Game Preview: Checkers vs. San Antonio (Dec. 19, 2014)

The Checkers’ busy home stand continues as they play for the second time in as many nights, albeit against a different opponent.

The San Antonio Rampage are in town for a pair of games that will take place tonight and Sunday. Off since last Friday, they will enjoy a significant rest advantage over the Checkers, who have played three games during that time, including one against the Oklahoma City Barons just last night.

The series against their West Division rival will conclude the Checkers’ four-game home stand as well as the pre-holiday portion of their schedule. They begin a five-day break immediately following Sunday’s game.

Charlotte

Continuing a theme shown throughout the season, the Checkers struggled in the first of consecutive games against Oklahoma City on Tuesday, a 4-1 loss, but put forth a much better showing to earn a split by way of a 4-2 victory in game two.

“I think you can credit the leadership in that room with making sure we bounce back,” said Daniels. “It’s just the character in general. We talk about if you want to be a pro and want to get to the next level you’ve got to be consistent.”

That will start tonight as they look to win consecutive games for just the second time this season. They are 3-7-1 in the first of consecutive games against the same opponent and 6-5-0 in the second.

“It’s so important just to come into every game and play it the same way,” said defenseman Danny Biega, who scored the eventual game-winning goal on Thursday, the first power-play goal of his professional career. “We’ve definitely got to improve on our consistency, and I think if we do that I really like our chances moving forward.”

Though admitting Biega’s goal was of the uglier variety, Daniel drew positives from a previously struggling power play on Thursday. It still ranks last in the league at 9.8 percent but went 1-for-4 in that particular contest, including that key third goal in the second period that gave the Checkers a 3-1 lead.

“It’s been tough all year, but in the first period I thought it was the best our power play has looked in a while with the way they were moving the puck and getting some looks,” he said. “I thought we can build off what we did in the first period.”

The Checkers will be going up against a Rampage team that ranks last in AHL penalty killing at 77.7 percent.

These games will continue the Checkers’ quest to end 2014 on a positive note and come back from the holiday break refreshed and ready to make up ground in the standings. They enter tonight’s game eight points out of a playoff spot.

“This team has battled,” said Daniels. “I know our record is not what we want it to be, but to the credit of the guys they’ve always fought and battled every single night. It’s something that as a coach you’re proud of, and hopefully we can get rewarded with some wins now.”

Defenseman Mike Little, who played his third game in three nights (Charlotte on Tuesday, ECHL Florida on Wednesday and Charlotte again on Thursday), is likely to complete the rare four-in-four tonight as Daniels considers Keegan Lowe doubtful to return from an injury suffered on Dec. 13. After traveling on the day of each game, he arrived at the rink within 45 minutes of warmups each time and had to play Thursday’s game with his new teammates’ gear as his was lost in transit.

San Antonio

After going on an 11-game point streak that tied the longest of any team at any time this season from Nov. 9-Dec. 7, the San Antonio Rampage have cooled down to drop two of their last three. Contrary to the busy schedule of the Checkers, who are in the midst of playing four games in six days, the Rampage have been off since shutting out the Iowa Wild by a 3-0 score on Friday.

Having not made the playoffs since the 2011-12 season, the Rampage are enjoying one of the best starts in team history and are firmly in contention for the West Division lead. The Checkers did them a favor by defeating first-place Oklahoma City on Thursday, giving San Antonio a chance to get within two points of the Barons with a win tonight.

The experienced trio of Drew Shore, Bobby Butler and Mark Mancari have propelled San Antonio offensively, combining for 67 points. Mancari, 29, and Butler, 27, are long-established contributors at the AHL level, while Shore, the parent Florida Panthers’ second-round pick in 2009, has reached a point-per-game pace in the league for the first time.

The Rampage recently added a pair of impact defensemen in Jesse Blacker, who set up Norfolk’s overtime winner at Time Warner Cable Arena on Dec. 2 before departing via trade the next day, and Shane O’Brien, a veteran of 528 NHL games who came down from Florida on Wednesday.

In goal, former Checker Dan Ellis has seen the bulk of the workload, going 10-5-1 with a 2.38 goals-against average and .911 save percentage, including his second shutout of the season on Friday (20 saves). His numbers are remarkably better than teammate Michael Houser, whose 3.58 goals-against average is the third highest of goaltenders who have played enough minutes to qualify. Houser’s .872 save percentage is tied for the lowest among qualifying goaltenders.

Checkers Notes

Against San Antonio

Tonight marks the third of eight meetings between the Checkers and San Antonio this season. The Rampage won each of the first two, including one overtime win and one regulation win, in San Antonio on Nov. 14 and 15. In 22 all-time contests between the two clubs, the Checkers hold a 12-9-1 record, including a 6-4-0 mark at Time Warner Cable Arena. The Rampage have won each of the last four meetings dating back to March 23 of last season.

