to win in their barn now,” said Daniels. “They’re a big, strong physical team, and we’ve got to play a simple game against them. You know you’ve got to work, you know you’ve got to pay the price to go to those tough areas to score goals.”

The Admirals received defenseman Sami Vatanen, fresh off a bronze-medal win with Finland, from Anaheim on Tuesday. Vatanen has 51 points (10g, 41a) in 68 career AHL games, including six in six this season. He led all defensemen with five assists at the Olympics.

Forward Devante Smith-Pelly, who accounted for all of his team’s goals with a hat trick against Charlotte last week, did not miss a game after taking a puck to the face in the final minutes of that contest. However, he did not score a point in his two subsequent outings..

Checkers Notes

Against Norfolk

In 33 previous meetings between Charlotte and Norfolk, the Checkers have a record of 18-12-3, including a 4-1-0 mark this season. The home team has won all five-match ups this season.

In the two previous seasons of its existence, each team captured one GEICO Challenge Cup, which is awarded to the team that finishes with the most points at the conclusion of the eight-game season series. Charlotte won with a 5-3-0 record last season but went just 2-5-1 against the Admirals during their Calder Cup season in 2011-12. Charlotte can clinch its second consecutive victory with a regulation or overtime win tonight.

The Checkers and Admirals were formerly East Division rivals in the Checkers' inaugural AHL season in 2010-11, with Norfolk just one of two Eastern Conference teams (Hershey) that the Checkers have played since moving to the Western Conference the following season.

Shootout Star

Chris Terry scored in the shootout against Texas on Feb. 22 to improve to a combined 5-for-5 at the AHL (3-for-3) and NHL (2-for-2) levels this season. He leads both the Checkers and Carolina Hurricanes in shootout goals, making him the only player to currently lead his AHL team and its NHL affiliate in shootout goals.

Terry is 18-for-40 (45 percent) in his five full AHL seasons and is the Checkers' all-time leader with 15 shootout goals.

Floodgates Open

Now in his eighth professional season, Mark Flood scored his 12th goal of the campaign against Texas on Feb. 22 to top his career high set with Manitoba in 2010-11. The 29-year-old had already set a new team record for most goals by a defenseman in a single season by netting his 11th in 46 games to break Bobby Sanguinetti's record from 2011-12.

Flood, who scored just one goal in 52 games in the Russian KHL last season, ranks second in terms of goals by AHL defensemen and is tied for second among league blueliners with seven power-play goals.

Peters Returns

Two time AHL All-Star goalie Justin Peters, who set Checkers' single-season records (minimum 20 games) with a 2.29 goals-against average, .921 save percentage and six shutouts last season, made his first Checkers appearance since the season's opening game on Oct. 4 with his start against Texas on Feb. 22. In his first game since rejoining the team on a conditioning stint, he made 34 saves in regulation and overtime of that 3-2 shootout loss, giving him a 1.92 goals-against average and .943 save percentage at the AHL level last season.

With Peters in net, the Checkers held their opponent to fewer than three goals in regulation for the first time since Jan. 31 (10 games) when another Carolina Hurricanes goaltender, Cam Ward, allowed one goal in a loss to the Lake Erie Monsters.

Murphy's Helping Hand

Since joining the Checkers from the Carolina Hurricanes on Jan. 24, Ryan Murphy has 12 points, all assists, in 12 games with Charlotte, tying him with Mark Flood for the most by a Checkers defensman all season. Murphy has assists and points in each of his last seven games (8a), tying him with Portland's Brandon Gormley for the longest active assist streak in the AHL and the longest posted by any league defenseman all season. Should he extend his assist streak by one more game, he would tie the longest posted by any AHL player (Rochester's Phil Varone from Oct. 4-Nov. 1) this season.

Murphy, the Hurricanes' first-round pick (12th overall) in 2011, now has 16 assists in 20 career AHL games dating back to last season, including five Calder Cup Playoff games. Ten of those assists came on the power play.

On the Road Again

The Checkers' 10-game road swing that began with an 0-1-1 weekend in Texas on Feb. 21 and 22 is the longest in the team's four AHL seasons, narrowly eclipsing a pair of nine-game segments from Oct. 28-Nov. 13, 2011 (5-4-0), and from Oct. 13-31, 2012 (6-2-1).

Charlotte, whose 22 road games to date are the fewest of any AHL team, is 10-10-2 on the road this season. Its current four-game winless streak on the road (0-3-1 since Feb. 4) ties the second longest in the league.

The Big Three

Along with Texas, the Checkers are one of two teams to feature three or more players among the AHL's top 20 scorers. Zach Boychuk and Chris Terry are tied for the team scoring lead and for 12th in the AHL with 45 points apiece, while Aaron Palushaj is tied for 15th with 44 points.

All three players have held sole possesion of the Checkers' scoring lead at one point this season and are on pace for their best scoring seasons at the AHL level. At their current pace, Boychuk and Terry would break Boychuk's team record of 65 points set in the 2010-11 season with 69 and 68, respectively, while Palushaj would fall just short at 64.

Boychuk Burst

Checkers forward Zach Boychuk leads the Checkers and is tied for fourth in the AHL with 23 goals, which ties his career high set last season. He has hit the 20-goal mark in the AHL in each of his four seasons with the Checkers.

Boychuk's 13 power-play goals are tied for the most in the AHL and are a new record for the most scored by a Checkers player in a single season.

Working Overtime

Though three of the Checkers' last six games have gone to overtime, their seven overtime games this season are still the fewest of any AHL team. Charlotte is 4-3 in overtime games this season, including a 3-1 record in the five-minute period and a 1-2 record in the shootout.

By scoring seven times on 16 shootout opportunities this season, the Checkers, who have been to a league-low three shootouts, have the third-best conversion rate in the league at 43.8 percent. However, their identical 43.8 save percentage is the league's third-lowest.

Quick Hits

• Since the calendar turned to 2014, the Checkers have played nine back-to-back sets against the same opponent. Charlotte is 2-7-0 in the first half of those sets and 6-1-2 in the second.
• Though the Checkers have been shut out just once this season, they have scored just one goal on 12 separate occasions.
• The Checkers are 4-3-0 against Eastern Conference teams this season.
• Charlotte's two shorthanded goals are tied with Adirondack for the fewest in the league

Player Streaks

• Ryan Murphy has assists and points in each of his last seven games (Feb. 7-Feb. 22: 0g, 8a)

Milestones

• Michal Jordan is two shy of 250 professional games
• Brett Sutter is three shy of 500 professional games
• Matt Corrente is four shy of 250 professional games
• Justin Shugg is four shy of 100 professional points
• Chris Terry played his 350th career AHL game on Feb. 21

Injuries

• Greg Nemisz - missed six games starting Feb. 9
• John Muse - missed two games starting Feb. 21
• Brendan Woods - missed one game starting Feb. 22

Transactions

Incoming

• Feb. 19 - (G) Justin Peters assigned to Charlotte on conditioning stint from Carolina (NHL)

Outgoing

• None