February 19, 2012 7:44 AM
Though coming out on the wrong end of a remarkable goaltending duel put a slight dent in their division lead, the Checkers will look to make up for that in today’s rematch with the Chicago Wolves.
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GAME INFORMATION |
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WATCH: www.AHLLive.com |
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LISTEN: WFNZ 610 AM | www.AHLLIVE.com |
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TWITTER: @CheckersInGame | @PaulBranecky |
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SEASON SERIES |
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Thursday, Dec. 15: Chicago 2, Checkers 1 |
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Friday, Dec. 16: Checkers 4, Chicago 2 |
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Saturday, Dec. 31: Checkers 4, Chicago 1 |
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Sunday, Jan. 8: Chicago 5, Checkers 2
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Saturday, Feb. 18: Chicago 1, Checkers 0 (SO)
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Sunday, Feb. 19 at 4 p.m. (Chicago) |
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Saturday, March 10 at 7 p.m. (Charlotte) |
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Sunday, March 11 at 3 p.m. (Charlotte) |
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CHECKERS STATS |
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RECORD
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30-18-5 |
2nd Western Conference
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GOALS / GAME
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2.81 |
t-18th AHL |
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GOALS ALLOWED / GAME
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2.62
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5th AHL |
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POWER PLAY |
20.7%
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t-5th AHL |
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PENALTY KILL
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85.2% |
4th AHL |
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PIM / GAME
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14.7 |
8th AHL |
Thanks to Saturday’s 1-0 shootout win that featured shutouts by Charlotte’s John Muse (32) and Chicago’s Eddie Lack (31), the Wolves (29-18-4) are now just three points behind the Checkers (30-18-5) with two games in hand. A win by the visiting Checkers tonight would increase the lead to five points, thus removing the Wolves’ scheduling advantage.
The game marks the final outing of a three-in-three set for the Checkers, who have gained a point in each of the first two (1-0-1). A win in today’s 4 p.m. matinee would mark their most successful three-in-three of the season and tie their all-time mark.
CHARLOTTE
Muse, playing his second game in as many nights on Saturday, earned his second shutout of the campaign in the losing effort. In 12 appearances with the Checkers this season, the rookie recall from the ECHL’s Florida Everblades is now 9-2-1 with a 1.51 goals-against average, .950 save percentage and two shutouts.
That could put coach Jeff Daniels in a bit of a dilemma for Sunday’s rematch, as he weighs whether to use Muse for the third night in a row, this time with an even shorter turnaround, or turn to experienced backup Dave Caruso. Caruso, who the team signed to a second professional tryout contract last week, relieved Muse for one game of last week’s three-in-three in Peoria, making 42 saves in the losing effort. Muse, 23, has not yet played on three consecutive nights in his pro career.
In another potential lineup change, defenseman Justin Krueger, who leads the Checkers with a plus-13 rating, left Saturday’s game in the first period due to injury and did not return. Should he be unable to play, Joe Sova, a January trade acquisition from the New Jersey Devils organization who has been a healthy scratch for the last six games, would make his first appearance since Feb. 3.
Offensively, the Checkers will be looking to bounce back from their fourth shutout of the season and first since Jan. 3. They have shut out the opposition twice this season, both coming by way of Muse.
Saturday’s loss broke a tie in the season series with the Chicago, with the Checkers now 2-2-1 in head-to-head match-ups. Following today’s game, the two will meet for back-to-back games in Charlotte starting March 10.
CHICAGO
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WOLVES STATS |
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RECORD
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29-18-4 |
4th Western Conference
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GOALS / GAME
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2.88 |
t-14th AHL |
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GOALS ALLOWED / GAME
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2.53
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4th AHL |
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POWER PLAY |
15.1%
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24th AHL |
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PENALTY KILL
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83.2% |
t-11th AHL |
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PIM / GAME
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15.1 |
9th AHL
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Lack, an undrafted 24-year-old native of Sweden, continued to have the Checkers’ number this season. He has started four of the five meetings between the two clubs this season, going 3-1-0 with a 1.73 goals-against average and .949 save percentage. In addition to Saturday’s shutout, he made 40 saves in the initial meeting between the two clubs on Dec. 15, a 2-1 win for the Wolves.
With the Wolves only playing back-to-backs this weekend rather than a three-in-three, Chicago could again go with Lack, who now ranks eighth in AHL goals-against average with a season mark of 2.38. However, he has more or less split games with teammate Matt Climie this season, who himself ranks just behind Lack in goals-against average (2.39) while checking in at second in save percentage (.927). The shutout against the Checkers was the team’s third of the season, all of which have come by way of Lack.
Though the focus will be on the rematch between two of the league’s top five defensive teams, blueliner Kevin Connauton was able to win Saturday’s game with his offense, scoring the game-winner in the sixth round of the shootout. The attempt was the first of the season for the soon-to-be-22-year-old Vancouver Canucks product, though he does rank tied for second in the league with 10 conventional goals.
Against the Checkers, the Wolves’ only point-per-game players are Victor Oreskovich (4 in four) and Mark Mancari (3 in two). Oreskovich has missed the Wolves’ last 12 games.
CHECKERS NOTES
 • MUSE SHUTS THE DOOR: With the second shutout of his AHL career in the Checkers’ 1-0 shootout loss in Chicago Saturday, John Muse tied Mike Murphy for the team’s all-time mark. Muse achieved the mark in just 12 games, as he now holds a 9-2-1 record with a 1.51 goals-against average and .950 save percentage with the Checkers this season Though he was still 306 minutes away from officially qualifying among league leaders through games of Feb. 18, he would rank first in goals-against average and save percentage. Muse and Murphy are the only Checkers goalies to record shutouts in the team’s two-year history.
• SHOOTOUTS: Saturday’s loss caused the Checkers to fall to 5-3 in shootouts this season, as their eight appearances rank tied for fifth-most in the AHL. They rank sixth in terms of scoring (18-for-47; .383 shooting percentage) and 17th in terms of goaltending (15-for-47; .319 opponent shooting percentage). The Checkers have five players who have scored on more than half their attempts this season, including Chris Terry (5-for-8), A.J. Jenks (3-for-4), Drayson Bowman (3-for-5), Justin Krueger (2-for-3) and Nicolas Blanchard (1-for-1).
• 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 seven 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 100 career AHL games. Though it does not count against those totals, Jenks also scored a shootout goal on Saturday in Chicago, making him three-for-four this season and seven-for-14 in his AHL career.
• 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 10-9-1 in games that are a part of a three-in-three set, including a 3-4-0 record in Game One, a 5-1-1 record in Game Two and a 2-4-0 record in Game Three.
• DIVISIONAL DOMINANCE: The Checkers are 13-5-2 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 (20) than any other Midwest team, with tonight’s opponent, Chicago, holding the next-best mark at 18-13-1.
STREAKS
• John Muse has started each of the Checkers’ last three games (Feb. 12-18; 1-1-1)
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) |
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