February 06, 2012 8:32 AM
Overall record: 28-16-4 (Home 15-7-3 | Road 13-9-1)
Last week’s record: 2-0-0 | Last 10 games: 7-3-0
Standings: 1st Midwest Division | 2nd Western Conference
The Checkers began a month filled with road games by winning their first two, increasing their Midwest Division lead to six points.
 Charlotte began the weekend with a victory over the AHL’s No. 1 team in Oklahoma City on Friday before topping Texas the next night, beginning a stretch of playing seven of eight games away from Time Warner Cable Arena. The Checkers now have wins in seven of their last nine contests dating back to Jan. 15, marking their most successful portion of the season.
Now back in Charlotte, the team will again depart to play games in Milwaukee on Friday and Peoria on Saturday before returning home to complete the three-in-three set against Norfolk on Sunday.
 Checkers 3, Oklahoma City 1 - Recap
The Checkers returned from the All-Star break to record a 3-1 road victory against the AHL’s top team on Friday. A.J. Jenks opened the scoring with his first goal and point as a Checker late in the first period, with Brett Sutter and Bobby Sanguinetti adding to the team’s total. Sanguinetti’s power-play goal in the third period gave him points in his last nine games, setting a new team record. John Muse made 27 saves as the Checkers improved to 4-1-1 against the Barons this season.
Checkers 4, Texas 3 – Recap
Leading 3-1 at the start of the third period, the Checkers survived a wild finish to record an eventual 4-3 win over Texas on Saturday. Jerome Samson added to his team-leading total with his 16th and 17th goals of the season, with Bobby Sanguinetti assisting on one of those to extend his team-record point streak to 10 games. Zac Dalpe and Jared Staal also scored for the Checkers, with John Muse making 32 saves to improve to 7-1-0 this season.
 Checkers in the Community: January
Despite playing a season-high 13 games in the month of January, the Checkers continued their giving ways with several community appearances and charitable initiatives
Sanguinetti back to top form
Checkers defenseman overcomes injuries to set team scoring record
Presbyterian Hospital Pink in the Rink set for Feb. 25
Annual event to raise funds and awareness for the fight against women’s cancers
Hurricanes recall Drayson Bowman
Checkers forward joins Hurricanes for third time this season
Rare injury comes at poor time for Samson
Long-awaited NHL recall cut short by injury
Samson returns to Checkers
Charlotte’s leading goal scorer, now healthy, returns from NHL
Terry leads West to All-Star Victory
Checkers forward records team-high 3 points (2g, 1a) in All-Star Classic debut
 • BOBBY’S WORLD: Defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti has recorded at least one point in each of his last 10 games, setting a new team record. He has 14 points (5g, 9a) dating back to the Checkers’ Jan. 12 game against Hershey, giving him the longest active streak by any AHL player and tying him for the longest posted by any defenseman this season. Hershey’s Keith Aucoin (16 games) and Chris Bourque (12) are the only players that have recorded longer streaks this season.
Despite missing 11 games this season, Sanguinetti, in his fourth AHL campaign, is on pace to tie his career highs in assists (36) while setting a new career high in points (45). He ranks fourth on the team and is tied for 10th among league defensemen in points (26). Twelve of 14 points on his current streak have come on the power play, as he is now tied for second among all AHL defensemen with 19 on the Checkers’ No. 2 ranked man advantage (21.5 percent).
• FINDING MUSE: Starting with his professional debut with Portland at the conclusion of his college career last season and continuing through eight Checkers games this season, rookie goaltender Muse is now 8-1-0 with a 1.69 goals-against average and .947 save percentage in his AHL career. Though he has not yet played enough minutes to officially qualify among league leaders, both ratios would ranks first in the AHL.
Muse, a 23-year-old undrafted free agent signed by the Checkers this offseason, began the season with the ECHL’s Florida Everblades, where he posted a 7-3-2 record, 2.31 goals-against average and .927 save percentage. A winner of two NCAA national championships as a four-year starter at Boston College, Muse has started each of the Checkers’ last five games with Mike Murphy out due to injury.
• THREE IN THREES: The Checkers will play sets of three games in three nights over each of the next two weekends. They are 8-7-0 this season in games that are a part of a three-in-three set, including a perfect 5-0-0 record in Game Two, a 1-4-0 record in Game One and a 2-3-0 record in Game Three. Next weekend will mark Charlotte’s sixth of eight three-in-three sets this season and first since early December. It will also mark the only such set that is split between road (two games) and home (one game).
