Paul Branecky
(Twitter: @PaulBranecky)
The Checkers aim to secure a winning record on their current three-game road trip when they visit the IceHogs in Rockford tonight.
Charlotte halted a run of two straight regulation losses, its only pointless streak of the season, with a win over Grand Rapids Saturday night that evened their weekend record at 1-1-0. A win in their first-ever trip to Rockford would give them a record of 2-1-0 for the third consecutive weekend, all of which have featured three-in-three sets.
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GAME INFORMATION |
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VIDEO: www.AHLLive.com |
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RADIO: WBCN 1660 AM | www.AHLLIVE.com |
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TWITTER: @CheckersHockey | @PaulBranecky |
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SEASON SERIES |
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Sunday, Nov. 6 at 6 p.m. (Rockford)
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Friday, Nov. 18 at 7 p.m. (Charlotte) |
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Sunday, Nov. 20 at 3 p.m. (Charlotte) |
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Friday, Dec. 30 at 8 p.m. (Rockford) |
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Thursday, Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. (Charlotte) |
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Friday, Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. (Charlotte) |
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Tuesday, April 10 at 8 p.m. (Rockford) |
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Saturday, April 14 at 8 p.m. (Rockford) |
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CHECKERS STATS |
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RECORD
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7-4-1-0 |
6th Western Conference
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GOALS / GAME
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2.83 |
t-15th AHL |
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GOALS ALLOWED / GAME
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2.50
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7th AHL |
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POWER PLAY |
13-63 (20.6%)
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13th AHL |
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PENALTY KILL
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39-50 (78.0%) |
t-22nd AHL |
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PIM / GAME
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15.5 |
9th AHL |
Saturday’s victory kept the Checkers in sixth place in the Western Conference, though they are level on points with Abbotsford and Milwaukee. Rockford finds itself as the conference’s No. 14 seed, although it has played just nine games, fewer than all but three teams in the AHL. Tonight's game will be the inaugural meeting of the Midwest division opponents, who will face each other a total of eight times this season.
CHARLOTTE
Having not taken advantage of several special teams opportunities in Friday’s loss in Milwaukee, the Checkers made the most of their chances in Saturday’s victory. A night after going 0-8 on the man advantage and just 2-5 on the penalty kill, Charlotte got the game-winning goal off the stick of rookie defenseman Justin Faulk on one of its only two power plays and killed a five-minute major penalty by Chris Terry to hold its one-goal lead in the third period.
Faulk’s goal, the second of his professional career and first on the power play, brought Charlotte’s 13th-ranked penalty back over the 20 percent mark, where it has been for most of the season. The 19-year-old blue liner now has 6 points (2g, 4a) in eight games with the Checkers this season, leading all Charlotte defensemen.
The Checkers are expected to have last season’s standout freshman, forward Zac Dalpe, back in the lineup today. The 2010-11 AHL All-Rookie Team member sat out Saturday’s game after making season debut for Charlotte on Friday. The 22-year-old, who started the season with the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, is working his way back into fitness after missing three weeks with a lower-body injury.
Dalpe’s return should give the Checkers the full allotment of 12 forwards. After Terry’s game misconduct near the end of the second period on Saturday, Charlotte was reduced to just 10, with the team dressing seven defensemen for the first time all season – a trend that is unlikely to continue due to coach Jeff Daniels’ preference for the more traditional 12-6 split.
In goal, Daniels will have a choice to make between Mike Murphy, who did well under a heavy workload over the past few weeks, and Justin Peters, who made a successful return from injury in Saturday’s win, making 25 saves.
ROCKFORD
The IceHogs, top affiliate of the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks, enter today’s match-up with just one win in their last five games – a road victory over Peoria on Oct. 28. They will be playing their first game in a little over a week, having most recently lost to Rivermen by a 5-2 score one day later. Three of Rockford’s four victories came in its first four games, as they have gone 1-4-0 since then, including three straight losses at home.
Rockford defenseman Brian Connelly is the only defenseman in the AHL to lead his team in scoring, as his 10 points in nine games rank second among all blue liners, while his 9 assists rank tied for first. While he only has 1 goal on the season, his 34 shots on goal are tied for second among league defensemen. Though they’ve been getting offense from the blue line, the IceHogs rank 28th in the league in team defense, allowing an average of 3.56 goals per game. Connelly, a third-year-pro out of Colorado College, ranks last on the team with a minus-6 rating.
Brett McLean leads all forwards in scoring with 8 points (3g, 5a) in nine games, while Carolina Hurricanes’ 2009 first-round pick Philippe Paradis, now a rookie with the IceHogs, has 1 goal in five games.
All of Rockford’s games have been decided in regulation, as it is the only AHL team that has not had at least one game go to overtime all season.
CHECKERS NOTES
• The Checkers are 6-4-0 all time in the last game of three-in-three sets, including a 1-1-0 mark this season. They beat Norfolk in their first such instance this season before dropping a decision at Houston last week to end their chance at a potential sweep.
• The Checkers’ second periods have been by far their best this season, as they own a +11 goal differential (17 goals for, six against). However, in the third period, they have been out-scored 16-8 for a -8 differential. Their 16 goals allowed in the third period are the most by any AHL team. Their first periods have been relatively even and low-scoring, with Charlotte scoring and allowing seven goals.
• With an assist on Saturday, forward Jerome Samson extended his team and season-high point streak to six games (2g, 6a), which is the second-longest active streak in the AHL. The fifth-year forward, who leads the AHL with 64 shots on goal, also has a four-game assists streak (tied for the longest current run in the AHL), having posted five helpers during that stretch. Samson now has 12 points in 12 games, tying Jon Matsumoto for the team lead.
• Despite losing his last two starts, Charlotte goalie Mike Murphy still ranks third in the league in save percentage (.932), fourth in saves (248) and 11th in goals-against average (2.20). Murphy is also one of just three goaltenders to have stopped all comers in the shootout (5-5).
TRANSACTIONS
CHARLOTTE
Nov. 3 – Left wing Scott Pitt signed to a professional tryout agreement by Charlotte
Nov. 2 – Goaltender John Muse reassigned to Florida (ECHL) by Charlotte
Nov. 2 – Center Zac Dalpe assigned to Charlotte by Carolina (NHL)
Nov. 2 – Left wing Drayson Bowman recalled to Carolina (NHL) from Charlotte
ROCKFORD
No recent transactions
