February 18, 2012 8:48 AM
With one important divisional game successfully out of the way, the Checkers hope to continue that trend during a two-night stay in Chicago.
| |
 |
| |
|
| |
GAME INFORMATION |
| |
WATCH: www.AHLLive.com |
| |
LISTEN: WBCN 1660 AM | www.AHLLIVE.com |
| |
TWITTER: @CheckersInGame | @PaulBranecky |
| |
|
| |
SEASON SERIES |
| |
Thursday, Dec. 15: Chicago 2, Checkers 1 |
| |
Friday, Dec. 16: Checkers 4, Chicago 2 |
| |
Saturday, Dec. 31: Checkers 4, Chicago 1 |
| |
Sunday, Jan. 8: Chicago 5, Checkers 2
|
| |
Saturday, Feb. 18 at 8 p.m. (Chicago) |
| |
Sunday, Feb. 19 at 4 p.m. (Chicago) |
| |
Saturday, March 10 at 7 p.m. (Charlotte) |
| |
Sunday, March 11 at 3 p.m. (Charlotte) |
| |
|
| |
CHECKERS STATS |
| |
RECORD
|
30-18-4 |
3rd Western Conference
|
| |
GOALS / GAME
|
2.87 |
t-16th AHL |
| |
GOALS ALLOWED / GAME
|
2.65
|
6th AHL |
| |
POWER PLAY |
20.8%
|
5th AHL |
| |
PENALTY KILL
|
84.9% |
4th AHL |
| |
PIM / GAME
|
14.9 |
8th AHL |
Friday’s win over Peoria may have put a safer distance between the two clubs as the Checkers (30-18-4) look to maintain their lead the Midwest - they’re now seven points ahead of the Rivermen – but Chicago (28-18-4) is still just four points back with two fewer games played.
The back-to-back set will mark the Checkers’ final visit to Chicago this season, with the Wolves set to return to Charlotte for games on two consecutive days beginning March 10. They have split the four previous meetings with identical 2-2-0 records.
CHARLOTTE
In beating Peoria 4-2 on Friday and breaking their first regulation losing streak (two games) in over two months, Charlotte got out to the fast start it needed on goals by two of its biggest offensive threats, Zac Dalpe and Zach Boychuk, in the first four minutes of the contest. Though Justin Shugg and Michal Jordan would later add to that tally to ensure the win, rookie John Muse made key saves when needed in a 26-stop effort that improved his record to 9-2-0 this season.
Similar to last week’s three-in-three set, the Checkers could however turn to veteran goalie Dave Caruso for tonight’s second game. The 29-year-old professional tryout signing made 42 saves in his only AHL game of the season in Peoria exactly one week ago but did not get much help in a lopsided 5-2 loss. In 52 career games at the AHL level, Caruso, most recently of the ECHL’s Trenton Titans, is 16-28-0 with a 3.53 goals-against average and .885 save percentage.
Caruso was signed to his second PTO on Thursday, which marked the same day the Checkers recalled Shugg from their ECHL affiliate in Florida. Shugg, a 20-year-old rookie, recorded 2 points (1g, 1a) in his first AHL game in over two months Friday, giving him 6 points (2g, 4a) in his last six AHL games dating back to Nov. 26.
The Checkers brought Shugg in to replace forward Jerome Samson, who the Carolina Hurricanes summoned to Raleigh on Wednesday. Samson joins fellow winger Drayson Bowman in the NHL, while forwards Chris Durno and Riley Nash each remained out of the lineup due to injury on Friday.
