Game Preview: Checkers vs Grands Rapids (March 10, 2015)

The Checkers will look to defend their newfound home-ice advantage as they welcome the hottest team in the league to town.

Despite a setback Thursday against the Rampage, the Checkers have won five of their last six games at Time Warner Cable Arena, including coming one shy of the franchise record with a four-game home winning streak. They will look to keep that dominance going against a Griffins team that has the best record in the conference and has earned points in each of its last 15 games.

Charlotte

After a big win over the struggling Norfolk Admirals, head coach Jeff Daniels know his team is in for a challenege with the red hot Griffins, whose 15-game winning streak is the longest in the AHL since 2011-12.

"It’s going to be a great test for us," said Daniels. "They’re the top team in the league right now and winning a lot of games."

The Checkers have been succeptable to monster periods from their opponents, as evidenced several times this season. Facing the top-ranked offense in the league, their patchwork defenseive corps will have its work cut out for it. Daniels stressed the need to play mistake-free hockey to keep them in check.

"We know they’re skilled and we know they’ve got four lines that can play and their D are going to be active," said Daniels. "We can’t turn the puck over in the middle of the ice, because if we do that they’re going to counter, they’re going to attack and we’re going to spend some time on our heels."

The team has seen their offensive numbers inflate recently, with several players, including Zach Boychuk and Trevor Carrick, currently riding point streaks. But even with their top weapons firing on all cylinders, the Checkers best success will come by sticking with their identity, not getting into a shootout with the most lethal offense in the AHL.

"It’s about getting pucks behind their D and playing our game," said Daniels. "We can’t fall into the trap where we think we’re a finesse team and see what happens. We’ve got to play our game."

Lineup-wise, the Checkers should be fielding the same group they have been during this home stand, an interesting note if you saw Kyle Hagel's face after Sunday's game. During a fight with Norfolk's John Kurtz, Hagel took a punch to his right eye taht immediately began to swell. He headed to the locker room to get it looked at, then returned to finish the game shortly after. Yesterday morning, as a full participant in practice, Hagel's eye was completely swollen shut. But despite the ugliness of his eye, the forward will be ready to go tonight.

He's a character guy, you wouldn't expect anything else from him", said Daniels "He was on the bench and he said 'Whatever you need, I'll be out there to do it'. It takes a lot to keep him out of the lineup."

In net, Daniels continues to alternate between his goalies each start. Drew MacIntyre got the call Thursday against Norfolk, earning his second straight win, while Muse has dropped two of his last three starts. After hitting a hot streak that saw him overtake MacIntyre in both goals against average and save percentage, Muse has coem back to Earth, while MacIntyre has gotten back on track and taken the team lead back in both stats.

Grand Rapids

Should the Griffins come up empty against the Checkers tonight, it would mark the first time they have failed to earn a standings point since a 4-0 loss to Milwaukee on Jan. 31.

Since then, their 12-0-3 record, which included an impressive 7-1 statement win over their chief competitor in Oklahoma City, has propelled them to the top spot in the Western Conference. They are currently only two points shy of two Eastern Conference teams, Manchester and Hershey, for the highest point total in the entire league.

During their streak, which contains a nine-game win streak from Feb. 14-March 4, the Griffins have gone to overtime seven times. Each of their last two games, a loss at Milwaukee on Friday and a win in Rockford on Saturday, went to the extra session.

The Checkers may have caught something of a break in recent days with AHL scoring leader Teemu Pulkkinen (34 goals and 61 points in just 46 games) and goaltender Petr Mrazek (9-2-1, 2.06 goals-against average and .927 save percentage) both joining the parent Detroit Red Wings.

That said, the Griffins still have several weapons at their disposal, with four remaining players (Andy Miele, Mitch Callahan, Landon Ferraro and Nathan Paetsch) who would all immediately become Charlotte’s top scorer if they were to trade locker rooms today. Though not the Red Wings’ top option for a recall, Tom McCollum has played more games than any other Griffins goaltender this season while posting an 11-8-5 record with a 2.48 GAA and .906 SV%).

Checkers Notes

Against Grand Rapids

Tonight marks the fifth of eight meetings between the Checkers and Grand Rapids this season. The Griffins lead the series with a record of 3-1-0, though the Checkers have taken three of a possible four points in the last two meetings. In 16 all-time contests between the two clubs, the Checkers hold a 9-6-1 record, including a 4-4-0 mark in Charlotte.

Alex Aleardi (1g, 2a) leads all active Checkers in scoring against Grand Rapids this season, while Andy Miele (1g, 3a) sits atop all current Griffins.

In goal, Charlotte's Drew MacIntyre played the entirety of all four matchups, posting a 2.50 goals-against average and .928 save percentage. Tom McCollum is the only goalie on the team's active roster to have faced the Checkers this season. He shined in his two appearances against Charlotte, going 2-0-0 with a 1.49 goals agaisnt average and a .939 save percentage.

