March 31, 2012 6:58 AM
The Checkers look to make it a sweep of their two-game road trip as they visit the division rival Peoria Rivermen tonight.
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GAME INFORMATION |
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WATCH: www.AHLLive.com |
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LISTEN: 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: Checkers 4, Peoria 2 |
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Tuesday, March 20: Peoria 5, Checkers 2
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Wednesday, March 21: Checkers 6, Peoria 2
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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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34-24-9 |
6th Western Conference
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GOALS / GAME
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2.73 |
19th AHL |
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GOALS ALLOWED / GAME
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2.78
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t-12th AHL |
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POWER PLAY |
20.3%
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4th AHL |
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PENALTY KILL
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85.4% |
3rd AHL |
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PIM / GAME
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14.2 |
7th AHL |
Having won Friday in Grand Rapids to move from eighth to sixth in the Western Conference, the Checkers (34-24-9) could move up an additional spot to fifth should they win and get a favorable result in Houston’s game against Hamilton. Conversely, a loss to Peoria (36-29-4), who trails the Checkers by just one point, could drop them all the way down to 10th.
Tonight’s meeting will be the seventh of the season and third in two weeks against the two Midwest Division clubs, with Charlotte leading by way of a 4-2-0 head-to-head record. The teams will face each other once more after tonight, as the Checkers conclude their regular season with a four-game road trip that takes it through Peoria on April 13.
CHARLOTTE
The Checkers got the offensive breakthrough they needed on Friday, rallying from an early 2-0 deficit for an eventual 5-3 win in Grand Rapids. Previously, the team had averaged approximately two goals during a 17-game stretch that produced a record of 4-8-5 and dropped it from division leader to playoff hopeful.
Though 12 of 18 Charlotte skaters had at least one point, Chris Terry was the only player to score multiple points as he recorded two goals in the third period. His first on the power play would hold up as the eventual game winner, while his second into an empty net sealed the victory. Terry now has seven points (3g, 4a) during a five-game point streak.
Friday’s outburst, which improved the Checkers’ record to 28-4-2 when scoring three or more goals, came without the services of defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti – the team’s No. 2 scorer with 42 points. Sanguinetti, who has a six-game point streak, suffered an upper-body injury in the team’s previous game on Sunday. He did not make the trip west, meaning he will also miss tonight’s game.
In his stead, defenseman Justin Krueger appeared in his first game since suffering his own upper-body ailment on Feb. 18. Krueger, a dependable stay-at-home rookie, even contributed an assist on Sean Dolan’s second-period goal.
Though Justin Peters made 28 saves to record his first AHL victory since Nov. 25 on Friday, Mike Murphy will more than likely return to Charlotte’s net tonight. Murphy got the victory in Charlotte’s previous meeting with Peoria just last week.
PEORIA
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RIVERMEN STATS |
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RECORD
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36-29-4 |
9th Western Conference
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GOALS / GAME
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3.05 |
t-7th AHL |
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GOALS ALLOWED / GAME
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2.65
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6th AHL |
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POWER PLAY |
20.0%
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5th AHL |
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PENALTY KILL
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84.0% |
t-6th AHL |
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PIM / GAME
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15.0 |
12th AHL
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The Rivermen seemed poised to keep the pace with Charlotte on Friday, but instead suffered a heartbreaking shootout loss that leaves them one point behind the Checkers heading into tonight’s match-up.
Rockford scored with 4.1 seconds remaining to tie that game before prevailing in the shootout, sending Peoria to its third straight loss. That streak began when the Checkers defeated them by a 5-2 score last Wednesday – a victory that broke the Rivermen’s run of five consecutive wins.
NHL veteran Jonathan Cheechoo recorded three points in the losing effort (2g, 1a), continuing a stretch that has seen him become the Rivermen’s most consistent scorer. He now ranks second on the team with 53 points (23g, 30a), 24 of which have come in his last 20 games. The Rivermen are still led by T.J. Hensick, who ranks 5th in the AHL with 66 points (20g, 46a) despite recording just a single assist in his last five games.
Jake Allen made 27 saves in the losing effort on Friday but could again see the start tonight, having started back-to-back nights four times during a current streak of 14 straight starts. Allen tied a career high with 42 saves in beating the Checkers last Tuesday, but left the game after allowing four goals in two periods of the following night’s loss.
CHECKERS NOTES
 TERRY STREAKS AGAIN: With two goals against Grand Rapids on Friday, forward Chris Terry extended his point streak to five games (3g, 4a). It marks his third streak of five or more games this season, as he previously went on runs of eight and seven contests. His seven-game streak that ended on Jan. 27 was his most prolific, producing 14 points.
DADONOV STRIKES: Though he had more assists (11) than all but two of his teammates (Chris Terry and Bobby Sanguinetti) since joining the Checkers in a late-January trade, Evgenii Dadonov did not score a goal against a goaltender until Friday’s win over Grand Rapids. Dadonov’s only other tally as a Checkers went into the empty net on Jan. 24 – a span of 22 games.
THE MAGIC NUMBER: The Checkers are 28-4-2 when scoring three or more goals this season. All four of those regulation losses were the result of games in which the team scored exactly three goals, making them 17-0-1 when scoring four or more. When the Checkers score two or fewer goals, they are 6-20-7 for the season.
SPECIAL SPECIAL TEAMS: With seven goals in their last 30 power-play opportunities (23.3 percent) during a five-game streak of scoring at least one power play goal, the Checkers have jumped into fourth place in the AHL with a season mark of 20.3 percent. Together with their No. 3 penalty kill (85.4 percent), the Checkers are one of two teams (Hershey) that have both of their special teams units rank in the top five. Tonight’s opponent, Peoria, has both of its units rank in the top six.
STREAKS
• (D) Bobby Sanguinetti has points in each of his last six games (March 16-March 25; 2g, 8a)
• (LW) Chris Terry has points in each of his last five games (March 20-25; 3g, 4a)
INJURIES
• (D) Bobby Sanguinetti – missed one game, last played March 25 at Hershey
• (RW) Nicolas Blanchard – missed two games, last played March 24 at Hershey
• (LW) Justin Soryal – missed seven games, last played March 11 vs. Chicago (out for season)
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Charlotte
• March 27 – (D) Brandon Gentile released from professional tryout
Peoria
• March 24 – (D) Danny Syvret reassigned to Peoria from St. Louis (NHL) |
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