The Checkers showcased their best offensive performance of this young season on Friday, putting up five goals from five different scorers and cruising to a 5-1 victory. Saturday was a vastly different story, however, as the Checkers fell to the same Wild team by a score of 4-1.
“We got the result we wanted Friday,” said head coach Jeff Daniels. “I don’t know if we came into the game Saturday night thinking it was going to be easy again, but we got off to a slow start and dug ourselves in a hole after the first.”
“The last two periods were the way we want to play, we didn’t give up a whole lot, maybe just two chances against, but we lost the game in the first,” said Daniels. “We talked about committing to that full 60 minutes so hopefully it’s a lesson learned and we can move on to this weekend.”
If there is something to take away from this road trip, it may be that the five-goal outburst could act as a catalyst to get some of the younger players’ offense going. Daniels also points to the offense-by-committee that he has mentioned several times thus far this season.
“For some guys, to get a goal and get that weight off their back so to speak,” said Daniels. “We scored five goals from five different guys so it was a committee thing.”
Heading into that weekend matchup, Iowa had not earned a single point in the standings. With Friday’s blowout victory, it may have seemed as though the Checkers would have no trouble handling the team occupying last place in the AHL. But the Wild came out fighting.
“They’ve got to understand that this is a good league, teams are trying to get two points and we’re in no position to relax or take anyone lightly,” said Daniels. “We’ve got to prove ourselves every night.”
Other news and notes from opening weekend:
Hagel's Impact
Daniels has been pleased with what Hagel has brought to the club, not just from a fighting aspect, but with his smart play and veteran leadership.
“He doesn’t take any dumb penalties,” said Daniels. “He has a feel for when [fighting] is necessary but I also think he’s been giving us some good minutes at five-on-five.
“He’s been good on the ice but also off the ice with looking after some young guys and teaching them the ropes. He’s just a solid person and a good player for us.”
As a six-year veteran, Hagel knows when to utilize his fighting abilities in order to provide a spark for his team.
“When the situation is there that you have to stick up for a teammate, swing the momentum or set the tone early, then I have no problem answering,” said Hagel.
Hagel dropped the gloves Friday night with noted tough guy Joel Rechlicz, and while he face is a little black and blue this week, the end result of the fight was all that he could ask for.
“I came back after the stitches and it was 3-0,” said Hagel. “That’s the perfect feeling you want after a fight.”
That particular fight occurred after Hagel took exception to a hit put on a young defenseman and went to stick up for his teammate against the player responsible for the hit. Or at least he tried to find that player.
“I heard a huge crash behind our net and I saw Keegan Lowe got ran over,” said Hagel. “I had the puck and was turned up ice but I heard that smash and just chipped it into the neutral zone, turned around, assumed it was Rechlicz, grabbed him and we went at it. Turned out it wasn’t even him.”
Carrick making impression
Among the handful of rookies in the Checkers lineup, one of the more impressive starts has come from defenseman Trevor Carrick.“He’s been real good,” said Daniels. “We’ve been really, really happy with how he’s doing. With the adjustment going into the season, some guys will adapt right away and some guys will take some time. He’s figured it out right away, and with that we’ve given him a lot of big minutes on the power play and killing penalties.”
Carrick possesses offensive skill at the blue line, coming off a junior season where he scored a career high 51 points (22g, 29a), but it has been his physical style of play that has left the biggest impact so far this season. The 20-year-old has dropped the gloves twice in his rookie season, and Daniels is happy to see him sticking up for his teammates, as well as competing with a well-rounded skill set.
“The second fight was when a guy took a pretty big hit and Trevor responded,” said Daniels. “It’s part of establishing yourself as a first-year pro that you’re going to be a hard guy to play against and contribute at both ends of the ice. He’s a character guy that’s willing to do it and he’s a tough kid.”
Making the leap from juniors to the pro level is tough, and it is expected for any rookie to have to make some adjustments as they transition in, but Daniels seems confident that Carrick will be a force on the blue line for years to come.
“He’s just adapting to the pace of practices and games, but I think once he gets that figured out he has a pretty bright future.”
Jenks Returns
“You know what you’re going to get,” said Daniels. “We were in a situation where we were down a body or two and we wanted an easy transition into the locker room. You’re getting a big body that can shoot the puck, be strong on faceoffs and do a lot of good things."
Jenks has appeared in 63 games from 2011-12 to 2013-14 with the Checkers, tallying 17 points (7g, 10a) during his tenure. He is now being given a chance to fill in and help kickstart the team.
“I’ve always been a pretty simple player that just tries to do the little things right like winning faceoffs, winning puck battles and reliable in all three zones,” said Jenks.
As a free agent, Jenks’ offseason was an uncertain one, with him not sure where he would end up. The 24-year-old inked a deal with the Toledo Walleye of the ECHL, but still had hopes of being an AHL player. It didn’t take long for him to get the call.
“I didn’t really know what to expect,” said Jenks. “I was considering a lot of different options and I was really hoping something would come up in the American League. It didn’t, but if there’s nothing there to start there’s always a chance it’s there later in the season, and I ended up only playing one game in the East Coast before getting called up.”
As a player that is familiar with the organization, the Checkers are hoping that Jenks can contribute and help ignite an offensive attack that has struggled so far this season, and Jenks seems ready to deliver.
“It’s a blessing and I’m extremely happy to be here,” said Jenks. “The team is struggling a little bit but you can tell everything is right on the cusp of going through and things are going to start bouncing the other way.”
