Game Preview: Checkers at Rockford (Jan. 12, 2015)

The Checkers wrap up a tough road swing through the Midwest Division tonight in Rockford.

The road trip started well enough for the Checkers, as they collected three of a possible four points in the standings in the first two games, but was derailed Saturday night with a brutal 5-0 drubbing at the hands of the Milwaukee Admirals.

Following tonight's contest, the Checkers will return to Charlotte for a quick weekend series against the Toronto Marlies.

Charlotte

The Checkers ongoing struggle to score goals continues to haunt the team, but they found a way to escape a three-game stretch with three out of a possible six points in the standings.

After securing a point but falling in overtime last Wednesday at Grand Rapids, followed by a two-goal rally to topple the Griffins two nights later , the Checkers appeared to be finding their way back to the right track, extending their points streak to three games.

But a 5-0 stomping in Milwaukee the following night brought the team back down and, once again, highlighted the Checkers' lack of firepower. Charlotte has scored two goals or fewer in 24 of their 36 games this season, going 4-15-5 in those contests. Much of that can be traced back to the team lacking a prolific point producer, as the Checkers are the only team in the AHL without a single player who has scored at least 20 points.

Although they found a way to come back and win last Friday in Grand Rapids, the Checkers have not been able to get those come from behind victories for the majority of the season. They have ended the first period trailing 15 times this season and have only went on to win one of those games.

On the other side of the ice, the Checkers' goalie tandem seem to be moving in two different directions. Drew MacIntyre, who has taken the majority of the starts for Charlotte, has earned at least a point in each of his last five starts, going 3-0-2. Over that stretch, the veteran has recorded a goals against average of 1.76 and a save percentage .941. John Muse, on the other hand, has gone 0-4-1 in his last five starts, with a goals against average of 3.42 and a save percentage of .903.
While Muse's stretch has been significantly worse, both in terms of personal stats and team results, he hasn't gotten much in terms of offensive support. In Muse's last five starts, the Checkers have only been able to produce six goals. MacIntyre has enjoyed much more help, getting 12 goals in his last five starts. Over the course of the season so far, Muse has gotten far less support, with 25 goals in 13 starts (1.92 goals per game) to MacIntyre's 56 goals in 24 starts (2.33 goals per game).

Milwaukee

The IceHogs host the Checkers looking to rebound from back-to-back losses to the Milwaukee Admirals last week, including a tightly contested 1-0 overtime loss this past Friday.

Those losses came despite the brilliance of goalie Michael Leighton. Leighton, who set an IceHogs franchise record for a shutout streak of 187:29, spanning fron the second period of their 12/31 game against Grand Rapids to overtime on 1/9 against the Admirals. Leighton, who has appeared in slighty more games than Scott Darling, is 2-1-1 in his last five games with a goals agaisnt average of 1.11 and a save percentage of .964.

Offensively, the IceHogs have been paced by defenseman T.J. Brennan. Brennan's 29 points (8g, 21a) lead the team and rank third among AHL defensemen. He also leads AHL blue liners in assists and three points in his last four games.

Aside from Brennan, the IceHogs have been propelled by a collective goal-scoring effort, as they are one of just eight teams in the league that boast at least five 20-point scorers. Mark McNeil ranks third in scoring (22; 11g, 11a) and has four points in his last six games, while Garret Ross leads the team in goals with 12.

The IceHogs will most likely be without star rookie Teuvo Teravainen for tonight's contest as he has been with in the NHL with the Chicago Blackhawks since his callup on 1/2. The first-round pick put up 23 points (6g, 17a) in 33 games before the recall, and helped power Rockford to a 14-4-1 record out of the gate. In the three games since losing Teravainen, the IceHogs have gone 1-1-1.

Checkers Notes

Against Rockford

Tonight's game begins the four-game season series between Charlotte and Rockford, with the teams not playing again until they face each other three consecutive times between April 11-15. After tonight, the only teams on Charlotte's schedule it has yet to face this season will be Toronto, which it hosts this Thursday and Friday, and Lake Erie, which it first faces on Feb. 10.

The Checkers hold an 11-7-2 all-time record against the IceHogs, including a 7-2-1 mark in Rockford. Charotte went 4-3-1 in last season's eight-game series.

Of players remaining from last season's roster, Zach Boychuk led all Checkers skaters with six points (3g, 3a) against Rockford, with Justin Shugg, Brody Sutter and Keegan Lowe tying for second with four points apiece. For Rockford, Garret Ross (4g, 1a) and Klas Dahlbeck (2g, 3a) lead returning skaters with five points in last season's series.

Charlotte's John Muse picked up three of Charlotte's four victories against Rockford last season, going 3-1-0 with a 3.47 goals-against average and .894 save percentage. The IceHogs' Michael Leighton, a fomer Carolina Hurricane who won AHL Goaltender of the Year honors while playing for the club's top affiliate in Albany at the time, and Scott Darling, who backed up Muse for two games while on a PTO with Charlotte from Feb. 2-5, 2012, have previous ties to the Checkers.

Coming up Empty

The Checkers suffered their third shutout of the season, all of which took place on the road, in Milwaukee on Jan. 10. That equals the amount of times the Checkers failed to score a goal all of last season, with all of those taking place on the road as well. The club record for most times shut out in a single season is six, set in 2011-12. Meanwhile, the Checkers are one of two AHL teams (Iowa) that have yet to shut out an opposing team this season.

For the season, the Checkers rank last in the AHL in goals (81) and goals per game (2.19). They have scored two goals or fewer in 24 of their 37 games this season (4-15-5 record in those games), including seven of their last eight (2-3-3).

