Game Preview: Checkers vs Oklahoma City (Dec. 18, 2014)

The Checkers will look to spark some offense and bounce back in tonight's rematch with the division-leading Oklahoma City Barons.

After getting swept on the road in the two clubs' first series in November, the Checkers failed to get anything going on their home ice against the Barons, falling 4-1 despite creating plenty of scoring chances throughout the game. The team will now go back up against the Barons after a day of practice as they continues to try to gain crucial points in the standings.

The Checkers will be right back at it tomorrow as they welcome the San Antonio Rampage for the first of a two-game series to close out their four-game home stand.

Charlotte

Tuesday's game was a portrait of how the Checkers' season has gone so far, with the team buzzing offensively and creating chances but coming up empty-handed.

"It's been an issue all season long," said head coach Jeff Daniels. "Our compete has been there, the guys are working, we're getting opportunities, we're just having a tough time scoring goals. It's frustrating for the guys, but it's a process and we have to stick with it."

The team's offensive drought has been a big part of their slow start, but that hasn't come due to a lack of effort. Daniels has consistently praised his team's work ethic and preached patience when it comes to the lack of production.

"If the guys weren't working and if the chances weren't there, it'd be a big concern," said Daniels. "But two of the three are there. Guys are working, chances are there, all we need is the execution and to find the back of the net."

Brendan Woods, a physical forward whose career-high in goals prior to this season, in college and the pros, was five, netted his sixth of the season on Tuesday, the lone tally for the Checkers. Woods' breakout season is indicative of the way that Daniels envisioned this team scoring from the onset of the season, with everyone chipping in gritty goals. That style of play will need to continue in order for the team to find their way back up the standings.

"If you look at our lineup, we're workers," said Daniels. "We're not an overly skilled team, and with that, the guys work hard. I know every game that they're going to come out and compete hard and grind it out and go to those tough areas and try to score those tough goals and make sure the other team knows it's not going to be an easy game."

With Tuesday's loss kicking off a four-game home stand in which the Checkers are hosting the top two teams in the West Division, it would be easy for them to get down on their luck and fall into a slump. But Daniels has stressed the importance of keeping their heads up and trucking through, confident that the points will come.

"You can't get frustrated and get down on it and dig that hole deeper than it is," said Daniels. "We've got to keep showing up with that positive attitude and learn to move on."

Oklahoma City

The Barons' strong start continued against the Checkers Tuesday night, as the division-leaders won their third straight game overall and third straight agaisnt Charlotte this season.

Despite being out-shot and out-chanced for the majority of the contest, the Barons took advantage of the opportunities that they had. They were only able to put five shots on Drew MacIntyre in the first frame, but headed to the locker room with a 2-0 lead thanks to defensive lapses by the Checkers in front of thier own net. When Charlotte was able to find the back of the net and pull within one, the Barons wasted no time re-establishing themselves, netting a goal of their own just 11 seconds later, squashing the Checkers' rally and paving the way for a 4-1 win.

The win was the first for the Gerry Fleming-led Barons, as their former assistant took over the head coaching position the day before. Fleming replaced Todd Nelson, who was brought on to coach Oklahoma City's NHL parent club, the Edmonton Oilers.

The Barons, who entered the game with the second-best offense in the AHL, got lots of production from their top-tier forwards, as three of their top four scorers lit the lamp. Anton Lander and Jason Williams, who combined for two goals and an assist, each stormed their way into the top five in AHL scoring.

Richard Bachman, who stood tall in goal for Oklahoma City for the majority of the game, was forced to the locker room midway through the third due to injury. Laurent Brossoit, who shut out the Checkers in the team's second meeting this season, replaced him and clinched the win. Bachman is not expected to be available for tonight's rematch, as the Barons have called up Tyler Bunz from the ECHL to serve as the backup to Brossoit.

Checkers Notes

Against Oklahoma City

Tonight marks the fourth of 12 meetings between the Checkers and the Barons, with Oklahoma City taking each of the first three. In 31 all-time contests between the two clubs, the Checkers hold an 17-11-3 record, including a 7-5-3 mark at Time Warner Cable Arena. The Checkers have not defeated Oklahoma City in regulation since Feb. 7 of last season, with the Barons going 5-0-3 since that time.

