Game Preview: Checkers vs. Iowa (Feb. 19, 2015)

Having won two in a row for just the second time, the Checkers will look to make it their longest streak of the season as they host the struggling Iowa Wild for the second time in as many days.

Charlotte’s 4-1 win over the division-rival Wild on Wednesday marked the team’s first winning streak since it swept Milwaukee in a pair of games at Time Warner Cable Arena on Nov. 29 and 30. The team has not won three in a row since stringing together four straight on March 25-30 of last season.

Tonight’s game against the Wild, who have lost six in a row, closes a three-game home stand for the Checkers. They depart for a four-game road trip to Canada this weekend.

Charlotte

Since struggling out of the gate with four straight losses following the All-Star break, the Checkers have now won three of their last four heading into tonight’s game. It’s the kind of pace they’ll need to keep up to erase a 14-point gap in the playoff race with 25 games to go.

“We want more and obviously we’re not happy with where we’re sitting in the standings,” said coach Jeff Daniels. “You can either be content where you are or you can want more.”

With the team still suffering from defensive breakdowns this week – they lost a three-goal lead over Norfolk before winning in the shootout on Monday and needed an excellent 35-save performance from Drew MacIntyre to win by three on Wednesday – an increase in offense has helped the Checkers this week.

Leading the charge has been rookie Brock McGinn, who ended a 20-game point drought and a 29-game goal drought with three in two games this week. It’s similar to a stretch earlier this season when he scored one goal in his first 13 games before netting three in his next five.

“He should be feeling really good about himself,” said Daniels. “He’s a guy that’s capable of doing it. You see it in practice and you saw it last year (a 43-goal junior season with Guelph), and now it’s just a matter of translating to the pro level.”

Checkers scoring leader Chad LaRose provided the rest of the offense on Wednesday with two goals of his own, including his fourth shorthanded point of the season that tied him for the AHL lead. He now has nine goals in his last 17 games.

“It took me about 10-12 games of the season after taking a year and a half off there,” said LaRose. “I’ve been feeling good ever since then to be honest with you. I feel really poised with the puck.”

After scoring two goals or fewer in their previous six games (eight total), the Checkers have scored seven in two games this week.

The Checkers will have an interesting decision to make in goal for today’s game. One of the AHL’s most-used netminders this season, MacIntyre is no stranger to starting on back-to-back nights. That said, John Muse has played very well in winning his last two starts.

Charlotte may have been short on defense following an injury to Rasmus Rissanen on Wednesday if not for the Hurricanes' reassignment of captain Michal Jordan Thursday morning. Jordan scored his first three career NHL points (1g, 2a) in three games since joining Carolina last Friday.

Iowa

The Wild’s tough skid continued last night as they dropped their sixth straight game, the longest active streak in the AHL. It also gives them 12 losses in their last 14 contests, a stretch that has kept them trapped at the bottom of the league standings.

Iowa felt the loss of Michael Keranen, who was called up to Minnesota yesterday morning, as his 32 points were second on the team. The Wild’s struggling offense, ranked only one spot higher than the Checkers, could only put one puck past Drew MacIntyre last night thanks to a wide-open shot from the point by Danny Syvret. The team’s two current leading scorers, Tyler Graovac and Marc Hagel, were held off the score sheet as the Wild’s attack could not muster much aside from a flurry of chances that MacIntyre thwarted in the second period.

The Wild’s defense did not fare much better, allowing at least four goals for the second consecutive tilt. It also marked the 25th time this season that the team has allowed four or more goals. Their depleted blueline is certainly feeling the effects of the loss of AHL All Star Matt Dumba to the NHL. The rookie had racked up 14 points in 20 games and is the only player to have played for Iowa this year with a positive plus/minus rating.

Arguably their biggest deficiency in last night’s game, however, was between the pipes. John Curry made his fourth start in the last five games and was lit up by the Checkers for four goals on 21 shots. Following the fourth tally, a shorthanded breakaway by Chad LaRose that saw the netminder attempt a too-early poke check, Curry was pulled from the game. Johan Gustafsson came in midway through the third in relief and was perfect on the three shots he faced. Despite the disastrous start, Curry still holds a slight edge numbers-wise on Gustafsson, though both have struggled for much of the season. 

Checkers Notes

Against Iowa

Tonight is the sixth of eight regular-season games between Charlotte and Iowa, with the Checkers now holding a 3-2-0 edge thanks to Wednesday's 4-1 victory. Charlotte has an all-time record of 5-4-0 against Iowa, including a 2-3-0 mark at home. All nine meetings between the two clubs have been decided in regulation.

Checkers scoring leader Chad LaRose also leads the Checkers in goals (4) and points (5) against the Wild this season. Drew MacIntyre has started four games, going 3-1-0 with a 1.76 goals-against average and .941 save percentage, while John Muse lost his only appearance while stopping 25 of 28 shots in Iowa on Oct. 25.

