November 12, 2011 7:52 AM
Paul Branecky
(Twitter: @PaulBranecky)
Having been shut out for the first time all season on Friday, the Checkers will get another crack at the league-leading Oklahoma City Barons in tonight’s rematch.
Yann Danis made 30 saves – one more than Charlotte’s Justin Peters – to become the first goalie to blank the Checkers since Worcester on March 5 of last season. In the process of recording his 1-0 win, he ensured that the second-place Checkers (8-5-1, 17 points) could not finish the back-to-back set ahead of the Barons (10-2-0, 21 points) for the Western Conference’s top spot.
| |
 |
| |
|
| |
GAME INFORMATION |
| |
VIDEO: www.AHLLive.com |
| |
RADIO: www.AHLLive.com
|
| |
TWITTER: @CheckersHockey | @PaulBranecky |
| |
|
| |
SEASON SERIES |
| |
Friday, Oct. 28: Checkers 2, Oklahoma City 1 |
| |
Friday, Nov. 11: Oklahoma City 1, Checkers 0
|
| |
Saturday, Nov. 12 at 8 p.m. (Oklahoma City) |
| |
Sunday, Dec. 18 at 6 p.m. (Charlotte) |
| |
Tuesday, Dec. 20 at 7 p.m. (Charlotte) |
| |
Friday, Feb. 3 at 8 p.m. (Oklahoma City) |
| |
Friday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. (Charlotte) |
| |
Saturday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. (Charlotte) |
| |
|
| |
CHECKERS STATS |
| |
RECORD
|
8-5-1-0 |
2nd Western Conference
|
| |
GOALS / GAME
|
2.71 |
21st AHL |
| |
GOALS ALLOWED / GAME
|
2.36
|
5th AHL |
| |
POWER PLAY |
15-74 (20.3%)
|
12th AHL |
| |
PENALTY KILL
|
46-57 (80.7%) |
16th AHL |
| |
PIM / GAME
|
15.50 |
10th AHL |
Oklahoma City extended its winning streak to six games, the second-longest in the AHL this season. Tonight’s match-up will mark the Checkers’ eighth consecutive road game, as they finish their season-long swing on Sunday in Houston.
CHARLOTTE
Prior to Friday’s shutout, the Checkers had been held to one goal just once all season – exactly one week earlier at Milwaukee. Led by forward Jerome Samson, who saw his seven-game point streak stopped against the Barons, Charlotte had scored at least two goals in its other 12 games to rank 15th in the AHL with an average of 2.92 goals per game.
Personnel wise, the biggest difference for the Checkers on Friday was the absence of third-leading-scorer Chris Terry (2g, 6a). The forward, who features heavily in all situations, will serve the second of his two-game suspension for charging Grand Rapids goaltender Joey MacDonald last Saturday.
Without Terry, who has scored 5 of his 8 points on the man advantage, the Checkers went 0-4 on the power play on Friday. Even if he were in the lineup, the team would likely have some difficulty scoring against Oklahoma City’s penalty kill, which has allowed just two goals in 42 chances (95.2 percent) at home.
Now with two healthy goaltenders, the Checkers are likely to turn to Mike Murphy for the second game of the team’s three-in-three set, continuing the rotation planned by coach Jeff Daniels entering the season. Murphy made 28 saves to defeat Rockford in his last start on Sunday, while Peters has allowed one goal on each of his two appearances since returning from a lower-body concern, stopping 55 of 57 shots.
OKLAHOMA CITY
Friday’s shutout, his second of the season, vaulted Danis into a tie for third place in AHL save percentage (.942), 5th in goals-against average (1.76) and third in wins (7). The 30-year-old veteran, who has 49 games of NHL experience with Montreal, the New York Islanders and New Jersey under his belt, has won each of his last four starts.
If the Barons elect not to use Danis for the second night in a row – they, like the Checkers, are in the second game of a three-in-three set – they’ll hand the start to another strong veteran in David LeNeveu. The 28-year-old, who has seen 22 NHL games with Phoenix and Columbus dating back to the 2005-06 season, ranks in the top 20 in AHL goals-against average (2.37) and save percentage (.921) in five games played.
With those two manning the goal, it’s no surprise that the Barons own the league’s stingiest defense, allowing an average of just 2.08 goals per game despite giving up the 18th-most shots (30.62 per contest). Along with Bridgeport and St. John’s, they’re one of just three AHL teams to have earned wins in every game they’ve scored first (7-0-0).
CHECKERS NOTES
 • Friday’s loss dropped the Checkers to 1-3-0 in the first game of three-in-three sets this season, the only game in which they have a losing record over their first two seasons in the AHL (4-6-2). They’re at their best in game two, going a perfect 3-0-0 this season and 8-2-1 all time.
• Friday marked the fifth time the Checkers have been shutout in their two-year history, with the previous instance coming on March 5 of last season in Worcester. Three of those five shutouts have come on the road. The Checkers are also one of 11 teams that have yet to shut out an opponent this season.
• Checkers forward Jerome Samson had a seven-game point streak (4g, 6a) snapped on Friday. At the time of its conclusion, it was the longest run in the AHL and the fourth seven-game streak of Samson's five-year professional career. Six of the seven games came on the road, tying him with Hershey’s Keith Aucoin for the longest road streak by any player this season. He came one game shy of tying his career high eight-game streak set with Albany in 2009-10.
Samson, the AHL’s leader in shots on goal with 70, on Friday recorded fewer than two shots (1) for the first time since Nov. 9, 2010. He is the Checkers’ leader in points (14), goals (7) and power-play goals (3), having been held scoreless in just four of the Checkers’ 14 games this season.
• Goalie Justin Peters has made a successful return from injury, allowing just one goal in each of his last two starts. During that stretch, he has stopped 55 of 57 shots to post a .965 save percentage and 1.01 goals-against average. Fellow netminder Mike Murphy, who has started nine of the Checkers’ 14 games this season, ranks tied for fourth in the AHL in wins (6), eighth in save percentage (.932), 12th in goals-against average (2.18) and fourth in total saves (276). The third-year pro has recorded six of the Checkers’ eight victories this season, and is one of just three goaltenders to have stopped all comers in the shootout (5-5).
TRANSACTIONS
Charlotte
• Nov. 7 – LW Drayson Bowman reassigned to Charlotte from Carolina (NHL)
• Nov. 7 – C Zac Dalpe recalled to Carolina (NHL) from Charlotte
Oklahoma City
• Nov. 10 – D Colten Teubert reassigned to Oklahoma City from Edmonton (NHL)
• Nov. 10 – D Dan Ringwald released from PTO by Oklahoma City
• Nov. 10 – D Taylor Chorney assigned to Oklahoma City from Edmonton (NHL)
|
|
|
|
