February 17, 2012 7:59 AM
The Checkers didn’t have to wait long for a chance to avenge what was likely their worst loss of the season.
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GAME INFORMATION |
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WATCH: www.AHLLive.com |
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LISTEN: WBCN 1660 AM | www.AHLLive.com |
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TWITTER: @CheckersInGame | @PaulBranecky |
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SEASON SERIES |
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Saturday, Oct. 15: Checkers 4, Peoria 3 (SO) |
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Sunday, Oct. 16: Checkers 3, Peoria 1
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Saturday, Feb. 11: Peoria 5, Checkers 2
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Monday, Feb. 17 at 8 p.m. (Peoria) |
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Tuesday, March 20 at 7 p.m. (Charlotte) |
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Wednesday, March 21 at 7 p.m. (Charlotte) |
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Saturday, March 31 at 8 p.m. (Peoria) |
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Friday, April 13 at 8 p.m. (Peoria) |
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CHECKERS STATS |
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RECORD
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29-18-4 |
3rd Western Conference
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GOALS / GAME
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2.84 |
17th AHL |
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GOALS ALLOWED / GAME
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2.67
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6th AHL |
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POWER PLAY |
21.1%
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t-2nd AHL |
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PENALTY KILL
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84.6% |
5th AHL |
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PIM / GAME
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14.9 |
7th AHL |
They head back to Peoria, the scene of their 5-2 defeat last Saturday, to continue their season series with their division rivals. However, they’ll be more than pride on the line, with the Checkers (29-18-4) now just five points ahead of the Rivermen (27-21-3) in the Midwest race. Tonight’s game could go a long way towards widening the gap or creating another legitimate challenger.
The game begins yet another three-in-three set for the Checkers, who next head to Chicago for back-to-back games against yet another divisional threat.
CHARLOTTE
The Checkers are in universal agreement that their first-ever visit to Peoria was one of their worst performances of the season, as the Rivermen jumped out to a 5-0 lead before the Checkers struck back with two consolation goals in the third period.
It could be that Peoria realized the importance of the head-to-head game as they attempt to climb the standings after a slow start, while Charlotte had not yet identified their opponents as a growing threat during their recent resurgence.
“They were ready for a big game, and we weren’t,” said Daniels.
While that shouldn’t be an issue tonight, the Checkers do face a handful of injury questions, with forwards Chris Durno, Riley Nash, Justin Soryal and Brett Sutter, not to mention defenseman Chris Murray and goalie Mike Murphy, all missing or limited in practices earlier this week.
Of that group, Nash and Murray were the only two to not make any kind of appearance, suggesting that they’re least likely to play. The team’s re-signing of goalie Dave Caruso to a professional tryout contract also makes it likely that Murphy will remain out, while the recall of rookie Justin Shugg from ECHL Florida would fill a gap at forward made worse by the Carolina Hurricanes’ recalls of Drayson Bowman and Jerome Samson.
In goal, rookie John Muse will likely get an opportunity to continue the remarkable start to his AHL career, as he now has a 8-2-0 record with a 1.63 goals-against average and .947 save percentage with the Checkers after starting the season in the ECHL as the team’s No. 3 option. Caruso, who made 42 saves in the earlier loss in Peoria, could again start the middle game of the three-in-three set, which would come Saturday in Chicago.
PEORIA
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RIVERMEN STATS |
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RECORD
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27-21-3 |
6th Western Conference
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GOALS / GAME
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3.04 |
8th AHL |
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GOALS ALLOWED / GAME
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2.80
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14th AHL |
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POWER PLAY |
21.1%
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t-2nd AHL |
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PENALTY KILL
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83.9% |
7th AHL |
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PIM / GAME
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15.4 |
9th AHL
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The Rivermen enter tonight’s game having won seven of their last nine, with their victory over the Checkers starting a three-game streak. While the Checkers have been off since Sunday’s loss to Norfolk, the Rivermen suited up for a 1-0 win in Rockford on Wednesday.
Though one can’t argue with the results, Peoria has undergone one curious change during their recent run of victories. After taking a season-high 47 shots against Charlotte, they took a total of 28 over their next two contests, firing 15 and 13, respectively. While Sunday’s game in Milwaukee was tightly played by both teams, they were out-shot 42-13 by Rockford, an even wider margin than in the meeting with the Checkers.
Peoria has All-Star goalie Ben Bishop to thank for those wins, as the 6-foot-7 netminder continues to show why many consider him to be ready to make the step to the NHL level. Due to a technicality – he left briefly due to an illness but later returned – he did not get credit for the shutout in Wednesday’s game, but still has a league-leading six on the season to go along with his AHL-best 23 victories and .929 save percentage.
Though offense has been hard to come by in recent games, they still have dangerous offensive weapons that showed their capabilities against the Checkers. Veteran T.J. Hensick is third in AHL scoring with 62 points (18g, 44a) in 51 games, with Brett Sterling (43 points) tied for 13th. Danny Syvret has contributed from the blue line with 31 points to tie for fourth among league defensemen, while Cade Fairchild leads the league in plus/minus at plus-28.
CHECKERS NOTES
 • RARE SLIDE: The Checkers concluded last week’s slate with losses to Peoria and Norfolk, marking the first time they’ve lost two consecutive games in regulation since the tail end of a four-game slide that concluded on Dec. 14. Those are two of just three regulation losing streaks the Checkers have experienced this season, including another two-game run from Oct. 30-Nov. 4. By comparison, the Checkers have 10 separate streaks of two or more wins this season, including a team-record five-game run in late November.
• MAJOR PLUS: Charlotte defenseman Justin Krueger has a plus-13 plus/minus rating this season, giving him a 10-point advantage over Zac Dalpe for the team lead. Though he has one year of professional experience overseas, Krueger, 25, still qualifies as a rookie under AHL rules, giving him the second-highest rating of any first-year blueliner.
• NEW STREAK?: Though his team record 11-game point streak, the longest posted by an AHL defenseman since 2008-09, came to an end on Saturday, Checkers defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti promptly scored the team’s lone goal in his next game. He now has 16 points (6g, 10) in his last 13 contests, pulling him into a six-way tie for 10th among league defenseman in scoring.
Despite missing 11 games, Sanguinetti, in his fourth AHL campaign, is on pace to set a new career high in points (45). Among league defensemen, he ranks tied for second in power-play goals (6) and is tied for third in power play points (20).
• THREE IN THREES: This coming weekend, the Checkers will play three games in three nights for the seventh time this season. All three of those games will take place on the road, which is true of five of the team’s eight total sets of three-in-threes this season. During the current campaign, Charlotte is 9-9-0 in games that are a part of a three-in-three set, including a 2-4-0 record in Game One, a 5-1-0 record in Game Two and a 2-4-0 record in Game Three.
STREAKS
• Zach Boychuk has points in each of his last two games (Feb. 12-13; 1g, 1a)
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
CHARLOTTE
• Feb. 16 – (LW) Justin Shugg recalled to Charlotte from Florida (ECHL)
• Feb. 16 – (G) Dave Caruso signed to professional tryout contract
• Feb. 15 – (RW) Jerome Samson recalled to Carolina (NHL) from Charlotte
• Feb. 14 – (LW) Drayson Bowman recalled to Carolina (NHL) from Charlotte
PEORIA
• Feb. 15 – (LW) Evgeny Grachev reassigned to Peoria from St. Louis (NHL)
• Feb. 15 – (D) Ian Cole reassigned to Peoria from St. Louis (NHL)
• Feb. 13 – (G) David McKee released from professional tryout contract |
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