Game Preview: Checkers vs. Lake Erie (March 29, 2015)

The Checkers will look to rebound from a heartbreaking loss as they close out a two-game set against Lake Erie this afternoon.

Today's Salute to Heroes game is the fourth and final meeting between Charlotte and Lake Erie this season, with the Monsters winning each of the last two. It continues a six-game home stand for Charlotte that runs until April 12 and marks the last-ever games the team will play at Time Warner Cable Arena.

Immediately following today's game, a team of fire/medic personnel will face off against a police/sheriff team in a charity game that is free for all who were already in attendance.

Charlotte

The Checkers' quest for a fourth straight victory came to a heartbreaking end Friday night against the Lake Erie Monsters.

After surrendering two goals in rapid succession, the Checkers pulled goalie Drew MacIntyre in the waning minutes. Though they have struggled this season in both scoring goals with an extra attacker and not allowing their opponents to ice the game with an empty netter, things were clicking for them Friday.

Phil Di Giuseppe pulled them within one goal with 2:29 to go and then Brody Sutter appeared to notch the tying goal with under a minute to go, both with MacIntyre on the bench. While the apparent game-tying goal was called off, the Checkers were still able to muster pressure down the stretch when they needed it most, which was a vast improvement for them.

Di Giuseppe’s goal, his second in as many games, kept the rookie forward’s growing scoring touch going, giving him eight points in his last 13 games. His recent upswing in production has pushed him to second among team rookies in goals, assists and points, and fifth in scoring overall. Fellow first-year pro Trevor Carrick has also kept up his hot streak, notching a helper Friday night to give him 13 points in his last 13 games. Carrick holds the team lead in scoring among defensemen and rookie and his 21 assists lead all Checkers skaters.

The biggest offensive weapon for the Checkers as of late though has been Brody Sutter. The center has exploded for seven points in his last four games. Despite appearing in just 40 games so far this season due to injury, Sutter has racked up 22 points and has looked impressive doing so.

“He missed two months and that’s a lot of time to come back in midseason when guys are in top-end speed,” said head coach Jeff Daniels. “It took him a while to get his legs back and now his legs are going. He’s keeping it simple, moving his legs, going to the net and stopping in front of the net. He’s not doing anything out of the ordinary and as a result he’s getting rewarded.”

Between the pipes, the Checkers have returned to relying on MacIntyre, with the veteran starting seven of the last 10 games for Charlotte. MacIntyre hasn’t gotten the best results as of late, losing three of his last five appearances, but that’s not entirely on him, as he has allowed three goals or less in each of his last three games.

MacIntyre has been a workhorse for the Checkers this season, ranking second in the AHL in saves and fourth in minutes. He is also just two away from tying the franchise’s single season record for games played by a goalie.

Lake Erie

Friday night’s victory was a big step forward in the Monsters’ desperate race for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. With just 11 games remaining on their schedule, the Monsters find themselves seven points out of the eighth seed.

The biggest part of that win was the phenomenal play of Calvin Pickard in net. The Checkers tested him early with several great chances, but Pickard turned out dazzling stop after dazzling stop, much to the frustration of the home team.

“I thought he stopped some great chances throughout the game,” said Daniels.

 Like MacIntyre, Pickard has seen the brunt of the workload recently for Lake Erie, playing in 21 of their last 26 contests. The second-round pick was rewarded for his play Friday night with his first win in his last five starts.

The Monsters’ offense continued to find production from the blue line on Friday, as Stefan Elliott lit the lamp twice to move to second on the team in scoring. His 17 goals are also tied for the league lead among defensemen. Alongside Elliott has been Ben Youds, who, despite being held off the score sheet Friday, has recorded a point in six of his last eight games.

The bulk of their offensive output, however, has come from forward Andrew Agozzino. With a pair of helpers Friday, Agozzino extended his team scoring lead and racked up his 15th point in his last 10 games. He also is currently riding a 10-game point streak, tied for the longest-active in the AHL and tied for the longest in the league this season.

Checkers Notes

Against Lake Erie

Today's game in Charlotte conludes the four-game season series between the Checkers and Lake Erie. The Monsters have won two of three games, all of which have been decided by a single goal. Including those games, the Checkers are 6-6-3 all-time against Lake Erie and 3-4-0 in Charlotte.

Alex Aleardi leads all Checkers with two goals and three points against the Monsters this season. Ben Street leads Lake Erie with six points, all assists.

In goal, John Muse earned the win by stopping 39 of 40 shots on Feb. 10 and Drew MacIntyre has taken both losses while stopping 57 of 63 total shots (.905 save percentage) to take the next game's loss. Lake Erie's Calvin Pickard played all three games against the Checkers, going 2-1-0 with a 2.02 goals-against average and .939 save percentage.

