The only problem is that they certainly don’t see it that way.
“A lot of positive,” coach Jeff Daniels quickly offered when asked about a 2-1 overtime loss and a 4-3 regulation loss in San Antonio over the weekend. “I thought we played real well and probably played our best game of the year on Friday night. I thought we came out a little slow on Saturday in the first period but we responded and they had a couple of deflection goals. We battled right til the end.
“This has probably been our best three-game stretch of the year and right now we’re just not getting rewarded for it.”
In hoping to change that for Tuesday’s home game against Norfolk, Daniels, particularly with a young roster that is battling a few key injuries, has one key message – keep doing what you’re doing. Their defensive effort could not have been much better than it was on Friday – even with overtime, they set a franchise record by allowing just 17 shots on goal – but the goals simply haven’t come despite the team generating more opportunities than it has all season.
“If we play that way and bring the work every single night, we’re going to give ourselves a chance to win,” said Daniels. “The chances are there, but just the execution and the finish has just been a battle for us all year.”
Though frustrated with their 4-8-1 record, the players seem to be buying in to that concept.
“Our last three games we’ve kind of built a good foundation of playing a good team game but we’re not seeing the results,” said Justin Shugg. “Once we start winning, the bond of the team will come together and we’ll find our dynamic as a team. We’ll find our identity and just start rolling.”
Some news and notes heading into this week’s games – the first matchup of the season against Norfolk and a pair of road contests in Oklahoma City on Friday and Saturday:
MCGINN SNAKEBIT
No single player personifies what the Checkers are going through better than rookie Brock McGinn. One of the team’s most consistently dangerous players in recent weeks, he has just three points on the season and no goals in his last six games. He led the Checkers in shots on goal for both games in San Antonio, including eight on Friday that marked a career high and the highest single-game total of any Charlotte skater this season.
“You don’t want him to change his game because he’s playing the right way,” said Daniels. “When he’s getting three or four quality chances a game, eventually they’re going to start going in for him. More than anything with him, he’s just got to stay positive and not let the frustration creep into his game where all of the sudden he’s overpassing the puck instead of putting them on net. Eventually he’s going to find the back of the net and hopefully that gives him the confidence and puts him on a little roll.”
A 43-goal scorer in junior last season, it’s surely been a while since McGinn has gone through a stretch like this. He claims to not be the superstitious type, so it seems as though he’s prepared to take Daniels’ advice and leave everything the way it is until he finally gets that breakthrough.
“There’s that little added pressure when the bounces aren’t going your way and you are getting those chances, but it’s not about those chances,” he said. “You’ve got to keep playing both ends of the ice.
“When I get that next one it’ll be like a monkey off my back and I’ll get that confidence that they are going to keep going in. Hopefully that happens soon.”
SHUGG'S RETURN
Hoping to get a boost from Shugg’s return from injury last weekend, Daniels was not disappointed.Despite missing over a month with an upper-body concern, Shugg scored goals in each game in San Antonio. He now has three in five games – easily the best goals-per-game pace of any Checker – and is tied for third on the team in goal scoring even though he’s played eight fewer games than most on the team.
“If the puck gets on his stick around the net, you know he has the ability to score goals and he did that both games,” said Daniels. “The game conditioning has to get a little better and I think he understands that and we knew that going in. Now he’s got two games under his belt and I expect him to get better and better.”
“It’s a process of getting back into shape, and as a hockey player it’s getting back into game shape,” said Shugg. “That’s something that I’m working towards. I felt like my timing was maybe a little bit off at times but I pride myself on making plays. I felt like I could be better at that area but I didn’t feel like I was out of stride.”
At just 22 years of age – he’s younger than rookie Dennis Robertson, a four-year college player, for instance – it’s easy to forget that Shugg is already in his fourth professional season. Even though he’s relatively new to being one of the team’s go-to options on offense now that the likes of Zach Boychuk and Chris Terry have moved on, he’s ready to accept that challenge.
“JD (Daniels) has never brought me in and put any pressure on me to do anything, but personally it’s a goal of mine to get better, help this team as an older guy and have a veteran leadership presence,” he said.
CENTER-ICE INJURIES
Every time it seems as though issues surround the team’s depth at center have been corrected, that depth disappears in an instant.The return of Patrick Brown and Brody Sutter from the NHL for the Halloween game against Hamilton gave the Checkers their best top-four of the season along with Ben Holmstrom and A.J. Jenks. Greg Nemisz and Brendan Woods were able to move to their more natural position on the wings and the lineup had more balance than at any other point this season.
With Sutter, Holmstrom, Brown and Victor Rask, the latter of whom has spent the entire season to this point in Carolina thanks to Jordan Staal’s injury, all unavailable, the Checkers have exactly zero of the four centers they might have projected to start the season.
“It is what it is,” said Daniels, forcing an exasperated chuckle. “We’ve just got to make what we have work, and I thought those two games they worked and in both games we had a chance to win.”
With the injured three unlikely to face Norfolk – Brown and Holmstrom remained in yellow non-contact jerseys at Monday’s practice and Sutter did not take the ice at all – the Checkers are likely to use Nemisz, Woods, Jenks and newcomer Kyle Jean down the middle.
Jean, an imposing physical presence at 6-foot-4 and 203 pounds, has two assists in three games since the Checkers signed him to a professional tryout contract last week. Although one might think Daniels was simply looking for volunteers to play the position after losing Sutter during Friday’s game (given the injury luck, he may have trouble finding any), he knew Jean was an option despite not knowing him well.
“Prior to the call-up I talked to his coach (in ECHL Greenville) and asked him what his best position would be up here,” said Daniels. “He said that down there he was playing center but would probably be a better winger at this level, but it’s a nice flexibility to have because otherwise you’re looking for another guy.”
