Weekly Report: April 6, 2015

In the middle chunk of their longest (and final) homestand of the season, the Checkers took three out of a possible four points against their division rivals, the Oklahoma City Barons.

The Checkers will now see their longest break between games this season, a whopping seven days. Following a week of practice, the Checkers will welcome the Rockford IceHogs to town for the final two home contests of the season.

Week in Review

Oklahoma City 3, Checkers 2 (OT)

The Checkers took the Time Warner Cable Arena ice once again looking to bounce back from a lopsided series against Lake Erie the week before as they hosted the slumping OKC Barons. The two squads traded goals throughout the game, with Brody Sutter knotting things at two midway through the third period and sending the game into overtime. The extra frame featured high-tempo play and several chances for both sides, but as time ticked away it seemed as though a shootout would be required to settle things. But with a quick wrister on a breakaway with 62 seconds left, Barons captain Ryan Hamilton clinched the two points for OKC and snapped his team's seven-game winless streak.Full recap

Checkers 2, Oklahoma City 1

Squaring off against the same fired up OKC team that was desperately trying to raise it's playoff seeding, the Checkers exacted their revenge the next night, downing the Barons in a tight 2-1 win. Chad LaRose put his team on top early with a shorthanded strike, but OKC evened things up early in the second. Just past the midpoint of the second, however, Brody Sutter ripped a slap shot past Laurent Brossoit and netted what would hold up as the game-winning goal. The victory marked the last time that the two clubs would meet, as the Barons will fold at the end of this season and the Edmonton Oilers will move their affiliate to Bakersfield.Full recap

Notables

Eliminated

The Checkers were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention last week. This will be the third time in Checkers' five seasons as an AHL franchise that they have failed to qualify for the Calder Cup Playoffs and the first time that they have missed the postseason in back-to-back years.

Excluding teams that are in their first year of existence (Adirondack, Lehigh Valley), there are four other clubs currently slated to miss the playoffs for a second consecutive year: Bridgeport, Iowa, Lake Erie and Hamilton.

LaRose's Shorty Success

With his goal on Friday, Chad LaRose is now tied for the AHL lead with five shorthanded points. That also establishes a new franchise single-season record, snapping the previous mark of four, set by both Brett Sutter and Chris Terry during the 2010-11 season. Three of those points have been helpers, tying him for the league lead in shorthanded assists as well.

Those five shorthanded points also move LaRose all the way to fourth on the Checkers all-time list.

Muse Steps Up

While Drew MacIntyre has taken the bulk of the workload for the majority of the season, John Muse has been lights out when called upon as of late. In his last five appearances, the Checkers' all-time wins leader is 3-0-0 with a goals-against average of 1.68 and a save percentage of .945.

After starting the season slow, going 2-8-2 in his first 14 appearances, Muse has battled back and now sits just one game below .500 at 10-11-2. He has spent the majority of the season as the number two goalie, starting consecutive games just once this season: after the holiday break when MacIntyre was representing Canada at the Spengler Cup in Switzerland. Muse went 0-3-1 in his four starts and allowed 12 goals total during that stretch.

Boychuk Chases History

With five games remaining on the schedule, Zach Boychuk stands just five points away from being the Checkers' all-time leading scorer. His current total of 250 trails only former linemate Chris Terry's 254. Boychuk became the franchise's all-time goals leader earlier this season.

Boychuk, who, after playing the first two games of the season with the Checkers, spent a large chunk of this season in Carolina before being returned to Charlotte in January. Despite only having 37 games under his belt with Charlotte this season, both his 24 points and 12 goals are tied for fifth on the team. Boychuk is currently riding a hot streak that has seen him put up six points in his last seven games.

Sutter Strikes

With seven in his last seven games, center Brody Sutter has more than doubled the five goals he scored in his first 36 games of the season. Of his 24 points, 14 (7g, 7a) have come in his last 15 games dating back to March 1. During that time, he has notched his only two multi-goal games aside from when he scored twice in a playoff game at Oklahoma City on April 26, 2013, and a career-high, three-point effort (2g, 1a) at Iowa on March 21.

Sutter, who has been limited to just 43 games this season due to injury, has set a new career high of 12 goals, eclipsing the eight he scored in 69 games last season.

MacIntyre's Workload

Checkers goalie Drew MacIntyre, who has played in 10 of the team's last 13 games, ranks fifth in the AHL with 2,756 minutes played and is second with 1,361 saves. His last appearance against Oklahoma City on April 2 was his 48th of the season, tying Justin Pogge's franchise record, set in 2010-11, for most games played by a goaltender in a single season.

