Game Preview: Checkers vs. Oklahoma City (Jan. 22, 2015)

The Checkers continue an unusual three-in-three as they host the first of back-to-back games against the Oklahoma City Barons tonight.

With Oklahoma City idle and waiting in Charlotte, the Checkers went all the way to the last second of overtime in Norfolk on Wednesday before a buzzer-beating goal sent them to a 3-2 defeat. Though it missed another chance to string together consecutive wins for just the second time this season, the result still gives Charlotte points in six of its last eight games (4-2-2).

After these two games against the Barons, who currently hold the best record in the league at 27-9-5, the Checkers will disperse for the AHL's All-Star break.

Charlotte

The Checkers continued their productive stretch of putting points in the standings last night but came up short of the victory thanks to a heartbreaking game-winner by the Admirals.

Despite jumping out to a two-goal lead in the second period courtesy of two-lesser known goal scorers in Trevor Carrick and Kyle Hagel, the Checkers were not able to hold on, allowing a strike late in the second period and another late in regulation to send the game to overtime. The extra frame was unkind to the visitors, as they produced several golden opportunities to end the game but could not find a way to finish. Just as the overtime was winding down and it appeared that things would be decided in a shootout, Josh Manson rushed into the zone and put home a controversial game-winning goal with less than one second remaining on the clock, giving the Admirals the two points.

Although the goals came from more depth contributors, leading scorer Chad LaRose kept his hot hand going, tallying an assist to give him points in each of his last three games. The veteran created several scoring chances early in the contest, including singlehandedly making the play that led to Carrick’s strike.

Apart from LaRose, the Checkers big guns were fairly quiet. Zach Boychuk, who entered last night’s contest with three points in his last two games, was held off the score sheet despite a breakaway in overtime.

On the blue line, the Checkers will most likely receive a boost tonight as Ryan Murphy is expected to return to the lineup after the Hurricanes reassigned him two days ago. In the 23 games that Murphy played with Charlotte prior to his second stint with the Hurricanes, he racked up 17 points, all coming on assists. That total was good enough to net him the team lead as of his recall and a spot in the 2015 AHL All-Star Classic. Murphy will join the recently assigned captain Michal Jordan to shore up the Checkers defensive corps as they face a high-powered Barons attack.

Since returning from representing his country at the Spengler Cup, Drew MacIntyre has taken the bulk of the starts in net for Charlotte, starting six of the last eight contests. The veteran has been a rock for the Checkers as of late, helping the team earn a point in eight of his last 10 games. John Muse, on the other hand, turned in one of his most masterful performances in his last appearance, turning aside 36 shots to lead the team to a 4-1 rout of the Toronto Marlies. Which goalie will get the start is up in the air, as the Checkers are in the middle of a brutal three-in-three that saw them finish last night’s game in Norfolk, drive back to Charlotte, and arrive home in the early morning.

Oklahoma City

The Barons enter their last two games before the All-Star break on fire, winning 11 of their last 14 contests and holding the best record in the AHL.

OKC has dominated in multiple aspects of the game this season, ranking in the top-five in goals per game and power play percentage, as well as a top-10 penalty killing unit. They have seen stellar performances from their top talent, with their two leading scorers, Jason Williams and Andrew Miller, both ranking in the top 12 in the AHL. Brad Hunt ranks sixth in scoring among AHL defensemen despite having played less games than everyone above him, while Iiro Pakarinen is tied for seventh in the league in goals and tied for fifth in plus/minus.

In the absence of powerhouse Anton Lander, who was averaging over a point per game before being called up to Edmonton, several other players have stepped up as of late and chipped in offensively. Four of David Musil’s six points on the season have come in the last four games, while former ECHL Checker Matthew Ford has pitched in seven points in his last contest.

In net, the Barons have employed one of the most lethal tandems in the league with veteran Richard Bachman and rookie Laurent Brossoit. Bachman ranks in the top-10 in both goals against average and save percentage, while Laurent Brossoit is tied for third among AHL rookies with 13 wins. Brossoit has a slight edge in games played this season, but both sport stellar records, with Bachman going 12-3-3 and Brossoit logging a 13-6-1 mark.

Checkers Notes

Against Oklahoma City

The Barons enter their last two games before the All-Star break on fire, winning 11 of their last 14 contests and holding the best record in the AHL.

