Game Preview: Checkers vs. Norfolk (Dec. 2, 2014)

The Checkers look to continue their newfound momentum as they continue a five-game homestand with tonight’s tilt against the Norfolk Admirals.

Having defeated the other Admirals (of the Milwaukee variety) twice last weekend, Charlotte enters tonight’s game on its first winning streak of the season. Their success at home goes back farther than at, as they have victories in each of their last four dating back to Nov. 10. Another win tonight would tie the longest home streak in team history, a record originally set from Nov. 20-30, 2011.

Charlotte and Norfolk are in the midst of a stretch in which they play each other once a week for four consecutive weeks, with this being the third matchup. The teams split the first two, with each team winning its home game. Following tonight’s game and two more home contests against Iowa this Saturday and Monday, the Checkers head back to Norfolk to face the Admirals next Wednesday.

Charlotte

Having entered the weekend series against Milwaukee believing that they deserved better results than what they were getting (only one win in their previous six games), the Checkers got the right mix of timely goals, defensive stands and key saves to earn two much-needed wins.

“It’s just a matter of finally getting rewarded for some hard work we’ve done over the last few weeks,” coach Jeff Daniels said Sunday.

The biggest difference came in the team’s offensive fortunes, as they netted seven goals in two games (excluding the tally awarded for Sunday’s shootout win) against what had been the AHL’s best defensive team. They did so with six different goal scorers, with rookie Brock McGinn the only player to collect more than one.

“When we get those opportunities, we’ve got to make sure we finish them,” said Daniels. “I thought we did that over the weekend and that’s got to continue going forward.”

At the other end, the Checkers still needed their goaltending to step up when needed, as Drew MacIntyre certainly did with a 39-save effort and a three-for-three performance in the shootout on Sunday. MacIntyre ended up getting both victories over the weekend as he took over for partner John Muse following the latter’s ejection for fighting Milwaukee counterpart Magnus Hellberg with just over nine minutes to play in regulation on Saturday.

One of the more experienced players on the team, MacIntyre, whether he plays tonight or not, knows better than anyone to not get too caught up in the team’s recent success.

“We’re not a consistent hockey team and we have to be,” he said following Sunday’s victory. “We’re not going to make up any ground in this league, we’re not going to make playoffs and we’re not going to do anything if we’re not consistent. We’ve got to feel good that we put a little string together, but we’ve got to realize that we haven’t done anything yet.”

“The weekend is over and now we’ve got to go out Tuesday night and prove ourselves again and commit to that 60 minutes of working hard, being structured, playing simple and playing smart,” said Daniels.

Daniels said that he could potentially get forward Jared Staal, who has missed the last six games due to injury, back for tonight’s contest. Patrick Brown and Brody Sutter will remain sidelined for the time being.

Norfolk

Although the Checkers have seen Norfolk twice since Nov. 18, they had two very different experiences.

In the first meeting in Charlotte, they took advantage of a team depleted by NHL recalls and a goaltender playing just his second game of the season to cruise to a 6-2 victory in Charlotte. Eight days later, offensive leaders Emerson Etem and Chris Wagner were back in the lineup and veteran Yann Danis, a former goaltender of the year in the AHL, had rounded back into form, stopping 29 of 30 shots to win 4-1.

“They were a different team last time we saw them because they had three or four guys down from Anaheim and that gave them a lot more depth up front,” said Daniels. “They’re a team that can play physical, they can skate, they attack on the rush and put a lot of pucks on net. Last time they got great goaltending and we’re going to have to do a better job of capitalizing on our chances.”

Since signing a pro tryout contract with the Admirals on Nov. 10, Danis has started seven of a possible eight games, including seven straight. He is now 3-4-0 on the season with a 2.87 goals-against average and .912 save percentage.

Backup Igor Bobkov, whose 4.70 GAA and .842 save percentage each ranked as the worst in the league before he recently dropped out of the official rankings due to limited minutes played, joined the parent Anaheim Ducks on Monday. To fill the void, the Admirals recalled rookie Ryan Faragher, who allowed three goals and lost his only career AHL game on Nov. 5, from ECHL Utah.