MacIntyre's most recent victory in Norfolk on March 25 was the 211th of his career, moving him into a tie with Nick Damore for ninth in AHL history. He is now just 21 away from tying Frederic Cassivi for fifth. MacIntyre, a 31-year-old veteran now playing his 12th professional season with his eighth AHL club, has a 211-141-26 record, 2.49 goals-against average, .934 save percentage and 16 shutouts in 401 career AHL games dating back to the 2004-05 season.

Though he has yet to record a shutout, MacIntyre has won five games by a 2-1 score. He owns a .920 save percentage in overtime games this season (46 saves on 50 shots) and has stopped 21 of 23 in the shootout. He is tied for the league lead in shootout victories this season (4-1 record).

Carrick Lights It Up

With 14 points (3g, 11a) in his last 16 games, Trevor Carrick currently leads all Charlotte defensemen in goals (seven), assists (21) and points (28), all of which are new records for a Checkers roookie defenseman. Of his five multi-point outings this season, four occurred during the month of March, including a trio of two-assist efforts in his last nine games.

Carrick currently ranks third on the team in scoring and leads the team in assists. Eleven of his assists have come on the power play, a total that leads the Checkers, is tied for fourth among all AHL rookies and is first among AHL rookie defensemen. He also ranks third among rookie defensemen in scoring.

A fourth-round pick in 2012, the 20-year-old Carrick put up 51 points in his final season of junior last year, split between Mississauga and Sudbury, and ranked second among OHL defensemen in goals (22).

Ranks

• Kyle Hagel ranks second in the AHL in major penalties (22)
• Chad LaRose is tied for the AHL lead in shorthanded assists (3) and shorthanded points (5)
• Drew MacIntyre ranks second in the AHL in saves (1,361), fifth in minutes (2,756), and is tied for the AHL lead in shootout wins (4)
• Phil Di Giuseppe is tied for third among AHL rookies in shots (159)
• Trevor Carrick ranks third among rookie defensemen in scoring (28) and is tied for fourth among AHL rookies in power-play assists (11)
• Patrick Brown is tied for the AHL rookie lead in shorthanded assists (2)

Injuries

• Greg Nemisz - missed 50 games starting 12/8 (out for season)

Milestones

• Brett Pesce made his pro debut on 4/2 and recorded his first pro point on 4/3
• Drew MacIntyre tied Justin Pogge's franchise record for games played by a goalie in a single season (48) on 4/2

Transactions

Incoming

• March 31 - (D) Brett Pesce signed to amateur tryout contract
• March 31 - (D) Josh Wesley signed to amateur tryout contract
• March 29 - (LW) Carter Sandlak assigned to Florida (ECHL)
• March 28 - (G) Rasmus Tirronen signed to amateur tryout contract

Outgoing

• April 3 - (G) Alex Nedeljkovic assigned to Florida (ECHL)
• April 3 - (C) Sean Dolan released from professional tryout contract

Coming Up

By the Numbers

Team Statistics
CATEGORY	RECORD	AHL RANK	LAST WEEK
Power play	13.1%	28th	28th
Penalty kill	84.9%	11th	t-12th
Goals per game	2.24	29th	28th
Shots per game	29.28	22nd	23rd
Goals allowed per game	3.04	t-22nd	23rd
Shots allowed per game	32.93	28th	28th
Penalty minutes per game	17.79	22nd	23rd

Team Leaders
CATEGORY	LEADER(S)
Points	Justin Shugg (38), Chad LaRose (35), Trevor Carrick (28)
Goals	Justin Shugg (19), Chad LaRose (18), Brendan Woods, Brock McGinn (13)
Assists	Trevor Carrick (21), Justin Shugg (19), Chad LaRose (17)
Power play goals	Zach Boychuk, Chad LaRose, Justin Shugg (6)
Shorthanded goals	Chad LaRose, Greg Nemisz, Brendan Woods (2)
Game-winning goals	Brody Sutter, Chad LaRose, Justin Shugg (3)
Shots on goal	Justin Shugg (160), Phil Di Giuseppe (159), Chad LaRose (155)
Penalty minutes	Kyle Hagel (154), Mike Cornell (141), Keegan Lowe (106)
Plus/minus	Brett Pesce (+2), Greg Nemisz, Dennis Robertson (+1)
Wins	Drew MacIntyre (19)
Goals-against average	John Muse (2.59)
Save percentage	John Muse (.919)