OKC has dominated in multiple aspects of the game this season, ranking in the top-five in goals per game and power-play percentage and boasting a top-10 penalty killing unit. They have seen stellar performances from their top talent, with their two leading scorers, Jason Williams and Andrew Miller, both ranking in the top 12 in the AHL. Brad Hunt ranks sixth in scoring among AHL defensemen despite having played fewer games than everyone above him, while Iiro Pakarinen is tied for seventh in the league in goals and tied for fifth in plus/minus.

In the absence of powerhouse Anton Lander, who was averaging over a point per game before joining the parent Edmonton Oilers, several other players have stepped up as of late and chipped in offensively. Four of David Musil’s six points on the season have come in the last four games, while former ECHL Checker Matthew Ford has pitched in seven points in his last eight contests.

In net, the Barons have employed one of the most lethal tandems in the league with veteran Richard Bachman and rookie Laurent Brossoit. Bachman ranks in the top-10 in both goals against average and save percentage, while Laurent Brossoit is tied for third among AHL rookies with 13 wins. Brossoit has a slight edge in games played this season, but both sport stellar records, with Bachman going 12-3-3 and Brossoit logging a 13-6-1 mark.

Boychuk's Goals

With an empty-net goal to seal the Checkers' win over Toronto on Jan. 16, Zach Boychuk became the franchise's all-time goals leader with 105, surpassing longtime teammate Chris Terry.

The reigning Willie Marshall award winner as the AHL's top goal scorer with 36 last season, Boychuk also led the league with 18 power-play goals and took home Second-Team All Star honors. One of five players to appear in at least one Checkers game in all five of the team's AHL seasons (Michal Jordan, Rasmus Rissanen, Jared Staal and Terry), he ranks second on the team's all-time list in points (231) and assists (126) and is fifth in games played (250). He is currently two shy of 300 professional points.

In six games since returning from an extended NHL stint with Carolina on Jan. 8, Boychuk has four points (2g, 2a), all of which have come in his last three outings.

Murphy's Helping Hand

Despite not playing for the Checkers since beginning a recently-completed NHL stint on Dec. 30, defenseman Ryan Murphy still leads the Checkers with 17 assists, at least five more than any other player. Murphy, who is set to represent the Checkers at the upcoming AHL All-Star Classic, also still leads the Checkers in power-play assists and points (7) and ranks fourth on the team in scoring even though he has yet to score his first goal of the season.

Murphy, a 21-year-old who the Hurricanes drafted 12th overall in 2011, now has 41 points (3g, 38a) in 48 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. He has recorded assists in each of his last five home games (8a), tying the longest active streak in the league (Syracuse's Jonathan Marchessault).

LaRose Takes Over

With one point scored in each of his last three games (1g, 2a), Chad LaRose has taken sole posession of the team scoring lead with 22 points (10g, 12a). The alternate captain has put up 11 of those points in his last 14 games (6g, 5a). In addition to being the team's overall points leader, he also leads the team in shorthanded points (three - t-3rd AHL), is tied for second in power-play points (five) and leads the team in shots on goal (99).

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 year away from hockey. He now has 106 points (51g, 55a) in 168 career AHL games with Lowell and Charlotte.

MacIntyre Cracks Top 10

Since becoming the 12th goaltender in the AHL's 78-year history to reach 200 wins on Dec. 13, Checkers goalie Drew MacIntyre, who has picked up 12 of the Checkers' 15 wins this season, has recorded four more victories to take sole possession of 10th on the league's all-time wins list.

MacIntyre, a 31-year-old veteran now playing his 12th professional season with his eighth AHL club, is just 28 wins away from tying Frederic Cassivi for fifth on the all-time list. He has a 204-127-25 record, 2.44 goals-against average, .936 save percentage and 16 shutouts in 379 career AHL games dating back to the 2004-05 season. He currently ranks fourth in the league with 767 saves and fifth with 1,603 minutes played this season.

The Checkers have earned points in seven of MacIntyre's last eight starts dating back to Dec. 19 (4-1-3). Including a perfect 3-for-3 performance in Rockford on Jan. 13, he has stopped 13 of 14 shootout attempts this season, helping the Checkers to a 2-1 record despite just two total goals of support.

Long Time Coming

Kyle Hagel's goal in Norfolk on Jan. 21 - his 30th birthday - marked his first scored at any level since scoring for Hamilton against Lake Erie on April 12, 2013 (82 games). The Checkers now have just two active players still looking for their first goals of the season in any league - Ryan Murphy (last goal: April 19, Checkers at Rockford, 39 total games), Beau Schmitz (last goal: Feb. 22, ECHL Florida vs. Fort Wayne, 13 total games).

