Game Preview: Checkers vs. Rockford (April 12, 2015)

It's the final home game of the 2014-15 season and the end of an important era in Checkers history as the team says goodbye to Time Warner Cable Arena today.

In the second of three straight meetings between the clubs, the Checkers will be looking to avenge Saturday's 2-0 loss that represented the first time Charlotte has been shut out at home in just over two years. The teams meet again in Rockford this Wednesday for a game that begins the Checkers' last week of the season - a three-game trip that will see them wrap things up in Grand Rapids on Friday and Saturday.

Before making plans to attend today's game, please consult this traffic advisory concerning light rail closures and other events in the surrounding area of uptown Charlotte.

Charlotte

Although they know they won’t make the playoffs, the Checkers gave the postseason-bound IceHogs all they could handle in Saturday’s game. Only a Spencer Abbott deflection was able to dent Drew MacIntyre (33 saves) and a Charlotte defense featuring four rookies – two of which combined for two pro games coming in.

“We obviously have a young defense out there,” said Checkers coach Jeff Daniels after the game. “I thought they gave us a great chance to win. They made some mistakes but they also made some good plays. I think it was a bit of an eye-opener for them since this is an elite team.”

That defense could potentially get even younger tonight with Haydn Fleury, Carolina’s first-round pick last summer (seventh overall) set to make his professional debut after sitting out Saturday. Roland McKeown, a second-round pick recently acquired in a trade for Andrej Sekera, made his pro debut on Saturday, while college product Brett Pesce played his third consecutive game.

Of that trio, only Pesce can begin next season in the AHL due to age restrictions placed on players such as Fleury and McKeown who were drafted from Canadian junior leagues.

With the season winding down, other upcoming players could also get an opportunity to get a taste of the pro game. Goaltenders Rasmus Tirronen and Daniel Altshuller and defenseman Josh Wesley all await their debuts. Tirronen, who recently finished his college career at Merrimack, backed up MacIntyre on Saturday.

Despite the club having its eye on the future, performances like Saturday’s, in which Antti Raanta made 25 saves to hand them their first shutout at home since April 13 despite several good scoring chances, illustrate that the veterans still want to win in the present.

“Guys are competing hard and they want to win,” said alternate captain Kyle Hagel, who received the AHL’s Man of the Year for outstanding contributions to the community in a surprise ceremony prior to Saturday’s game. “You have to play for pride and you have to play for your next contract, but guys are really battling and want to win, which is great to see. We played well enough to win (Saturday) and I wish that we did.”

On the injury front, Jared Staal is expected to miss his second consecutive game.

Rockford

Though they have a playoff spot locked up, the IceHogs showed Saturday that they're motivated to secure home ice and head to the postseason with some momentum.

“That’s a pretty good team over there,” said Daniels. “They’re up there in the standings for a reason. They play a real strong game, but I thought we were right there with them. We had a lot of chances to tie it, but we’ve got to play a fast game against that team.”

The victory improved Rockford’s record to 18-5-1 in its last 24 games. Though fourth in the Western Conference, the team is currently just two points away from first place with four games to go.

Abbott, the only IceHog to score against a goaltender on Saturday, has been a key part of Rockford’s surge with 20 points (11g, 9a) in 16 games since joining the team via a trade with Toronto. He has goals in three straight (4g, 2a) and points in five straight (4g, 6a). Rockford is 12-3-1 since his arrival.

Other weapons to watch include Mark McNeill, whose empty-netter on Saturday gave him sole possession of the team’s goals lead with 22, and Garret Ross. McNeill and Ross are tied for second on the team with 42 points, trailing only Abbott (44).

In goal, Raanta and former Carolina Hurricanes Michael Leighton form a formidable tandem with both holding goals-against averages under 2.39 and save percentages over .918 to help the IceHogs ranks as the AHL’s third-best defensive team. The two have alternated starts during the course of the team’s active five-game win streak, making it likely that Leighton plays today.

Checkers Notes

Against Rockford

Tonight's game in Charlotte marks the third of the four-game season series between Charlotte and Rockford. Each team has won one game to this point, with the Checkers taking a 3-2 shootout win in Rockford on Jan. 13 and the IceHogs shutting out Charlotte 2-0 on Saturday. The teams will play against in Rockford this coming Wednesday.

Charlotte holds an all-time record of 12-8-2 against Rockford but is just 4-6-1 against the IceHogs at Time Warner Cable Arena.

Brendan Woods and Jared Staal have the Checkers' only two goals against Rockford this season, while Phillip Danault, Ryan Hartman, Spencer Abbott and Mark McNeill have all scored for the IceHogs. Hartman leads the team with three points (1g, 2a) against the Checkers.

In goal, Drew MacIntyre has played both games for Charlotte, going 1-1-0 with a 1.43 goals-against average and .961 save percentage. Michael Leighton stopped 43 shots in the losing effort on Jan. 13, while Antti Raanta made 25 saves to record the shutout on Saturday.

Checkers forward Kyle Hagel played parts of two seasons for Rockford under current Hurricanes coach Bill Peters from 2009-11, racking up 13 points (5g, 8a) and 281 penalty minutes in 86 total games and capturing the first of his five consecutive team Man of the Year awards in 2011. Leighton, who spent parts of three seasons with the Carolina organization between 2007 and 2010, captured the Baz Bastien award as the AHL's top goaltender while playing for the Albany River Rats in 2007-08.

Man of the Year

The American Hockey League honored Checkers forward Kyle Hagel with the Yanick Dupre Award for outstanding contributions to the community in a surprise ceremony prior to Saturday's game against Rockford. It marked the first league award for Hagel, who has captured five team awards from five different teams (Rockford, Peoria, Hamilton, Portland) in his five AHL seasons.