Sutter Strikes

With five in his last four games, center Brody Sutter has doubled his goal output from the first 36 games of the season. He has seven total points during his recent four-game run, including two multi-goal games that are his only such games in the AHL aside from a two-goal effort in his first professional playoff game at Oklahoma City on April 26, 2013.

Sutter's current four-game point streak (5g, 2a) is the longest of his career, eclipsing a three-game run (0g, 3a) set from Dec. 27-30 of last season.

Sutter, who has been limited to just 40 games this season due to injury, has set a new career high of 10 goals, eclipsing the eight he scored in 69 games last season. He now has 12 points (5g, 7a) during the month of March. He has four multi-point games this month, including a career-high, three-point effort (2g, 1a) at Iowa on March 21.

MacIntyre's Workload

Checkers goalie Drew MacIntyre, who has played in eight of the team's last 10 games, ranks fourth in the AHL with 2,663 minutes played and is second with 1,326 saves. He would only need to appear in two of the team's last nine games to tie the franchise record for games played by a goaltender in a single season (48 by Justin Pogge in 2010-11).

His most recent victory in Norfolk was the 211th of his career, moving him into a tie with Nick Damore for ninth in AHL history. He is now just 21 away from tying Frederic Cassivi for fifth. MacIntyre, a 31-year-old veteran now playing his 12th professional season with his eighth AHL club, has a 211-140-25 record, 2.47 goals-against average, .935 save percentage and 16 shutouts in 399 career AHL games dating back to the 2004-05 season.

Though he has yet to record a shutout, MacIntyre has won five games by a 2-1 score. He owns a .933 save percentage in overtime games this season (42 saves on 45 shots) and has stopped 21 of 23 in the shootout. He is tied for the league lead in shootout victories this season (4-1 record).

Carrick Lights It Up

With 13 points in his last 13 games, Trevor Carrick currently leads all Charlotte defensemen in goals (six), assists (21) and points (27), all of which are new records for a Checkers roookie defenseman. Of his five multi-point outings this season, four have occurred during the month of March, including a trio of two-assist efforts in his last seven games.

Carrick currently ranks tied for third on the team in points and his 21 assists lead the team. Eleven of his assists have come on the power play, a total that leads the Checkers, is tied for fourth among all AHL rookies and is first among AHL rookie defensemen.

A fourth-round pick in 2012, the 20-year-old Carrick 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).

Shugg Takes Over

By scoring 16 points (6g, 10a) in his last 20 outings, Justin Shugg has taken over the Checkers' leads in goals (19, a new career high) and points (37). He ranks second on the team in assists with 18, three behind rookie defenseman Trevor Carrick.

Shugg, 23, now ranks sixth on the franchise's all-time points list with 109 points (47g, 63a) in 204 games played. He needs one more to pass Jerome Samson and move into the top five.

Powering Up

Dating back to Feb. 22, the Checkers have converted 14 of 57 power-play opportunities (24.6 percent). As a result, their power play has risen out of the league's lowest-ranked spot it had occupied since Dec. 14 and now ranks 28th in the AHL at 13.6 percent.

The Checkers have scored multiple power-play goals in a single game six times this season, all of which have come since Jan. 16.

Quick Hits

• The Checkers have more wins in March (6-4-0) than in any other month. Their 12 points tie January (5-6-2) for the most of any month.
• Charlotte's 19 shots taken in the third period of their last game against Lake Erie tied their second-highest total of the season.
• Kyle Hagel ranks second in the AHL with 22 major penalties, all fights.
• Chad LaRose is tied for the AHL lead with three shorthanded assists.
• The Checkers are the only AHL team that has yet to record a shutout.
• Phil Di Giuseppe leads all Checkers and ranks fourth among AHL rookies with 152 shots on goal.
• The Checkers' two shorthanded goals allowed mark the fewest in the AHL.

Streaks

• Brody Sutter has points in each of his last four games (March 21-27: 5g, 2a)
• Phil Di Giuseppe has goals and points in each of his last two games (March 25-27: 2g, 0a)

Injuries

• Greg Nemisz - missed 47 games starting 12/8 (out for season)

Milestones

• Drew MacIntyre is one shy of 400 AHL games
• Jared Staal is one shy of 100 AHL penalty minutes
• Justin Shugg is three shy of 50 AHL goals

Transactions

Incoming

• March 28 - (G) Rasmus Tirronen signed to amateur tryout contract

Outgoing

• March 24 - (LW) Carter Sandlak assigned to Florida (ECHL) from Charlotte