Home Cooking

A 5-2 loss to San Antonio on Friday snapped the Checkers' four-game winning streak at home. That tied their longest home winning streak of the season and put them one shy of the franchise record set from Nov. 20-30, 2011. Their home record is now firmly above .500 at 15-12-2.

Despite that setback, the Checkers rebounded Sunday and took down the Norfolk Admirals to give them five wins in their last six home games. This week's two-games series with Grand Rapids will close out a five-game home stand. Following their longest road trip of the season, the Checkers will return to Charlotte for their final home stand of the year, a season-long six-game stretch.

Meanwhile, the Checkers lost three games of a four-game trip to Canada last week and are now 7-18-4 on the road, with their 18 points earned away from home marking the fewest of any AHL team.

Boychuk's Back

Reigning AHL goal-scoring champion Zach Boychuk has found his scoring touch of late with six goals and nine points in his last 10 games. That gives him three more points than he scored in his first 13 games following his reassignment from Carolina on Jan. 8.

Five of Boychuk's 10 goals this season have come on the power play, putting him one behind Chad LaRose for the team lead in that category and making him responsible for 18.5 percent of the team's total (27 goals) despite playing in only 25 games. Boychuk led the AHL with 18 power-play goals last season, with that total accounting for exactly half of his team-record 36 on the campaign.

Boychuk is the Checkers' all-time leader with 112 goals and 51 power-play goals in 267 games played. He is currently riding a four-game point streak, tied for the longest active streak on the team.

Carrick Lights It Up

Rookie defenseman Trevor Carrick has found his scoring touch of late, recording five points (2g, 3a) in his last four games. His four-game point streak is tied with Zach Boychuk for the longest current streak on the team and is the second-longest by a Checkers defenseman this season.

Carrick currently leads all Checkers defensemen in goals (6) and points (19) and is tied for seventh among AHL rookie blue liners in scoring.

A fourth-round pick in 2012, the 20-year-old put up 51 points in his final season of junior last year, split between Mississauga and Sudbury, and ranked second among OHL defensemen in goals (22).

Powering Up

The Checkers have scored a power-play goal in six of their last seven games, going 6-for-28 (21.4 percent) during that time. As a result, their power play has risen out of the league's last spot it had occupied for several months and now ranks 28th in the AHL at 11.8 percent.

Killing It

Since Feb. 16, the Checkers have killed 27 of 29 penalties (93.1 percent) and have risen to 11th in the league with a season-long percentage of 85.5. However, since a goal by San Antonio's Shane O'Brien that ended a streak of 20 consecutive penalties killed over seven full games, the Checkers have allowed two power-play goals on their opponent's last 10 chances. They are just 18-for-25 (72 percent) against Grand Rapids, their opponent for the next two games.

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.

Shootout Success

The Checkers' four shootout victories this season (4-1 record) are tied for the second-highest total in the league behind San Antonio and Lehigh Valley (both 5-1).

Charlotte has accomplished that feat despite scoring just five goals on 23 attempts (.217, 21st AHL). Meanwhile, their goaltending tandem of Drew MacIntyre (19 saves on 20 attempts) and John Muse (three saves on four attempts) has given the Checkers the fourth-best save percentage in the league at .916 percent. In MacIntyre's only shootout loss of the season, he stopped seven of eight while receiving no goals of support. MacIntyre is tied for third in the AHL with three shootout victories, having stopped all comers in each win.

Quick Hits

• Drew MacIntyre ranks second in the AHL with 1,107 saves and fifth with 2,242 minutes played
• The Checkers are the only AHL team that has yet to record a shutout
• Charlotte's two shorthanded goals allowed are tied for the fewest in the league

Streaks

• Zach Boychuk has points in each of his last four games (3g, 2a)
• Trevor Carrick has points in each of his last four games (2g, 3a)
• Mike Cornell has assists and points in each of his last two games (1g, 2a)
• Ben Holmstrom has assists and points in each of his last two games (0g, 2a)
• Justin Shugg has points in each of his last two games (1g, 1a)
• Dennis Robertson has points in each of his last two games (1g, 1a)

Injuries

• Keegan Lowe - missed four games starting 2/27
• Chad LaRose - missed six games starting 2/25
• Gabriel Desjardins - missed 26 games starting 1/4
• Greg Nemisz - missed 38 games starting 12/8 (out for season)

Milestones

• Jared Staal is three shy of 50 pro points
• Brody Sutter is three shy of 50 AHL points
• Danny Biega is nine shy of 100 AHL/pro PIM
• Sean Dolan is nine shy of 100 AHL pro PIM
• Zach Boychuk is three shy of 200 AHL PIM
• Kyle Hagel is eight shy of 1,000 pro PIM

Transactions

Incoming

• March 3 - (D) Austin Levi recalled to Charlotte (AHL) from Stockton (AHL)
• March 3 - (C) Sean Dolan signed to PTO from South Carolina (ECHL)

Outgoing

• March 2 - (D) Rasmus Rissanen recalled to Carolina (NHL) from Charlotte