• ON THE ROAD: The Checkers play seven of 10 games away from home in February, which ties November as the most road-heavy month of the season. The team has won seven of its last nine games on the road dating back to Dec. 30, giving it a record of 13-9-1 for the season.
• DIVISIONAL RACE: After winning seven of their last nine games, the Checkers now enjoy a six-point lead over Chicago in the Midwest Division, with the Wolves holding two games in hand. Charlotte will resume divisional play in the coming weekend in Milwaukee (fourth Midwest) and Peoria (third). The Checkers are 11-4-1 in divisional play this season.
STREAKS
• Bobby Sanguinetti has points in each of his last 10 games (Jan. 12-Feb. 4; 5g, 9a).
• John Muse has started five consecutive games (Jan. 24-Feb. 4; 4-1-0) and has wins in each of his last two (Feb. 3-4).
• Justin Soryal has assists and points in each of his last three games (Jan. 27-Feb. 4; 3a).
| CATEGORY |
RECORD |
AHL RANK |
LAST WEEK |
| Power play: |
21.5% |
2nd |
2nd |
| Penalty kill: |
83.9% |
t-7th |
9th |
| Goals per game: |
2.92 |
t-13th |
15th |
| Shots per game: |
32.0 |
8th |
8th |
| Goals allowed per game: |
2.65 |
6th |
t-6th |
| Shots allowed per game: |
31.1 |
21st |
20th |
| Penalty minutes per game: |
14.4 |
6th (fewest) |
6th |
| CATEGORY |
LEADER(S) |
| Points: |
Chris Terry (41), Jerome Samson (29), Zach Boychuk (27) |
| Goals: |
Jerome Samson (17), Zach Boychuk (12) |
| Assists: |
Chris Terry (31), Bobby Sanguinetti (21) |
| Power play goals: |
Jerome Samson (8), Drayson Bowman (6) |
| Shorthanded goals: |
Five players tied at (1) |
| Game-winning goals: |
Zach Boychuk, Matthew Pistilli, Jerome Samson (3) |
| Shots on goal: |
Jerome Samson (167), Chris Terry (119), Drayson Bowman (107) |
| Penalty minutes: |
Justin Soryal (110), Nicolas Blanchard (66), Chris Terry (47) |
| Plus/minus: |
Justin Krueger (+13), Justin Shugg (+5) |
| Wins: |
Mike Murphy (15), John Muse (7), Justin Peters (6) |
| Goals-against average: |
John Muse (1.67), Justin Peters (2.49), Mike Murphy (2.71) |
| Save percentage: |
John Muse (.948), Justin Peters (.920), Mike Murphy (.910) |
• Feb. 2 – (G) Scott Darling signed to a professional tryout contract
• Feb. 1 – (LW) Drayson Bowman recalled to Carolina (NHL) from Charlotte
• Jan. 31 – (RW) Jerome Samson reassigned to Charlotte from Carolina (NHL)
• Jan. 30 – (C) Riley Nash recalled to Carolina (NHL) from Charlotte
• Friday, Feb. 10 at Milwaukee (8:00 p.m.)
• Saturday, Feb. 11 at Peoria (8:00 p.m.)
• Sunday, Feb. 12 vs. Norfolk (6:00 p.m.)
- Team Poster Giveaway Presented by North Carolina Zoo Asheboro
The first 2,500 fans will receive a free team poster courtesy of North Carolina Zoo Asheboro.
- Goodwill Electronics Drive
Bring approved electronics to donate to Goodwill and receive a complimentary ticket to an upcoming game.
- Coke Family Four Pack
4 tickets, 4 hot dogs, 4 Cokes and a Coke coupon for $60. Click here to buy online.
- Family Day Presented by North Carolina Zoo Asheboro
Zoo coupons will be handed out following each Sunday home game. Check out gocheckers.com/zoo for more information and a look at the Checkers' monthly transactions.
- GEICO Challenge Cup
Whichever team finishes with the most standings points in the season series between the Checkers and Norfolk will win and receive a branded trophy at the conclusion of the series.
Start your week off with a cup of Magnolia Coffee, the official coffee of the Checkers. For more information, visit their website, call Magnolia Coffee at 704-654-5393 or email jay@magnoliacoffeeco.com. |
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