Tyler Graovac leads the Wild in scoring for the season and against the Checkers with five points (1g, 4a) in five games. John Curry has gone 1-2-0 in his four starts this season, with a goals against average of 3.85 and a save percentage of .842. Johan Gustafsson has faced the Checkers twice this season, once as a start and once in releif, stopping 37 of 38 total shots.

Winning Streak

The Checkers' 4-3 shootout win over Norfolk on Monday and Wednesday's 4-1 win over Iowa mark just the second time the team has won consecutive games this season and first since beating Milwaukee at home on Nov. 29 and 30. The team has not won three consecutive games since doing so as part of a larger four-game streak from March 25-30 of last season - a a stretch that included two victories over the Iowa Wild.

Brock's Breakout

After going 29 games without a goal (Nov. 30) and 20 games without a point (Dec. 29), Checkers rookie forward Brock McGinn has found the back of the net three times in his last two games. McGinn has scored goals in six games this season, with the Checkers posting a 5-1-0 record in those contests.

McGinn, who scored 43 goals in his final junior hockey campaign with Guelph last season, has recorded two multi-goal games this season (Nov. 21 and Feb. 18). He is tied for third on the team with eight goals and is tied for fifth with 16 points in 49 games this season.

LaRose Takes Over

During a current stretch that has seen him score 18 points (12g, 6a) in his last 24 games, Chad LaRose has taken sole possession of both the team's scoring lead with 29 points (16g, 13a). In addition to being the team's overall points leader, he also leads the team in goals, power-play goals (six), power-play points (eight), shorthanded points (four - t-1st AHL) and shots on goal (136).

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 Ryan 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 113 points (57g, 56a) in 177 career AHL games with Lowell and Charlotte.

Offensive Breakout

After scoring just eight total goals in a six-game stretch from Jan. 30-Feb. 12, the Checkers have found the back of the net seven times in their last two outings (excluding a goal awarded for Monday's shootout win over Norfolk). Those two games mark the first time they have scored three or more goals in consecutive games since doing it in three straight games from Nov. 15-21, their only other such streak this season.

The Checkers are now tied with Norfolk for last in the league with an average of 2.18 goals per game.

We Meet Again

This week's series against Iowa marks the 20th time the Checkers have faced the same opponent in two consecutive games this season. They are a combined 5-11-4 in the first halves of those series, including wins in each of their last two openers, and are 10-8-1 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 seven of the Checkers' last nine games, ranks fourth in the AHL in minutes played (1,996) and is tied for second in saves (975). With 35 games played, he would only have to appear in 13 of the Checkers' last 25 to tie the single-season club record set by Justin Pogge in the inaugural 2010-11 campaign.

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 206 and is just 26 wins away from tying Frederic Cassivi for fifth. He has a 206-134-25 record, 2.45 goals-against average, .936 save percentage and 16 shutouts in 388 career AHL games dating back to the 2004-05 season.

Welcome Back Alex

Since returning from the ECHL's Florida Everblades on Jan. 4, forward Alex Aleardi has posted 10 points (6g, 4a) in 14 games, including four in his last four (3g, 1a). Even though Aleardi did not dress for four games since that recall, he ranks second on the Checkers in scoring behind Chad LaRose (18 games) during that time.

Aleardi, an undrafted forward who the Checkers signed to an AHL contract during the offseason, has 33 points (16g, 17a) in 71 career AHL contests with Springfield and Charlotte. He scored 19 points (8g, 11a) in 16 ECHL games with the Everblades this season.

Quick Hits

• Chad LaRose is tied for the league lead in shorthanded assists (3) and points (4).
• The Checkers are tied for fifth in the league with seven shorthanded goals, one behind the league leaders. They ranked last in the AHL with three last season.
• Charlotte is the only AHL team that has yet to record a shutout.
• The Checkers' two victories this week put them over the .500 mark at home (13-11-2). They are 6-15-4 on the road.

Streaks

• Brock McGinn has goals and points in each of his last two games (Feb. 16-18: 3g, 0a)
• Zach Boychuk has points in each of his last two games (Feb. 16-18: 1g, 1a)
• Dennis Robertson has assists and points in each of his last two games (Feb. 16-18: 0g, 2a)

Injuries

• Gabriel Desjardins - missed 18 games starting 1/4
• Greg Nemisz - missed 30 games starting 12/8 (out for season)

Milestones

• Jared Staal is three shy of 50 pro points and two shy of 100 pro penalty minutes
• Justin Shugg is four shy of 100 pro penalty minutes
• Zach Boychuk recorded his 150th AHL assist on Feb. 18

Transactions

Incoming

• Feb. 19 - (D) Michal Jordan reassigned to Charlotte from Carolina (NHL)

Outgoing

• Feb. 13 - (C) Jason Bast released from PTO to Idaho (ECHL)