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As the Checkers resume their season-long, 10-game home stand this weekend, they’ll do so looking to break their first losing streak of the season.

After Wednesday’s win in Norfolk gave them points in six consecutive games (5-0-1), back-to-back losses at the hands of the red-hot Oklahoma City Barons over the weekend provided a setback that resulted in the Checkers’ first sub-.500 week of the campaign. Though they’re no longer first in the AHL (they’re now tied for second), Charlotte still leads the Barons by two points in the South Division.

The Checkers return to action for two games against the Rockford IceHogs, who they split two games with in October, on Saturday and Sunday.

Week in Review

Checkers 5, Norfolk 2

Charlotte ended a challenging four-game road swing on a high note, winning 5-2 in Norfolk on Wednesday to improve to 5-0-1 in its last six games. Jeremy Welsh, Sean Dolan, Drayson Bowman, Riley Nash and Chris Terry scored for the Checkers, who jumped out to a 3-1 first-period lead and never looked back. Dan Ellis made 37 saves in the winning effort. Full recap

Oklahoma City 4, Checkers 2

The visiting Barons rallied from a 2-1 second-intermission deficit for a 4-2 win over Charlotte at Time Warner Cable Arena on Saturday. NHL All-Star Jordan Eberle had two goals and 2011 first-overall draft pick Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored the winner in the third period, canceling out goals by Charlotte’s Zac Dalpe and Zach Boychuk. Justin Peters made 18 saves to suffer his first loss in six starts, while the Checkers came one game shy of tying their franchise-best, seven-game point streak. Full recap

Oklahoma City 7, Checkers 2

Oklahoma City’s Jordan Eberle (2g, 1a), Justin Schultz (1g, 2a) and Taylor Hall (3a) all had big nights while handing the Checkers their most lopsided loss of the season in Charlotte on Sunday. After Zach Boychuk scored on a five-on-three to make it 3-2 in the second period, the Barons scored three times in four minutes to run away with the victory. Tim Wallace also scored for the Checkers, who got 23 saves from starter Dan Ellis and 17 more from Justin Peters. Full recap

Notables

A Rare Slide

The back-to-back losses to Oklahoma City over the weekend marked the first time the Checkers have lost consecutive games this season. Prior to falling by scores of 4-2 and 7-2, they had also not lost by more than one goal. The 7-2 defeat was the team's most lopsided since a 6-1 loss to Milwaukee on April 15, while the seven goals allowed were the most since an 8-2 loss to Abbotsford on April 8.

Home at Last

The Checkers, who rank second in the AHL with 13 games played on the road, are in the midst of a 10-game home stand that marks the longest in the team's three-year history, eclipsing a seven-game run in November of 2010. Having already tied a franchise record with a nine-game road swing to start the season, the Checkers will not play another road game until they visit San Antonio on Dec. 15.

Good Behavior

The Checkers average 12.8 penalty minutes per game, which is the second-lowest total in the league behind Houston's 12.2. The Checkers are one of two teams (Grand Rapids) that has not yet committed a 10-minute or game misconduct, and only two teams have fewer major penalties than the Checkers' 10.

Goals Galore

In Zach Boychuk and Drayson Bowman, the Checkers boast two of the AHL's top five goal scorers. Boychuk, who scored in back-to-back games against Oklahoma City over the weekend, is second with 12, trailing Syracuse's Tyler Johnson by one. Bowman, who scored in Norfolk on Wednesday, is tied for third with 11. Both players are on pace to break their personal bests of 17 (Bowman) and 22 goals (Boychuk) at the AHL level. Along with Chris Terry (eight goals), the Checkers have three players on pace to break Terry's team record of 34 goals set during the 2010-11 season.

Special on Special Teams

The Checkers, who are tied for second in the AHL with 26 points, are the only team to rank in the top five in both the power play (t-1st - 24.7 percent) and penalty kill (5th - 87.7 percent). Drayson Bowman and Zach Boychuk are tied for first in the league in power-play goals (five), Marc-Andre Gragnani is tied for fifth in power-play assists (seven) and Boychuk is tied for third in power-play points (10).

Streaks

• Zach Boychuk has points in each of his last four games (Nov. 18-25; 3g, 1a), goals in each of his last two (Nov. 24-25; 2g) and goals in each of his last four home games (Nov. 8-25; 5g, 1a)
• Zac Dalpe has points in each of his last two games (Nov. 24-25; 1g, 1a)
• Justin Faulk has assists and points in each of his last two games (Nov.24-25; 2a)

Injuries

• Marc-Andre Gragnani (lower-body, 11/8) – missed seven games

Coming Up

By the Numbers

Team Statistics
CATEGORY	RECORD	AHL RANK	LAST WEEK
Power play	24.7%	t-1st	26.4% (1st)
Penalty kill	87.7%	5th	85.9% (10th)
Goals per game	3.53	4th	3.63 (3rd)
Shots per game	31.2	7th	32.6 (3rd)
Goals allowed per game	2.74	7th	2.44 (5th)
Shots allowed per game	32.0	21st	31.2 (20th)
Penalty minutes per game	12.8	2nd (fewest)	13.6 (2nd)

Team Leaders
CATEGORY	LEADER(S)
Points	Zach Boychuk (18), Justin Faulk (17), Zac Dalpe (15)
Goals	Zach Boychuk (12), Drayson Bowman (11), Chris Terry (8)
Assists	Justin Faulk (14), Bobby Sanguinetti (10), Zac Dalpe, Marc-Andre Gragnani (9)
Power play goals	Drayson Bowman, Zach Boychuk (5), Zac Dalpe (3)
Shorthanded goals	Nicolas Blanchard, Chris Terry (1)
Game-winning goals	Zach Boychuk (4), Drayson Bowman, Chris Terry (3)
Shots on goal	Drayson Bowman (62), Jerome Samson (60), Zach Boychuk, Zac Dalpe (59)
Penalty minutes	Nicolas Blanchard (33), Rasmus Rissanen (30), Tim Wallace (25)
Plus/minus	Michal Jordan (+8), Zac Dalpe (+6), four tied at (+4)
Wins	Justin Peters (7), Dan Ellis (5)
Goals-against average	Dan Ellis (2.25), Justin Peters (2.84)
Save percentage	Dan Ellis (.933), Justin Peters (.903)

Checkers in the ECHL

Florida Everblades
Player	POS	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM	+/-	NOTES
Matt Beca	F	17	5	10	15	12	-5	4th in team scoring
Tommi Kivisto	D	17	3	7	10	17	-5	3 points in 3 games since returning from CHA
David Rutherford	C	13	5	7	12	24	-2
Beau Schmitz	D	16	0	2	2	19	-6
Justin Shugg	F	14	5	9	14	16	-4
Brody Sutter	F	13	2	2	4	9	-5

Goaltender	GP	RECORD	GAA	SV%	SO	NOTES
John Muse	9	3-3-3	4.39	.872	0

San Francisco Bulls
Player	POS	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM	+/-	NOTES
Joe Sova	D	11	0	0	0	4	-9	On loan

Evansville IceMen
Goaltender	GP	RECORD	GAA	SV%	SO	NOTES
Rob Madore	11	3-7-0	3.21	.901	0	On loan