Of players who remain active since the last meetings with San Antonio, Chad LaRose and Ryan Murphy lead the Checkers with two points apiece (all assists). With Michal Jordan, Justin Shugg and Greg Nemisz all likely to be unavailable tonight, the Checkers do not return a goal scorer from the two earlier meetings. Drew Shore (2g, 1a) and Bobby Butler (1g, 2a) lead all Rampage skaters against Charlotte.

In goal, Charlotte's Drew MacIntyre played the entirety of both games, posting a 2.93 goals-against average and .895 save percentage. Dan Ellis (30 saves on 31 shots) and Michael Houser (27 saves on 30 shots) each picked up a win for San Antonio. Ellis played 18 games for the Checkers during the NHL lockout portion of the 2012-13 season, going 8-7-2 with a 2.46 goals-against average and .922 save percentage.

San Antonio coach Tom Rowe coached the Carolina Hurricanes' AHL affiliates in Lowell and Albany prior to switching places with current Checkers coach Jeff Daniels, who was an assistant with the Hurricanes at the time, prior to the 2008-09 season.

Murphy's Helping Hand

Defenseman Ryan Murphy leads the Checkers with 14 assists on the season, at least double that of any other Charlotte skater. He is also tied for first on the team in scoring with 14 points despite starting the season in Carolina and playing just 19 of the Checkers' 27 games. He is the only AHL player to lead or hold a share of the team lead in scoring without scoring a single goal. He also leads the team in power-play assists and points (6).

Murphy now ranks fourth among AHL defensmen in assists and is tied for 15th among all AHL defensmen in scoring.

Murphy, a 21-year-old who the Hurricanes drafted 12th overall in 2011, now has 38 points (3g, 35a) in 44 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.

Career Stretch for Staal

Jared Staal's opening goal against Oklahoma City on Dec. 18 was his fifth of the campaign, marking a career high for a single season, and extended his point streak to a career-best three games (2g, 1a). Staal is now tied for fourth on the team in goals and is one away from his career high in points (7) set in each of the last two seasons.

Now in his fifth professional season, all with the Checkers, Staal has posted 31 points (15g, 16a) in 189 career AHL contests. Along with Zach Boychuk, Michal Jordan, Rasmus Rissanen and Chris Terry, Staal is one of just five players to play at least one game for the Checkers in all five of their AHL seasons.

We Meet Again

The Checkers have faced the same opponent in consecutive games 11 times this season. They are a combined 3-7-1 in the first halves of those series and a combined 6-5-0 in the second, including one instance where they won both games (against Milwaukee on Nov. 29 and 30) and three where they lost both (Grand Rapids on Oct. 17-18, San Antonio on Nov. 14-15 and Oklahoma City on Nov. 21-22). Tonight marks the first of two consecutive meetings between Charlotte and San Antonio.

Power Outage

The Checkers rank last in the league with a 9.8 percent success rate on the power play. That includes a 2-for-37 slide (5.4 percent) over their last 10 games dating back to Nov. 29 and a drought of 25 consecutive power plays that lasted from Nov. 29 to Dec. 12. They have yet to score multiple power-play goals in a single game this season.

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.

Worst Behavior

With 20.4 penalty minutes per game, the Checkers are the seventh-most penalized team in the AHL. They rank third 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.

After keeping opponents off the board for a season-long five consecutive games from Dec. 2-12 (21 total penalties killed), the Checkers have allowed one power-play goal in each of their last three games (10-for-13).

Quick Hits

• Charlotte is in the midst of a stretch in which it plays 11 consecutive games agains the West Division. The Checkers are 5-8-1 in divisional play this season
• The Checkers' 20 shots in the first period of their game on Dec. 18 were their most in any period this season
• Brock McGinn leads the Checkers and ranks fourth among AHL rookies with 68 shots on goal
• 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

• Jared Staal has points in each of his last three games (Dec. 13-18; 2g, 1a)
• Ryan Murphy has assists and points in each of his last two games (Dec. 16-18: 0g, 3a)

Injuries

• Keegan Lowe - missed two games starting 12/16
• Beau Schmitz - missed five games starting 12/10
• Greg Nemisz - missed six games starting 12/8
• Brody Sutter - missed 15 games starting 11/15

Milestones

• Keegan Lowe is four shy of 150 AHL/pro penalty minutes
• A.J. Jenks is one shy of 50 pro assists
• Ryan Murphy recorded his 50th professional point with his first of two assists on Dec. 18

Transactions

Incoming

• Dec. 18 - (D) Mike Little signed to PTO from Florida (ECHL)
• Dec. 16 - (LW) Gabriel Desjardins signed to PTO from Florida (ECHL)

Outgoing

• Dec. 15 - (LW) Justin Shugg recalled to Carolina (NHL) from Charlotte