CHICAGO
| |
 |
| |
|
| |
WOLVES STATS |
| |
RECORD
|
28-18-4 |
5th Western Conference
|
| |
GOALS / GAME
|
2.92 |
t-13th AHL |
| |
GOALS ALLOWED / GAME
|
2.58
|
4th AHL |
| |
POWER PLAY |
15.3%
|
25th AHL |
| |
PENALTY KILL
|
83.1% |
12th AHL |
| |
PIM / GAME
|
15.4 |
11th AHL
|
Though the Checkers enter tonight’s game having won nine of their last 13 contests, Chicago has kept the pace by taking seven of its last nine, including two straight. That’s given the Wolves the potential to end the weekend tied with Charlotte in the standings, though they would hold a significant advantage by having two games still in hand.
The last meeting between the two teams proved to be pivotal in Chicago’s surge up the standings after a slow start. Though the Checkers took a huge comeback win in Milwaukee on Jan. 7 that has since seen the Admirals fall out of divisional contention for the time being, their 5-2 loss to a perceived lesser threat in Chicago the next night is part of why the Wolves have emerged as the No. 1 threat.
While the Checkers enter the back-to-back meetings with one game already under their belt as part of a three-in-three, the Wolves have been off since a 4-3 overtime triumph over Grand Rapids on Wednesday night. That makes it anyone’s guess as to which goaltender they’ll use, though Eddie Lack has seen three of the four starts against Charlotte, going 2-1-0 with a 2.36 goals-against average and .934 save percentage.
Lack, who has been part of a timeshare with Matt Climie of late, made 33 saves in Wednesday’s victory. However, Climie has better numbers for the season, ranking second in AHL save percentage at .927 and ninth in goals-against average at 2.39. As a team, they check in as the league’s fourth-stingiest defense, with Charlotte not far behind at No. 6.
The Checkers were perhaps lucky to avoid Wolves leading scorer Mark Mancari for the first three meetings of the series due to NHL recall with the Vancouver Canucks, but he recorded a 3-point night (2g, 1a) in the most recent contest.
CHECKERS NOTES
 • DROUGHT OVER: Defenseman Michal Jordan broke the longest active goal drought on the team by scoring his first goal in 34 games against Peoria on Friday night. That goal to make the score 4-2 in the third period was his first since a Nov. 18 tally against Rockford that was part of a two-point performance. The goal tied his single-season career high with 4, and allowed him to set a new career high in points (19), breaking a tie with last season’s rookie total.
• LATE BLOOMER: After going scoreless in his first 30 AHL games of the season with San Antonio and Charlotte, center A.J. Jenks now has 4 points (1g, 3a) in his last six games, including his first multi-point effort in Peoria on Friday. Jenks, a fourth-round draft pick who the Carolina Hurricanes acquired from the Florida Panthers organization in January, now has 25 points (9g, 16a) in 99 career AHL games.
• MAJOR PLUS: Charlotte defenseman Justin Krueger has a plus-13 plus/minus rating this season, giving him a seven-point advantage over rookie Justin Shugg for the team lead. Though he has one year of professional experience overseas, Krueger, 25, himself still qualifies as a rookie under AHL rules, giving him the second-highest rating of any first-year blueliner.
• THREE IN THREES: The Checkers are currently in the midst of playing 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 10-9-0 in games that are a part of a three-in-three set, including a 3-4-0 record in Game One, a 5-1-0 record in Game Two and a 2-4-0 record in Game Three.
• DIVISIONAL DOMINANCE: The Checkers are 13-5-1 against divisional opponents this season, giving them the best record of any Midwest team against its own division. They have also played far fewer divisional games (19) than any other Midwest team, with tonight’s opponent, Chicago, holding the next-best mark at 17-13-1.
STREAKS
• Zach Boychuk has points in each of his last three games (Feb. 12-17; 2g, 2a)
• Justin Shugg has points in each of his last two games (Dec. 15-Feb. 17; 1g, 2a)
• Chris Terry has assists and points in each of his last two games (Feb. 12-17; 2a)
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
CHICAGO
• Feb. 16 – (D) Chris Tanev recalled to Vancouver (NHL) from Chicago
• Feb. 14 – (LW) Mike Duco reassigned to Chicago from Vancouver (NHL) |
|
|
|