In three contests against the Barons this season, Brock McGinn has logged three points (2g, 1a), the highest total for any Checkers player in 2014-15. Danny Biega (0g, 6a in 10 games) and Ryan Murphy (0g, 5a in 5 games) recorded the most points against the Barons last season of any current Checkers player.

For Oklahoma City, Jason Williams (2g, 2a) and Matthew Ford (2g, 1a) lead the team in points against the Checkers through three games.

Losing Streak

The Checkers' current three-game losing streak ties their longest of the season set from Nov. 21-26. The team has not lost four in a row in regulation since setting a franchise record with seven consecutive losses from Nov. 2-19 of last season. It more recently endured a five-game winless streak (0-4-1) from Feb. 4-15 of last season.

Power Outage

Justin Shugg's goal with 2:12 remaining on Dec. 12 ended a drought of 25 consecutive power plays dating back to his last man-advantage goal on Nov. 29. Even with Shugg's goal, the Checkers are just 2-for-42 (4.8 percent) on the power play over their last 11 games dating back to Nov. 22.

Charlotte currently ranks last in the AHL with a 9.3 percent success rate on the power play. In their previous four AHL seasons, the team never finished lower than fifth in terms of power-play percentage. Their lowest-ever percentage to finish a season was 19.8 percent.

Shorthanded Firepower

The Checkers' five shorthanded goals are tied for the third-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 are part of a 12-way tie for the league lead with two shorthanded goals each. Ben Holmstrom recorded the team's other shorthanded tally with its first penalty-shot goal since Dec. 20, 2011.

The Checkers are one of just four AHL teams that has yet to allow a shorthanded goal.

Murphy's Helping Hand

Defenseman Ryan Murphy leads the Checkers with 12 assists on the season, at least five more than any other player. He is also tied for second on team in scoring with 12 points despite starting the season in Carolina and playing just 18 Checkers games. He leads the team in power-play assists and points (5).

Murphy, a 21-year-old who the Hurricanes drafted 12th overall in 2011, now has 35 points (3g, 32a) in 42 career AHL games. Last season, he posted a 12-game assist/point streak that marked the longest in franchise history and was the longest by an AHL defenseman since the 2008-09 campaign.

Worst Behavior

With 20.9 penalty minutes per game, the Checkers are the sixth-most penalized team in the AHL. They are tied for second in major penalties with 36, 10 of which are courtesy of Kyle Hagel, who is tied for the AHL lead in that category. Rasmus Rissanen has been assessed 16 minor penalties, ranking him fourth among AHL defensemen. In their four previous AHL seasons, the team never finished with an average higher than 16.5 penalty minutes per game.

The Checkers have done a better job as of late with not letting those penalties hurt them, as they have held opponents to 2-for-31 (6.6%) with the man advantage in the last seven games. However, they have allowed a power-play goal in each of the last two contests.

Quick Hits

• Drew MacIntyre's 11 losses are tied for the most of any AHL goaltender (Portland's Mike McKenna)
• Carter Sandlak ranks tied for fourth among AHL rookies in penalty minutes (48)
• Trevor Carrick is tied for third among AHL rookies in major penalties (5)

Streaks

• Brendan Woods has points in each of his last two games (Dec. 13-16; 1g, 1a)
• Jared Staal has points in each of his last two games (Dec. 13-16; 1g, 1a)

Injuries

• Keegan Lowe - missed one game starting 12/16
• Beau Schmitz - missed four games starting 12/10
• Greg Nemisz - missed five games starting 12/8
• Brody Sutter - missed 14 games starting 11/15

Milestones

• Keegan Lowe is four shy of 150 AHL/pro penalty minutes
• Ryan Murphy is one shy of 50 pro points
• A.J. Jenks is one shy of 50 pro assists

Transactions

Incoming

• Dec. 16 - (LW) Gabriel Desjardins signed to PTO from Florida (ECHL)

Outgoing

• Dec. 17 - (D) Mike Little released from PTO to Florida (ECHL)
• Dec. 15 - (LW) Justin Shugg recalled to Carolina (NHL) from Charlotte