LaRose Takes Over

Chad LaRose has goals in two of his last three games dating back to Jan. 7, which coincides with his taking sole possession of the team's scoring lead. He now has 19 points on the season, breaking what had been a three-way tie with Ryan Murphy and Justin Shugg. He also leads the team in shorthanded points (three - t-3rd AHL), is tied for second in power-play points (four) and leads the team in shots on goal (89). Seven of LaRose's nine goals on the season have come in his last 15 games.

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 year away from hockey. He now has 102 points (50g, 52a) in 161 career AHL games with Lowell and Charlotte.

MacIntyre Cracks Top 10

Since becoming the 12th goaltender in the AHL's 78-year history to reach 200 wins on Dec. 13, Checkers goalie Drew MacIntyre, who has picked up 11 of the Checkers' 13 wins this season, has picked up three more victories to move into a tie with Neil Little for 10th on the league's all-time list.

MacIntyre, a 31-year-old veteran now playing his 12th professional season with his eighth AHL club, is just 29 wins away from tying Frederic Cassivi for fifth on the all-time wins list. He has a 203-126-24 record, 2.44 goals-against average, .937 save percentage and 16 shutouts in 376 career AHL games dating back to the 2004-05 season. He currently ranks fifth in the league with 661 saves this season.

The Checkers have earned points in each of MacIntyre's last five starts dating back to Dec. 19 (3-0-2).

Shugg Leading The Way

Checkers forward Justin Shugg extended his team lead with his 12th goal of the season against Texas on Jan. 4. In just 26 games this season, the fourth-year forward is now just four shy of his career high set in 75 games last season. He is currently tied for 19th in AHL goal scoring and ranks tied for 20th with an 18.5 shooting percentage. In terms of points, his 17 on the season trail Chad LaRose by two for the team lead.

Shugg, the Carolina Hurricanes' fourth-round pick in 2010, averaged 40 goals in each of his last two junior seasons with Windsor and Mississauga of the OHL. He won back-to-back Memorial Cups in 2009 and 2010 and, after losing in the 2011 Memorial Cup final, captured an ECHL Kelly Cup with the Florida Everblades in 2012.

Power Outage

The Checkers are 1-for-34 on the power play (2.9 percent) over their last nine games dating back to Dec. 21. During that time, they have fallen to 30th in the AHL with a season-long percentage of 8.7. With Ryan Murphy (seven points, all assists) in the NHL, no active Checker has more than four points on the power play this season (Chad LaRose, Brock McGinn and Justin Shugg).

In their previous four AHL seasons, the Checkers never finished lower than fifth in the league in terms of power-play percentage. Their lowest-ever percentage to finish a season was 19.8 percent. The lowest recorded power-play percentage for a season in AHL history is 10.4, set by the Rochester Americans in 2001-02.

Road Woes

The Checkers' 5-0 loss in Milwaukee on Jan. 10 dropped them to 4-12-3 on the road this season, including losses in 13 of their last 15 games (2-10-3).

The team's 11 points earned on the road this season are the second-fewest in the league next to Rochester's five. Charlotte has scored two goals or fewer of 14 of 19 road games this season yet has been within one goal heading into the third period in 12 of those games.

Quick Hits

• The Checkers have earned points in each of Drew MacIntyre's last five starts (2-0-3) dating back to Dec. 19 and are winless in each of John Muse's last five starts (0-4-1) dating back to Dec. 27.
• Brendan Woods' 16 points (7g, 9a) in 35 games are double what he produced in 42 games last season.
• Andrej Nestrasil has 17 PIM in two AHL games this season. He had 32 in 120 career games (all with Grand Rapids) prior to that.
• Since killing 25 consecutive penalties over parts of eight games, the Checkers have allowed a power-play goal in each of their last three (10-for-15, 66.6 percent).
• The Checkers' 22 first-period goals tie the fewest scored by any team in any period this season.
• Charlotte's six shorthanded goals are tied for third in the league and are three more than its league-low total from all of last season.
• The Checkers have lost each of their last four overtime games dating back to Dec. 2 (three OTL, one SOL). They are now 2-5 in overtime games this season.
• Kyle Hagel is tied for the AHL lead in major penalties (12)

Streaks

• The Checkers have earned points in each of Drew MacIntyre's last five starts (Dec. 19-Jan. 9: 3-0-2)
• Alex Aleardi has goals and points in each of his last two games (Jan. 4-7: 2g, 1a)

Injuries

• Gabriel Desjardins - missed four games starting 1/4
• Beau Schmitz - missed 15 games starting 12/10
• Greg Nemisz - missed 16 games starting 12/8 (out for season)
• Brody Sutter - missed 25 games starting 11/15

Milestones

• Jared Staal is one shy of 200 AHL games
• Justin Shugg is one shy of 50 AHL assists
• Zach Boychuk is two shy of tying Chris Terry for the franchise's all-time goals lead (104)
• Andrew Rowe is two shy of 100 pro assists
• Alex Aleardi is three shy of 100 professional games
• Zach Boychuk played his 300th AHL game on 1/10
• Chad LaRose scored his 50th AHL goal on 1/9

Transactions

Incoming

• Jan. 8 - (C) Andrej Nestrasil assigned to Charlotte on conditioning stint from Carolina (NHL)
• Jan. 8 - (LW) Zach Boychuk assigned to Charlotte from Carolina (NHL)
• Jan. 8 - (D) Michal Jordan assigned to Charlotte from Carolina (NHL)

Outgoing

• None