Game Preview: Checkers vs. Iowa (Dec. 6, 2014)

After the Norfolk Admirals stunned them late on Tuesday, the Checkers will look to get back on the right track and extend their home points streak to six games as the Iowa Wild come to town.

The team is enjoying their winningest stretch of the season thus far, sweeping Milwaukee last weekend before falling to Norfolk in overtime, givign the Checkers five out of a possible six points in the standings. The three-game points streak is the longest that the team has had this season, as is the current five-game points streak on home ice.

This be Iowa's first trip to Charlotte this season. They previously hosted the Checkers for a two-game series in October, where the two clubs exchanged convincing wins.

Charlotte

Each of the three games during the Checkers' current streak has been decided by one goal. Following a collapse on Tuesday that saw the team blow a two-goal lead with under three minutes left and ultimately lose in overtime, head coach Jeff Daniels once again stressed the need to play a complete 60 minutes, but also pointed to another area in need of improvement.

"We've got to be better defensively," said Daniels. "I thought we got loose the last couple games, not only on shots on net but on the quality of those chances. We've got to start in our D zone and tighten up and get back to taking pride in that area."

Despite Tuesday's game against Norfolk being the first game this season that Daniels was "disappointed in the effort," the team was still able to escape with a point in the standings, extending its streak to three games. This success is finally coming to fruition after the team saw little reward for its solid play through the first two months.

"Obviously losing is tough, so I think getting a couple wins and getting a point the other night makes it a little easier coming to the rink for the guys, a little more excitement," said Daniels. "They've worked hard, they understood that eventually it was going to pay off. We stuck with it and it did this past week."

In order to keep that success going, the Checkers need to find a way to get production with the man advantage. Charlotte's power-play unit has struggled mightily over the last five games, only scoring once on 17 chances, despite having an abundance of talent out on the ice.

"They're out there because they're the skill guys, so they should be able to get something done on the power play," said Daniels. "They've been warned that they've got to start working and get something done, or else I'll give the other guys a chance to do something with the power play."

The Checkers are going up against an Iowa penalty kill that ranks last in the AHL at 76.1 percdnt.

Tonight will most likely mark the end of Chris Terry's conditioning stint with the team, as he is expected to join back up with the Hurricanes follwing the contest. The franchise's leading scorer has notched two points (1g, 1a) in his four games with the Checkers, and has certainly played a key part in helping this team secure wins.

"He didn't come down with any type of attitude, he came down to play," said Daniels at Friday morning's practice. "I think each game he's gotten better, and there's another level he can get to, and hopefully that's tomorrow night."

Iowa

The Wild come to town for the first time this season looking to get some sort of momentum going after playing two very formidable opponents, Texas and San Antonio, to tight, one-goal games, with Iowa losing to the Stars 4-3 and to the Rampoage 5-4 in a shootout.

It has been a rough start to the 2014-15 campaign for the Wild, who began the season 2-10 before firing head coach Kurt Kleinendorst and replacing him with John Torchetti, who coached the Minnesota Wild farm team before they moved to Iowa. Since the shake-up, the team has improved, going 3-4-2, but still finds itself stuck at the bottom of the league standings.

Offensively, the Wild have been powered by the trio of Tyler Graovac (7g, 10a), Michael Kernanen (4g, 12a) and Jordan Schroeder (5g, 10a). Former Checkers captain Brett Sutter ranks fourth on the team with 11 points (3g, 8a) in 21 outings. Marc Hagel, brother of Checkers forward Kyle Hagel, has nine points in just 12 games.

The team has struggled on the defensive side of the ice, ranking last in the league in goals against per game. The bright spot among their blueliners is Matt Dumba. The first-round pick was sent to Iowa last weekend and in the one game he appeared with them, he scored a goal and registered a +2 rating. Dumba joins Jonathon Blum (2g, 6a) and Danny Syvret (2g, 6a) to give the Wild a defensive corps that is capable of contributing on the offensive end.

Iowa's goaltending situation is the most intriguing aspect of their team, as veteran Josh Harding has joined the team after recovering from an injury. The 30-year-old has 151 NHL games under his belt for Minnesota and, aside from one game in 2012-13, hasn't played at the AHL level since 2006-07. In his first appearance for Iowa on Sunday, Harding made 50 saves, the most by an AHL goaltender this season, as the Wild fell 5-4 in the shootout.

Alongside Harding will be John Curry, whose 3.59 goals agaisnt average puts him second to last among active AHL goalies with over 360 minutes played. Johan Gustafsson, who has handled the majority of the workload this season, starting 14 of the team's 21 games, was assigned to Alaska of the ECHL yesterday morning.

Checkers Notes

Against Iowa

Tonight marks the third of eight meetings against the West Division rival Iowa Wild. Including a split in the first two games of this season in Iowa, the Checkers have an all-time record of 3-3-0 against the Wild since the franchise moved from Houston priro to the 2013-14 season. The Checkers have yet to record a home victory over Iowa, which defeated the Checkers in each of their first two home games last season.

