Game Preview: Checkers vs. San Diego (Feb. 12, 2016)

As the Checkers prepare to welcome the San Diego Gulls to town for the first time, they’ll also be looking to put an end to one of the longest winless stretches they’ve ever had to face.

Here are 12 Things to Know about the game that will kick off the team’s annual Pink in the Rink weekend:

1. PRETTY IN PINK

The Checkers will wear special pink-trimmed jerseys (and pink pants!) for both games that will be up for auction following Saturday’s contest. To celebrate 10 years of Pink in the Rink and the team’s return to Bojangles’ Coliseum, this year’s jerseys have a throwback feel and are based on a design worn by the Checkers and their predecessors, the Charlotte Clippers, as early as the 1950s. The annual jersey sales, along with ticket proceeds, have raised approximately $285,000 for various non-profits over the last nine seasons.

2. ON THE SKIDS

The Checkers’ current seven-game winless streak (0-6-1) ties the longest in team history – a run of seven straight regulation defeats that occurred in November of 2013. It is also tied with Syracuse for the longest active streak in the league and the third longest posted by an AHL team at any time this season. Immediately prior to the current streak, the Checkers had posted a 14-1-3 record in their previous 18 games, including a 12-game point streak that set a new franchise record.

3. IN THE STANDINGS

When the streak began on Jan. 27, the Checkers were second in the Central Division with a chance to overtake Rockford for the top spot that night but have since fallen to fifth. Though the top four teams in each division automatically qualify for the postseason, the Checkers would still make the cut on the crossover rule as of today as they hold a superior winning percentage (.574) than Bakersfield (.535), which occupies the fourth spot in the Western Conference’s other division, the Pacific.

4. AGAINST THE GULLS

San Diego, which currently sits fifth in the Pacific, is one of the teams that will attempt to prevent a Central team from qualifying on the crossover rule. The Checkers have done their part to prevent that thus far, taking the first two meetings between the two teams in San Diego on Jan. 8 and 9, which were the last two games of Charlotte’s record point streak.

5. FORMER FOES

Though the Gulls are new to the AHL this season, the Checkers are no strangers to the Anaheim Ducks affiliate that formerly called Norfolk home. Last season, Charlotte went 4-2-2 against an Admirals team that boasted several current Gulls players including top-five scorers Mike Sgarbossa and Antoine Laganiere. Since then, the organization has added rookie Brandon Montour, who ranks second among all AHL defensemen in scoring, and former Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Anton Khudobin, who took both losses against the Checkers last month and has started each of the team’s last three games.

6. LOCAL TIES

The Gulls have also added forward Bryan Moore, who is the first hockey player born and raised in the Charlotte area to play professional hockey. A teammate of the Checkers’ Sergey Tolchinsky and Tyler Ganly with the Ontario Hockey League’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, Moore signed an AHL contract with the Gulls after attending rookie events with the Hurricanes and New York Rangers the previous offseason. Moore has six points in 26 AHL games this season, including three in his last five games and his first career goal on Feb. 5.

7. OFFENSIVE ISSUES

One of the AHL’s top offensive teams for much of the season, the Checkers have scored just six total goals since Jan. 30, marking the least-prolific five-game stretch of their season. They have hit the three-goal mark just once in their last seven games, compared to an 18-game stretch immediately prior when they scored three or more goals 16 times.

8. NO LOVE IN FEBRUARY

The Checkers are off to an 0-4-0 start to February, which marks the third consecutive season that they have hit a rough patch during the month. In the last three seasons, the team has a combined record of 8-16-2 during the month.

9. ALL IN ON ALTSHULLER

Despite earning a rare night off in the Checkers’ most recent game, rookie Daniel Altshuller has seen a heavy workload since making his AHL debut on Dec. 17. He has played in 17 of a possible 20 games since that time, not including two missed while on NHL recall with the Hurricanes. Altshuller, who led the ECHL in goals-against average, save percentage and shutouts at the time of his December recall to Charlotte, ranks fifth in the AHL with a 2.31 GAA and .923 SV% now that he has played enough minutes to qualify among league leaders.

10. BROCK IS BACK

Of the four goals the Checkers have scored in their last two games, two have come off the stick of Brock McGinn. Despite playing just 30 of the team’s 47 games this season, the sophomore forward now has 13 goals on the season, putting him just one behind Derek Ryan for the team lead. His pace of 86.7 points per game (26 in 30) is the highest of any Checkers skater.

11. POWERING UP

After going three straight games without a power-play goal, tying their longest such streak of the season, the Checkers are 4-for-19 (21 percent) in their last three games and now rank third in the league at 22.1 percent. Four of their last five goals have come on the man advantage, with the team scoring just once at even strength in its last four outings.

Tonight’s opponent, San Diego, is the seond-most penalized team in the AHL.

12. HERE AND THERE

The 0-4-0 start to the Checkers’ six-game home stand has dropped them to 11-11-2 at Bojangles’ Coliseum this season … McGinn (2g), Brody Sutter (1g, 1a) and T.J. Hensick (2a) are all on two-game point streaks ... The Checkers own a nearly even goal differential in the first period (-1) but are -14 in the second and plus-10 in the third … Charlotte has yet to lose in regulation when leading at either intermission this season … Kyle Hagel is tied for second in the league with 11 major penalties … Justin Shugg has missed the last seven games due to injury, while Danny Biega has missed the last 15 … Rasmus Rissanen is two shy of 50 AHL/pro points … Ryan is three shy of 300 pro points … Brendan Woods is one shy of 50 AHL/pro points and one shy of 150 AHL games … Jake Chelios is four shy of 50 pro points … David Wolhberg is three shy of 50 AHL/pro points.