A hectic slate of games in January, coupled with the All-Star break, have kept the team from getting back into an established flow of practice. Dealing with the rigors of a pro hockey schedule is something that comes with the territory at this level, but this stretch of practices could not have come at a better time for the struggling Checkers.
The team’s first test coming out of the All-Star break was a tough two-game swing through Texas where the faced the Rampage and Stars in back-to-back nights. After entering the break on a high note with some momentum, getting wins over these divisional opponents would have been a huge boost in terms of making up ground in the standings. Instead, the Checkers left the Lone Star State with their worst two-game set of the season, losing 5-2 to San Antonio and 4-0 to Texas.
Upon returning back to Charlotte, head coach Jeff Daniels was straightforward in his assessment of those games.
“We didn’t play well,” said Daniels. “I thought in the first period on Friday night we kind of got ourselves in a hole at 3-1 and the last two periods were pretty even, and then Saturday night we just got out-worked. We gave up the third goal and we just stopped working.”
After the week-long break for the holidays in late December, the Checkers struggled to get back on track, dropping four consecutive contests. They made a point to not let the same thing happen after the similarly-long All-Star break, but were unsuccessful.
“That’s twice now we haven’t played well coming off a break, and obviously we’re a team that can’t take time off,” said Daniels. “We came off the Christmas break and we struggled. Same thing – we came out and we weren’t sharp. We’re the type of team that has to stay on the ice. The time off hurts us.”
While not using the layoff as an excuse for his team’s play, Daniels was clear that it failed to play to their identity, an identity that he has harped since the preseason.
“This past weekend we were missing the work part of it,” said Daniels. “I think coming off the break we kind of eased into it and as a result we just couldn’t get on top of our game. If you look at the makeup of our team, we’re workers. We don’t have a lot of high-end skill within our lineup. Chucky and Shuggy can provide that, but for the most part we’re workers.”
The team seems aware that they enjoyed their greatest success this season when they stuck to that gameplan, evidenced by blue liner Danny Biega echoing his coach’s sentiments.
“We’re a hard working team and that’s how we’re going to win games,” said Biega. “If guys don’t work for 60 minutes each and every night, the results aren’t going to be favorable. We can’t get away with our skill alone. We’re going to have to be aggressive and be on our game each and every night.”
Despite the beating they took this past weekend, the motto for the Checkers is the same as it’s always been: move on and get better.
Some other news and notes from this week:
DESPERATION SETS IN
“For us, we have to literally take every game as if it’s our last, because it very well could be,” said Biega.
Their current position at 14th of 15 teams in the Western Conference is obviously not where you want to be at this point of the season, but with the conference so log-jammed in front of them, clawing their way back into contention isn’t out of the question. Four of Charlotte’s six opponents this month are teams also competing for the eighth seed, so if the Checkers are able to put together a run through February, they could be right back in it.
While it is easy to lay out a plan on paper of how to get into the playoff picture, executing it on the ice is a different story.
“These guys are proud,” said Daniels, speaking to the frustration of his team struggling to put wins together. “They’ve seen what happens when we play our game. We’re able to play with any teams, we’ve beaten the top teams, but not consistently. Frustration creeps in, but as a team you have to move on. You learn from it and you use that emotion in the next game and hope for better results.”
Prior to last weekend’s disastrous road trip, the Checkers looked to be finding their groove, playing some of their best hockey and earning points in the standings. Now, as the calendar turns to a new month, the desperation is setting in for them to ratchet up their play.
“We dug ourselves in a little bit of a hole and now we’ve got to get out of it,” said Biega. “And we have to do it now because if we wait, it could be too late. Every point is so important. We’re going to go in with a playoff mindset and a high intensity for each and every game.”
With such a young and inexperienced team, many of the players are encountering this playoff push at the professional level for the first time. For that intensified mindset to set in across the whole team, it has to start at the top with the veterans.
“Our leadership has been really good,” said Daniels. “They set the tone every day in practice. They’re the hardest workers. You watch Rosey (Chad LaRose) out there or Ben Holmstrom or Michal Jordan, every day they set the tone for us. The older guys show up every day ready to work, so hopefully the younger guys see that and learn.”