Hagel leads the Checkers and ranks 18th in the AHL with 154 penalty minutes. He ranks fourth in the AHL with 22 major penalties, all of which are fighting majors.

Turned Away

The Checkers' 2-0 shutout loss to Rockford on Saturday was their sixth shutout of the season, tying a single-season franchise record set in 2011-12. It was their first at home since April 6, 2013 (Milwaukee), with each of the team's eight shutouts since then all taking place on the road.

Charlotte is the only AHL team that has yet to record a shutout of its own.

Fill the Building

The Checkers' crowd of 13,219 on Saturday was the largest in team history, eclipsing the old mark of 13,102 set on Feb. 25, 2012.

Today is the team's last-ever game at Time Warner Cable Arena before returning to Bojangles' Coliseum for their 2015-16 home opener on Saturday, Nov. 7. It moved to to the facility while still a member of the ECHL for the 2005-06 season and has posted a home record of 96-79-16 since moving to the AHL prior to the 2010-11 campaign.

MacIntyre's Workload

Checkers goalie Drew MacIntyre, who has played in 11 of the team's last 14 games, set a franchise record by appearing in his 49th game of the season on Saturday. In doing so, he broke the old mark set by Justin Pogge in the inaugural 2011-12 campaign. He now ranks sixth in the AHL with 2,817 minutes played and is second with 1,394 saves.

MacIntyre's most recent victory in Norfolk on March 25 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 211-142-26 record, 2.48 goals-against average, .934 save percentage and 16 shutouts in 402 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 .920 save percentage in overtime games this season (46 saves on 50 shots) and has stopped 21 of 23 in the shootout. He is tied for second in the league in shootout victories this season (4-1 record).

LaRose's Shorty Success

With his goal on April 3, Chad LaRose is now tied for the AHL lead with five shorthanded points. That also establishes a new franchise single-season record, snapping the previous mark of four, set by both Brett Sutter and Chris Terry during the 2010-11 season. Three of LaRose's shorthanded points this season have been helpers, tying him for the league lead in that category as well.

LaRose now ranks fourth on the Checkers all-time shorthanded points list. He has factored in on five of the team's eight shorthanded goals this season - a total that is five more than its league-low total from last season.

Muse Steps Up

While Drew MacIntyre has taken the bulk of the workload for the majority of the season, John Muse has been lights out when called upon as of late. In his last five appearances, the Checkers' all-time wins leader is 3-0-0 with a goals-against average of 1.68 and a save percentage of .945.

After starting the season slow, going 2-8-2 in his first 14 appearances, Muse has battled back and now sits just one game below .500 at 10-11-2. He has started consecutive games just once this season: after the holiday break when MacIntyre was representing Canada at the Spengler Cup in Switzerland. Muse went 0-3-1 in those four consecutive starts and allowed 12 goals total during that stretch.

Boychuk Chases History

With four games remaining on the schedule, Zach Boychuk stands just five points away from being the Checkers' all-time leading scorer. His current total of 250 trails only former linemate Chris Terry's 254. Boychuk became the franchise's all-time goals leader earlier this season.

After playing the first two games of the season with the Checkers, Boychuk spent a large chunk of this season in Carolina before returning to Charlotte in January. He has six points (1g, 5a) in his last eight games.

Sutter Strikes

With seven in his last eight games, center Brody Sutter has more than doubled the five goals he scored in his first 36 games of the season. Of his 24 points, 14 (7g, 7a) have come in his last 16 games dating back to March 4. During that time, he has notched his only two multi-goal games aside from when he scored twice in a playoff game at Oklahoma City on April 26, 2013, and a career-high, three-point effort (2g, 1a) at Iowa on March 21.

Sutter, who has been limited to just 44 games this season due to injury, has set a new career high of 12 goals, eclipsing the eight he scored in 69 games last season.

Carrick Lights It Up

With 14 points (3g, 11a) in his last 17 games, Trevor Carrick currently leads all Charlotte defensemen in goals (seven), assists (21) and points (28), all of which are new records for a Checkers rookie defenseman. Of his five multi-point outings this season, four occurred during the month of March.

Carrick currently ranks third on the team in scoring and leads the team in assists. 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).

Eliminated

The Checkers were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention last week. This will be the third time in Checkers' five seasons as an AHL franchise in which they did not qualify for the Calder Cup Playoffs and the first time that they have missed the postseason in back-to-back years.

Streaks

• None

Quick Hits

• The Checkers are 0-14 on the power play over their last five games.
• Phil Di Giuseppe ranks fourth among AHL rookies in shots (163)
• Patrick Brown is tied for the AHL rookie lead in shorthanded assists (2)
• The Checkers are 2-6 in games decided during the seven-minute overtime and 5-1 in shootouts.

Injuries

• Jared Staal - missed one game starting 4/11
• Greg Nemisz - missed 51 games starting 12/8 (out for season)

Milestones

• Kyle Hagel played his 350th professional game on 4/11
• Danny Biega recorded his 100th AHL/professional penalty minute on 4/11
• Roland McKeown made his professional debut on 4/11

Transactions

Incoming

• April 9 - (G) Daneil Altshuller recalled from Florida (ECHL)
• April 8 - (D) Haydn Fleury signed to amateur tryout contract from Red Deer (WHL)
• April 8 - (D) Danny Biega reassigned from Carolina (NHL)
• April 6 - (D) Roland McKeown signed to amateur tryout contract from Kingston (OHL)

Outgoing

• April 8 - (D) Keegan Lowe recalled to Carolina (NHL)
• April 6 - (D) Mike Cornell released from professional tryout contract to Florida (ECHL)
• April 6 - (D) Austin Levi released from professional tryout contract to Stockton (ECHL)