The last-place team in the Eastern Conference, Norfolk enters tonight’s game with wins in two of their last three games. They most recently suffered a 4-3 setback against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Saturday.

Louis Leblanc, a former first-round draft pick who scored twice against the Checkers last week, leads the Admirals with 12 points in 19 games. Former Checker Matthew Pistilli has two points (1g, 1a) in six games since signing a PTO on Nov. 17.

Checkers Notes

Against Norfolk

Tonight marks the third of eight meetings against Norfolk - the only Eastern Conference team the Checkers play this season. Including a split in the first two games of this season, the Checkers have an all-time record of 20-15-3 against their former East Division rival. The Checkers have an all-time home record of 12-7-1 against Norfolk, with the home team winning each meeting this season. Charlotte has won the season series in three of their four previous AHL seasons, with the exception coming in Norfolk's Calder Cup campaign in 2011-12.

Greg Nemisz leads the Checkers with three points (2g, 1a) against Norfolk this season, all three of which came in the Checkers' 6-2 win in Charlotte on Nov 18. John Muse stopped 26 of 28 shots to earn his first victory of the season in that same game, while Drew MacIntyre stopped 25 of 28 to take a 4-1 loss in Norfolk on Nov. 26.

Louis Leblanc (2g) and Brendan Bell (2a) lead the Admirals in scoring against the Checkers this season. Yann Danis has been in goal for both meetings, posting a 1-1-0 record with a 3.51 goals-against average and .891 save percentage.

Winning Streak

The Checkers have won each of their last two games, both against the Milwaukee Admirals at Time Warner Cable Arena over the weekend, giving them consecutive victories for the first time since March 29-30 of last season. Immediately prior to that, they had endured a season-long, three-game losing streak in regulation.

Charlotte's last won three in a row as part of a four-game streak from March 25-30 of last season.

Home and Road

Charlotte's current four-game winning streak at home dating back to Nov. 10 is their longest since Jan. 18-24 of last season and is part of a four-way tie (Grand Rapids, Manchester, Utica) for the longest active home winning streak in the AHL. A win over Norfolk tonight would tie the longest home winning streak in franchise history (Nov. 20-30, 2011) and tie the longest home winning streak posted by any AHL team at any time this season.

Meanwhile, the Checkers are winless in each of their last six road games (0-5-1) dating back to Oct. 25, which ties the franchise record set from Feb. 18-March 25, 2012 (0-2-4). It also is also tied for the second-longest active road winless streak in the AHL.

Shorthanded Firepower

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

Chad LaRose leads the league in shorthanded assists and is tied for the lead in shorthanded points (3). Greg Nemisz' two shorthanded goals are tied for the most in the league.

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).

Quick Hits

• After scoring one goal in his first 13 games, rookie forward Brock McGinn has four in his last five, including goals in two straight. He now ranks third on the team in goal scoring.
• 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 fifth in AHL shooting percentage at 28.6, while Justin Shugg ranks 14th at 24.0.
• Brendan Woods' seven points (2g, 5a) in 19 games are just one shy from his total from 42 games last season.
• Forward Kyle Hagel leads the AHL lead in major penalties (8)
• Rasmus Rissanen leads AHL defensemen and ranks third in the AHL overall with 15 minor penalties.

Injuries

• Patrick Brown - missed nine games starting 11/10
• Brody Sutter - missed seven games starting 11/15
• Jared Staal - missed six games starting 11/18

Streaks

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

Milestones

• Justin Shugg is one shy of 50 professional goals
• Chad LaRose recorded his 400th professoinal penalty minute on Nov. 30 and is one shy of 100 AHL penalty minutes
• Kyle Hagel played his 300th professoinal game on Nov. 30

Transactions

Incoming

• Nov. 25 - (LW) Chris Terry assigned to Charlotte on a conditioning loan from Carolina (NHL)

Outgoing

• Nov. 25 - (RW) Alex Aleardi assigned to Florida (ECHL) from Charlotte
• Nov. 25 - (D) Michal Jordan recalled to Carolina (NHL) from Charlotte