Now in his seventh professional season and first with the Checkers, Hagel leads the team with 87 penalty minutes and is tied for the AHL lead with 13 major penalties.

Overtimes

Six of the Checkers' nine overtime games this season have been decided prior to the shootout. Charlotte is 1-5 in those games, with only Texas (2-9) owning a lower winning percentage in games decided during the seven-minute period. Meanwhile, the Checkers are 2-1 in the shootout.

Three-in-Threes

Tonight's game continues the second and final instance in which the Checkers will play three games in three nights this season. They lost the first game in overtime by a 3-2 score in Norfolk on Wednesday. Including that game, the Checkers have an all-time record of 47-31-10 in games that are part of a three-in-three set, including a 16-10-4 mark in game one, a 16-8-5 record in game two and a 15-13-1 showing game three.

Charlotte went went 1-2-0 in its previous three-in-three this season, a road trip through Milwaukee and Chicago to begin the campaign on Oct. 10-12. In four previous AHL seasons, the Checkers had never played fewer than five three-in-three sets over the course of a single season.

Powering Up?

The Checkers went 2-for-3 on the power play against Toronto on Jan. 16, marking the first time they have scored multiple power-play goals in a single game this season. Including that game, they are now 3-for-44 on the power play (6.8 percent) over their last 13 games dating back to Dec. 21 and still rank 30th in the AHL with a season-long percentage of 9.4.

Charlotte did not get a chance to continue that momentum in its most recent game in Norfolk on Jan. 21 as it did not receive a power play for just the second time in team history and first since April 13, 2012 at Peoria.

In their previous four AHL seasons, the Checkers never finished lower than fifth in the league in terms of power-play percentage. Their lowest-ever percentage to finish a season was 19.8 percent. The lowest recorded power-play percentage for a season in AHL history is 10.4, set by the Rochester Americans in 2001-02.

Stalled Offense

For the season, the Checkers rank second to last in the AHL with 2.22 goals per game. Excluding goals awarded for shootout victories, they have scored two goals or fewer in 27 of their 41 games this season (5-16-6 record in those games), including 10 of their last 12 (3-4-4).

The Checkers have never finished lower than 18th in the league in terms of goals per game. Their lowest-ever average to finish a season was 2.75.

The lowest-ever point total for the team's scoring leader at the end of the season was 59 points (Chris Terry - 2011-12). Current scoring leader Chad LaRose is on pace to finish with 41.

Streaks

• Chad LaRose has points in each of his last three games (Jan. 15-21: 1g, 2a)
• Danny Biega has assists and points in each of his last two games (Jan. 16-21: 0g, 3a)
• Trevor Carrick has points in each of his last two games (Jan. 16-21: 1g, 1a)

Quick Hits

• Wednesday's game against Norfolk tied the most combined shots posted by both teams in a Checkers game this season (89). The previous instance occurred three games earlier (at Rockford on Jan. 13).
• Including Wednesday in Norfolk, the Checkers gave up the tying goal with less than 3:30 remaining in regulation in four of their last five overtime losses.
• The Checkers' total of 46 goals allowed in third periods is tied for the sixth-highest allowed by any team in any period this season.
• Chad LaRose is tied for the AHL lead in shorthanded assists (3) and is tied for third in shorthanded points (3)

Injuries

• Gabriel Desjardins - missed eight games starting 1/4
• Beau Schmitz - missed 19 games starting 12/10
• Greg Nemisz - missed 20 games starting 12/8 (out for season)

Milestones

• Alex Aleardi is one shy of 100 professional games
• Keegan Lowe is one shy of 100 AHL/professional games
• Zach Boychuk is two shy of 300 professional points
• Ryan Murphy is two shy of 50 AHL games
• John Muse is two shy of 50 AHL wins
• Brody Sutter played his 150th professional game on 1/21

Transactions

Incoming

• Jan. 20 - (D) Ryan Murphy reassigned to Charlotte from Carolina (NHL)

Outgoing

• Jan. 16 - (D) Austin Levi assigned to Stockton (ECHL) from Charlotte
• Jan. 15 - (LW) Andrew Rowe released from PTO to South Carolina (ECHL)