“We’ve got the right guys in the room,” said Biega. “I don’t doubt it for a second. We just have to find a way to do it. You just have to show up and compete. That’s what I have to do personally and I think others will follow.”
MAC STANDS TALL
“The first period we were killing for four-and-a-half minutes and he saw a lot of shots there, we got stronger as the second period went on and then from there we kind of gave one up early and it was over from there,” said Daniels. “At that point it became a shooting gallery and Mac got a lot of shots. He battled right to the end.”
That contest marked the fourth time this season that the Checkers have been shut out. Both Charlotte goalies have been victims of little to no goal support from the team in front of them, and while they have both performed admirably in keeping the Checkers within striking distance, they can only stop so many pucks before they need some help.
There have been seven times this season that MacIntyre has made over 30 saves and ended up on the losing side (five regulation losses, two in overtime). The veteran netminder has crafted a solid season thus far and essentially claimed the number one goalie spot, earning the team 13 of its 16 wins, but all that could be for naught if he is unable to give him some points to work with. As they move forward in pursuing that playoff spot, the team knows that that is one of the biggest issues they have to fix.
“We talked as a team after the game, but he (Mac) didn’t need to say anything,” said Daniels. “I think the guys understood that we kind of hung him out to dry there and that just can’t happen.”
LEGS FEED THE WOLF
“I think it’s huge,” said Daniels. “Skating is a big part of the game. It’s the little things that Kim teaches them that they can practice throughout the week like tight turns and opening up. When you’re in practice you don’t really work on it, so she has a chance to break things down and work with a smaller group so they can learn something.”
“It’s great, honestly,” said Biega. “It’s kind of micro-managing the sport. We’re obviously skating all the time, but most people don’t realize there’s so much technique involved. Even us, we don’t really take the time to appreciate and focus on the fundamentals, but it helps us on a day to day basis.”
While having a practice solely devoted to working on the most basic aspect of the game may seem strange to an outside observer, Muir’s expertise helps the players build on many facets of their skill set and pushes them to be a better all-around player.
“It’s a lot of efficiency,” said Biega. “I think the quieter you are on your skates, the smoother you are. You’re expending less energy, so you can use that energy in more productive ways.”
These power skating sessions happen sporadically throughout the season, as the need for their normal practice takes higher precedence. But the skills that the players learn during them are necessary to their development, and the players themselves seem invested in gaining as much knowledge out of the sessions as they can to put toward the rest of their game.
“I learned so much today alone,” said Biega. “I thought it was a very productive session. I spent a lot of time afterwards with Kim just trying to perfect certain techniques. Because when you’re in a game you’re not really thinking about that, it just becomes natural. So you have to think about it now and cement those routines in practice, so come game time you don’t have to waste any mind energy thinking about it.”
INJURY UPDATE
The Checkers lost another big piece of their team to injury this past weekend, as Brock McGinn exited the game Friday after taking a bad hit from behind and was out for Saturday’s contest.“Brock was kind of protecting the puck against the wall and obviously the guy doesn’t let up," said Daniels. "I think it’s more the impact of where he hit on the edge of the boards. I think he [the Rampage player] got what he deserved – five and a game – and hopefully we don’t lose Brock for too long.”
McGinn joins Brendan Woods, who was hurt during the Checkers home win over OKC on Jan. 23, on the sideline for Charlotte.
“We’ll just kind of see where they’re at throughout the week," said Daniels. "There’s no timetable to those two guys, so until I have a better feel later in the week, we’ll decide from there.”
The loss of those two left a big hole in the Checkers’ lineup this past weekend, and could continue to have implications if either is lost for an extended amount of time. In the meantime, the Checkers will piece together what they have as they prepare for Chicago this weekend, where the need for other players to step up will be greater than ever.
"We dressed 11 forwards the other night and we’ll see where we’re at and get 12 if we need to," said Daniels. "Brock does everything – he plays power play, PK and five-on-five, and Woods has taken a lot of those roles this year two. They’re two big parts of our forward group out of the lineup"