Greg Nemisz (2g, 1a) and Jordan Schroeder (3g, 0a) lead their respective teams in scoring in this season's series. Drew MacIntyre recorded the Checkers' victory by stopping 26 of 27 shots in the 5-1 victory on Oct. 24. On the Iowa side, Josh Harding has yet to face the Checkers in his career, while John Curry took the loss on Oct. 24 while stopping 20 of 25.

Former Checkers captain Brett Sutter, cousin of Checkers forward Brody Sutter, is now in his first year in the Minnesota Wild organization and ranks fourth on Iowa in scoring with 11 points in 21 games. Sutter, who ranks fourth all-time with 255 games played for Charlotte, will be playing his first games at Time Warner Cable Arena as a visiting player. Marc Hagel, brother of Checkers forward Kyle Hagel, ranks fifth on the team with nine points (6g, 3a) in just 12 outings.

Home Sweet Home

Heading into Tuesday's matchup with Norfolk, the Checkers had won four straight on home ice, one away from the franchise-best streak. Despite snapping that run with the overtime loss, they still earned a point, giving them five consecutive home games with a point, two shy of their best mark set in 2012-13.

The Checkers were also able to put together their first back-to-back wins of the season this weekend, sweeping a Milwaukee team that entered the series with six wins in their last nine games and boasted the league's best goalie and stingiest defense. That marked the first winning streak since March 29-30 of last season.

This recent success at home is a stark contrast to the team's results on the road, where the Checkers have lost four straight and failed to record a point in six straight. Charlotte will enjoy two more games in the friendly confines of Time Warner Cable Arena this weekend before heading out on a three-game road trip.

Shorthanded Firepower

The Checkers' five shorthanded goals are tied for the second-most in the league and are two more than their league-low total from all of last season.

Chad LaRose leads the league in shorthanded assists and is tied for second in shorthanded points (3). Greg Nemisz and Brendan Woods share the team lead with two shorthanded markers apiece, tying them both for the league lead as well.

Shootout Success

Including Sunday's win over Milwaukee in their first opportunity of the season, the Checkers have won each of their last four shootouts dating back to March 7 of last season.

With the only goal of Sunday's win, Justin Shugg is now tied with Zac Dalpe for the second-most shootout goals in franchise history (seven in 14 attempts - 50 percent). Chris Terry is the franchise's all time leader with 16 shootout goals in 36 attempts (44.4 percent).

Finding Their Groove

After recording just three points in his first 13 contests, Brock McGinn seems to have found his scoring touch, racking up six points in his last six games. The rookie has pulled into third in goals on the team and is tied for second in points. His 53 shots are the most by a Checkers player this season.

Brendan Woods, who roared out of the gates with four assists in his first six games, has scored twice in the last four contests, bringing his season point total to eight (3g, 5a), matching his total from all of last season. Two of Woods' goals have come shorthanded, tied for the most in the league.

Shuggernaut

Since returning from an early season injury, Justin Shugg has recorded eight points in nine games, including goals in each of his first four games back. Shugg's seven goals rank second on the team, despite playing in only 12 games. It has also put him nearly halfway to his career-high for goals in a season (16).

With a quick strike just 25 seconds into Tuesday's contest, Shugg now has 50 professional goals and has moved into the top 10 of the Checkers' all-time scoring list.

Worst Behavior

With 22.3 penalty minutes per game, the Checkers are the fourth-most penalized team in the AHL. They rank fourth in major penalties with 28, nine of which are courtesy of Kyle Hagel, who leads all AHL players in the category. Rasmus Rissanen has been assessed 15 minor penalties, the third highest total in the league. Opposing teams are 6 for 18 (33.3 percent) with the man-advantage against the Checkers over the last four games.

Quick Hits

• After scoring one goal in his first 13 games, rookie forward Brock McGinn has four in his last six and points in three straight games. He now ranks third on the team in goal scoring and is tied for second in points.
• Drew MacIntyre (3-for-3) is one of four AHL goaltenders to stop all shootout attempts this season.
• Charlotte is the only AHL team to have just one player reach double digits in terms of points (Greg Nemisz - 14).
• Greg Nemisz ranks seventh in the league in shooting percentage (27.6%) and Justin Shugg ranks 10th (26.9)

Injuries

• Patrick Brown - missed 10 games starting 11/10
• Brody Sutter - missed eight games starting 11/15

Streaks

• Brock McGinn has points in each of his last three games (Nov. 29-Dec. 2: 2g, 1a)
• Justin Shugg has points in each of his last three games (Nov. 29-Dec. 2: 2g, 1a)
• Ryan Murphy has assists and points in each of his last two games (Nov. 30-Dec. 2: 0g, 2a)

Milestones

• Keegan Lowe is eight shy of 150 AHL/professional minutes
• Danny Biega is six shy of 50 AHL/professional penalty minutes
• A.J. Jenks is two shy of 50 professional assists
• Greg Nemisz is four shy of 50 AHL/professional goals
• Brendan Woods is nine shy of 100 AHL/professional penlaty minutes

Transactions

Incoming

• Dec. 5 - (G) Drew MacIntyre assigned to Charlotte from Carolina (NHL)

Outgoing

• Dec. 3 - (LW) Kyle Jean released from PTO
• Dec. 3 - (LW) Gabriel Desjardins released from PTO