Game Preview: Checkers vs. San Antonio (Dec. 21, 2014)

The Checkers conclude the pre-holiday portion of their schedule with another matchup against the San Antonio Rampage this afternoon.

Charlotte is 1-1-1 to begin its four-game home stand, including a 3-2 shootout loss to the Rampage on Friday. Of the Checkers’ three overtime/shootout losses this season, two have come courtesy of today’s opponent – a West Division rival that has taken the maximum six points from three previous meetings.

Following today’s game, the Checkers take five days off for the holidays before returning to action for a road trip through Texas and Oklahoma City that starts Saturday.

Charlotte

A relatively slow-paced game that saw the Rampage lead 1-0 after two periods of play on Friday broke wide open in the third period, with the Checkers rallying back to take a 2-1 lead only to see the Rampage tie it back up with just 18 seconds left in regulation. What followed was the kind of back-and-forth overtime typical of the AHL’s new format this season, including a key penalty kill by the Checkers, and a marathon, eight-round shootout that produced just one goal – the winner by Rampage defenseman Alex Petrovic.

“I thought it was a great game,” said head coach Jeff Daniels. “It’s a tough way to lose in the shootout but I really liked the way we played and I thought it was an excellent game to coach and watch. We need two points but we’ll take the point.”

The rapid-fire scoring and sudden boost of intensity in the third period could be traced back to a huge hit by rookie Trevor Carrick – one that started a melee involving simultaneous fights by the Checkers’ Dennis Robertson and Kyle Hagel.

“The boys were just stirring the pot a little bit and that’s our style to get us back into it,” said Hagel, who leads the AHL with 11 fights. “I think that that’s what got us the tie and take the lead.”

From there, Carrick tied the game with his first professional goal, with Chad LaRose giving the team a short-lived lead with three minutes to play.

“Trevor Carrick has stepped in and played big minutes, top-four minutes for us playing against top lines, killing penalties and on the power play,” said Daniels. “He’s done it all for us. He’s a physical factor out there and he’s establishing himself as a tough kid that will stick up for himself but also bring the puck out of our zone. He’s done a lot of good things for a first-year pro.”

The game, especially late, turned into something of a goaltending duel between veterans Drew MacIntyre and Dan Ellis, the latter of whom played for Charlotte during the most recent NHL lockout. With two days off, the two could very well go head-to-head again today, especially with MacIntyre set to depart for Switzerland to represent Canada in the Spengler Cup tournament that will keep him out of the Checkers’ lineup until Jan. 3.

On the injury front, the Checkers could potentially get Keegan Lowe back from an injury that has kept him out of the last three games. If not, professional tryout signing Mike Little would be available to play his fifth game in six days.

The Checkers received goal-scoring leader Justin Shugg back from Carolina following the Hurricanes shootout loss to the New York Rangers on Saturday, though it's not clear if he'll be able to suit up for the Checkers given the short turnaround.

San Antonio

MacIntyre and the Checkers were able to hold San Antonio’s high-powered offense at bay for much of the game, particularly when the Rampage out-shot their hosts 14-8 in the first period. However, San Antonio certainly scored when it mattered most, with Ryan Martindale tying it up in the last minute and Petrovic sealing in a shootout that saw both goaltenders put on a show.

Both of those scorers were somewhat unlikely heroes for the Rampage, with Martindale now owning just six points in 23 games and Petrovic only scoring one career shootout goal prior to that. It was the kind of boost the team needed with key players Bobby Butler (injury) and Shane O’Brien (suspension) unable to play.

Ellis, who went 8-7-4 with a 2.46 goals-against average and .922 save percentage for the Checkers during the first half of the 2012-13 season, has posted similar numbers this season – his first foray back into the AHL after stints in Carolina, Dallas and Florida. The 34-year-old, who has played in 17 of his team’s 26 games, is 11-5-1 with a 2.34 GAA (t-15th AHL) and .913 save percentage to go along with two shutouts.

Friday’s win allowed the Rampage to keep the pace with the Checkers’ previous opponent, Oklahoma City, atop the West Division standings. San Antonio, a team that has struggled in recent seasons but was able to rattle off an impressive 11-game point streak last month, trails by four points with two games in hand.

Checkers Notes

Against San Antonio

Tonight marks the fourth of eight meetings between the Checkers and San Antonio this season. The Rampage won each of the first three, including one overtime win, one regulation win and one shootout win. In 22 all-time contests between the two clubs, the Checkers hold a 12-9-2 record, including a 6-4-1 mark at Time Warner Cable Arena. The Rampage have won each of the last five meetings dating back to March 23 of last season.

Of active Checkers, Chad LaRose (1g, 2a) and Ryan Murphy (3a) lead the team with three points apiece against San Antonio. Drew Shore (2g, 1a), Bobby Butler (1g, 2a), Rocco Grimaldi (0g, 3a) and Mark Mancari (0g, 3a) sit atop San Antonio's side of the head-to-head leaderboard.

