Game Preview: Checkers vs. Norfolk (March 8, 2015)

The Checkers continue their home stand by saying farewell to an old rival as they host the Norfolk Admirals for the final time this afternoon.

Today's game will mark the seventh of eight meetings between Charlotte and its closest regional opponent. As part of a restructuring that will see the Norfolk team move to the ECHL next season, this will mark the last-ever meeting in Charlotte between the clubs, who have played each other extensively over the last five seasons.

This is also the third game of Charlotte's five-game home stand that continues with games against Grand Rapids this Tuesday and Thursday.

Charlotte

The Checkers saw a pair of streaks come to an end in their most recent game against San Antonio on Thursday.

First was their overall two-game winning streak that seems modest but was only one of three times the team has won consecutive games this season. More notable was their four-game win streak at home, which came one short of tying the franchise record set in November of 2011.

In snapping those streaks, the Checkers played a see-saw battle with San Antonio that saw them give up the earliest goal they have all season, come ever-so-close to building a two or perhaps even three-goal lead but eventually fall by a 5-2 score as frustrations mounted late.

“At the start of the second period we had at least four or five great chances,” said coach Jeff Daniels. “When you’re a team that doesn’t score a lot and you get great chances, you’ve got to score goals.”

That’s been a season-long struggle for the Checkers, who rank 29th in the AHL in terms of goals scored, but they have had some individual players step up lately. Reigning AHL goals champion Zach Boychuk has recently looked the part with six in his last nine games, including one in each of his last three outings. Rookie Trevor Carrick is also enjoying the best offensive stretch of his pro career with four points (2g, 2a) in his last three games, and Brock McGinn, though he has cooled off with four straight games without a point, still has six (5g, 1a) in his last eight games.

With scoring leader Chad LaRose not much closer to returning from an injury that was thought to keep him out of most, if not all, of the remaining season, those players, and others, will continue to be counted upon down the stretch.

In goal, Drew MacIntyre will likely get a chance to build upon one of his more impressive efforts of the season – one that saw him make 40 saves in regulation and overtime, including a penalty shot with the game tied in the third period, and six more in the shootout. Heading into that game, the veteran had lost seven of his previous eight outings and entered a more even timeshare with John Muse, who took the loss on Thursday.

Still shorthanded on defense, as they will be for the rest of the season with Michal Jordan, Ryan Murphy and Rasmus Rissanen set to finish up in Carolina, the Checkers’ only extra player will be at the forward position. Carter Sandlak was their healthy scratch on Thursday.

Norfolk

The Admirals enter today’s game also needing to make up serious ground in the playoff picture. They are the Checkers’ Eastern Conference twin in that regard, with each team ranking 14th with a double-digit deficit thanks in part to sluggish offenses. Norfolk is the only AHL team that has scored fewer goals than Charlotte has this season.

Given those circumstances, Norfolk has also taken its lineup lumps of late. AHL All-Star Chris Wagner is now with an Anaheim Ducks club gunning for the top spot in the AHL and William Karlsson was traded for more experienced players that could help them to do this season. Veterans Dany Heatley, Brendan Bell and Brad Winchester have all joined contending AHL clubs.

The team did receive a little bit of firepower at the trade deadling, with Mike Sgarbossa (25 points) joining from Lake Erie. He now ranks second among active Admirals in scoring behind rookie Nic Kerdiles (26 points). Fellow first-year player Stefan Noesen, a 2011 first-round draft pick who has played just 16 pro games due to numerous injuries, is now healthy and has 10 points (4g, 6a) in 14 games this season.

In their most recent game, a 3-2 overtime loss to Binghamton on Friday, the Admirals fired 51 shots on goal.

In goal, former ECHL Checkers Jason Labarbera has seen the bulk of the workload, playing 16 of a possible 25 games in 2015. Backup Ryan Faragher has played six career AHL games, all this season.

Checkers Notes

Against Norfolk

Tonight marks the seventh of eight meetings against Norfolk - the only Eastern Conference team the Checkers play this season - and the final time that the Admirals, who are moving to the ECHL next season, visit Charlotte. Including a 2-2-2 record this season, the Checkers have an all-time mark of 22-15-5 against their former East Division rival, including a 12-7-2 mark at home. Charlotte has won the season series three times in their four AHL campaigns, with the exception coming during the Admirals' 2011-12 Calder Cup campaign.

Of active Checkers, Trevor Carrick (1g, 2a), Justin Shugg (2g, 1a) and Brendan Woods (2g, 1a) lead the team with three points (2g, 1a) apiece. John Muse has started four games, going 2-1-1 with a 2.60 goals-against average and .927 save percentage, while Drew MacIntyre is 0-1-1 with a 2.86 GAA and .921 SV%.

Nic Kerdiles leads the Admirals in scoring against the Checkers this season with six points (3g, 3a) in five games. Jason LaBarbera, who played 48 games for the ECHL Checkers from 2000-02, lost his only apparance against them this season in the shootout after making 35 saves in regulation and overtime. Ryan Faragher has never faced the Checkers.

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.

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 eight points in his last nine games. That gives him two 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 19.2 percent of the team's total (26 goals) despite playing in only 24 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 266 games played. His current three-game goal streak is tied for the longest active streak in the AHL.

Powering Up

The Checkers have scored a power-play goal in five of their last six games, going 5-for-26 (19.2 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 tied for 28th in the AHL at 11.5 percent.

Killing It

Shane O'Brien's power-play goal in the Checkers' game against San Antonio on March 4 ended a streak in which the Checkers killed 20 consecutive penalties. The streak, which contained seven full games without a power-play goal allowed since Feb. 16, was the team's second-longest streak of the season. The Checkers killed 25 consecutive penalties from Dec. 19-Jan. 7.

In their first game since the end of the streak against San Antonio on Thursday, the Checkers went 3-for-3 on the penalty kill, making them 24-for-25 since Feb. 16.

Charlotte's penalty kill ranks 10th in the league at 85.7 percent. 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 third-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.

Penalty Shot Party

Including one saved by Drew MacIntyre against San Antonio on March 4, the Checkers have been involved in seven penalty shot situations this season. That amount, which breaks down to four attempts for (with one goal scored) and three attemps against (with one goal scored), breaks a tie with the inaugural 2010-11 campaign to set a new single-season franchise record. In the three seasons between, the Checkers were involved in seven total penalty shot situations.

The Checkers were involved in two penalty shot situations in the same game for the first time in team history on Jan. 31 of this season, with Texas goalie Jussi Rynnas stopping attempts by Alex Aleardi and Zach Boychuk.

Quick Hits

• San Antonio's goal 43 seconds into the Checkers' last game was the fastest they have allowed to start a game this season
• Drew MacIntyre ranks fourth in the league with 1,076 saves and fifth with 2,182 minutes played
• Danny Biega's shootout goal on March 4 was the first of his AHL career (two attempts, both this season)
• The Checkers have scored the game's first goal in 16 of their 22 wins this season

Streaks

• Zach Boychuk has goals and points in each of his last three games (3g, 1a)
• Trevor Carrick has assists and points in each of his last three games (2g, 2a)

Injuries

• Keegan Lowe - missed three games starting 2/27
• Chad LaRose - missed five games starting 2/25
• Gabriel Desjardins - missed 25 games starting 1/4
• Greg Nemisz - missed 37 games starting 12/8 (out for season)

Milestones

• Jared Staal is three shy of 50 pro points and three shy of 100 AHL penalty minutes
• Zach Boychuk is three shy of 450 professional games and three shy of 200 AHL penalty minutes
• Kyle Hagel is 15 shy of 1,000 professional penalty minutes

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