In goal, Charlotte's Drew MacIntyre played the entirety of all three games, posting a 2.53 goals-against average and .916 save percentage. San Antonio's Dan Ellis has a sparkling 1.40 goals-against average and .953 save percentage in two games against the Checkers this season, while Michael Houser stopped 27 of 30 in his lone start. 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 15 assists on the season, at least seven more than any other Charlotte skater. He also leads the team in points, making him the only AHL player to do so without scoring a single goal. Murphy, who has played just 20 of the Checkers' 28 games after starting the season in Carolina, is one of seven AHL defensmen to lead his team in scoring. He is tied for third among AHL defensemen with 15 assists, just three off the league lead, and is tied for 17th in points by defensemen. He leads the Checkers in power-play assists and points (7).

Murphy, a 21-year-old who the Hurricanes drafted 12th overall in 2011, now has 39 points (3g, 36a) in 45 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 currently has assists in each of his last three games (4a).

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. Since then, he added an assist against San Antonio on Dec. 19, extending his point streak to a career-best four games (2g, 2a) and tying his career high for points in a single season (7) that was set in each of the last two campaigns.

Now in his fifth professional season, all with the Checkers, Staal has posted 32 points (15g, 17a) in 190 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.

Story of the Shootout

The Dec. 19 loss to San Antonio snapped the Checkers' four-shootout winning streak dating back to March 7 of last season. They are now 1-1 this season, having previously defeated Milwaukee on Nov. 30.

With 10 saves on 11 attempts, Drew MacIntyre leads all AHL goaltenders who have played in more than one shootout with a .909 save percentage. As an offense, the Checkers rank last among teams that have played more than shootout with a .091 shooting percentage (1-for-11).

A Little Busy

Thanks to a week that saw him sign with Charlotte on Tuesday, return to Florida on Wednesday and return to Charlotte in time for back-to-back games on Thursday and Friday, defenseman Mike Little completed the rare feat of playing four games in four nights on Dec. 19.

Little, who had just three games of AHL experience with Norfolk entering this week, is actually the second Checkers to play a four-in-four this season. Andrew Rowe, another professional tryout signing from the ECHL level, made his Checkers debut on Nov. 2 after playing on each of the previous three nights with the South Carolina Stingrays. Checkers forwards Zach Boychuk and Chris Terry completed a four-in-four split between Charlotte and the Carolina Hurricanes last season.

We Meet Again

The Checkers have faced the same opponent in consecutive games 11 times this season. They are a combined 3-7-2 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 second of two consecutive meetings between Charlotte and San Antonio, with the Rampage winning the first by a 3-2 score in the shootout on Dec. 19.

Power Outage

The Checkers rank last in the league with a 10.3 percent success rate on the power play. That includes a 3-for-41 mark (7.3 percent) over their last 11 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. The Checkers have begun to pick things up with power-play goals in each of their last two games (2-for-8, 25 percent).

In their previous four AHL seasons, the team 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.

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 20.3 penalty minutes per game, the Checkers are the sixth-most penalized team in the AHL. They rank third in major penalties with 38, 11 of which are courtesy of Kyle Hagel, who leads the league in that category. Rasmus Rissanen has been assessed 17 minor penalties, ranking him fourth among AHL defensemen. Among rookies, Carter Sandlak is tied for fourth in the league with 50 penalty minutes and Trevor Carrick is tied for third with five major penalties.

In their four previous AHL seasons, the team never finished with an average higher than 16.5 penalty minutes per game.

Quick Hits

• Charlotte is in the midst of a stretch in which it plays 11 consecutive games agains the West Division. The Checkers are 5-8-2 in divisional play this season
• San Antonio's three shots in the second period of the game on Dec. 19 tied the fewest they have allowed in any period 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 fifth among AHL rookies with 70 shots on goal
• Drew MacIntyre's 11 losses are tied for the most of any AHL goaltender (Portland's Mike McKenna)

Streaks

• Jared Staal has points in each of his last four games (Dec. 13-19; 2g, 2a)
• Ryan Murphy has assists and points in each of his last three games (Dec. 16-19: 0g, 4a)
• Brock McGinn has assists and points in each of his last two games (Dec. 18-19: 0g, 3a)
• Chad LaRose has goals and points in each of his last two games (Dec. 18-19: 2g, 0a)

Injuries

• Keegan Lowe - missed three games starting 12/16
• Beau Schmitz - missed six games starting 12/10
• Greg Nemisz - missed seven games starting 12/8
• Brody Sutter - missed 16 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. 20 - (LW) Justin Shugg reassigned to Charlotte from Carolina (NHL)
• Dec. 18 - (D) Mike Little signed to PTO from Florida (ECHL)
• Dec. 16 - (LW) Gabriel Desjardins signed to PTO from Florida (ECHL)

Outgoing

• none