Weekly Report: December 7, 2015

Coming off a two-game sweep of the Iowa Wild, the Checkers found themselves on the other end of a sweep, dropping back-to-back contests to the Western Cofnerence-leading Ontario Reign.

The Checkers will quickly shift their focus to their upcoming road trip to Texas, beginning with a matchup in San Antonio on Wednesday.

Week in Review

Ontario 3, Checkers 1

In their first meeting with the Reign this season, the Checkers were locked in a tight contest for the first period, but came apart in the second. Ontario outshot the home team 20-3 in the middle frame and netted two goals, which ended up being enough. Ryan Murphy pulled the Checkers within one in the third, but the Reign snuffed out any comeback hopes with a dagger shortly after to clinch their 3-1 victory. Full recap

Ontario 5, Checkers 1

The next night saw the Checkers start strong once again, with Sergey Tolchinsky lighting the lamp to tie the game early in the second period. But the Reign roared back with four unanswered strikes to roll over the Checkers and earn the weekend sweep. Full recap

Three Stars Of The Week

Notables

Depleted Lineup

Down to 12 forwards after losing high scorers Phil Di Giuseppe and Brock McGinn to the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes on Friday, the suddenly-unlucky Checkers saw Brendan Woods suffer an injury in the first period of Saturday’s loss. Woods did not return, forcing the Checkers to find a forward from the ECHL ranks in time for today’s rematch. That forward is Ryan Rashid, who has been playing for the Greenville Swamp Rabbits this season. Rashid took part in the Checkers' training camp prior to the season.

The Checkers got some good news after the game, however, with the Hurricanes returning McGinn to Charlotte.

Murphy Racks Up The Points

Ryan Murphy continues to be a scoring machine at the AHL level. The defenseman has four points in four games with the Checkers this season, three of which have come on the power play. In his career, Murphy now has 45 points in 52 AHL games.

Sinking Offense

After starting the season with a bang, the Checkers' offensive attack has taken a nose dive. Charlotte has scored one goal in regulation in four of its last five contests (though the one outlier is their seven-goal outburst against Iowa). After spending most of the season thus far ranked in the top 10 in the AHL in goals per game, the Checkers now find themselves in a freefall, currently tied for 14th.

The Checkers have been most lethal this season when they have been able to rack up the shots on goal. Nine of the team's 11 wins so far have come in games where the Checkers outshot their opponent, something they have only been able to do twice in their last six games (both wins over Iowa).

Surging Power Play

While their offense is trending in the wrong direction, the Checkers' power play has been very potent. They have racked up 20 power-play goals in 22 games this season and rank seventh in the AHL with a percentage of 20.8.

Derek Ryan has led the way with eight points on the man advantage, already more than halfway to Justin Shugg's team-leading 15 from a season ago.

Ryan On A Roll

Speaking of Ryan, the captain has continued to be a consistent producer for the Checkers. Ryan leads the team in goals and points and ranks second in assists and has not been held off the score sheet in consecutive games this season.

Ryan On A Roll

Derek Ryan has not dissapointed in his first North American season. The former Swedish league MVP has 16 points in 20 games this season and leads the team in goals and points. While the team as a whole has struggled with consistency this season, the captain has been one player that they have leaned on game in and game out, and has not been held off the scoresheet in consecutive games this year.

Carrick Cooking

After cooling off a bit from his hot start, defenseman Trevor Carrick is getting back into the swing of things. The second-year pro leads team defensemen in scoring and has seven points in his last eight games.

Tolchinsky Getting On Track

After head coach Mark Morris mentioned that he had been making progress, rookie Sergey Tolchinsky lit the lamp Sunday for the first time since the season opener on Oct. 10. The tally gives him eight points on the season, making him the leader among team rookies.

Ranks

• Zach Boychuk is tied for third in the AHL in shots (75)
• Drew MacIntyre ranks fourth in the league in minutes (948) and leads the league in shootout wins (3)
• Trevor Carrick is tied for second among AHL defensemen in goals (6) and tied for 9th in points (14)

Injuries

• Brendan Woods missed one game starting 12/6
• T.J. Hensick missed 10 games starting 11/13
• Rasmus Rissanen missed nine games starting 11/14

Milestones

• Ryan Rashid made his AHL debut on 12/6 vs. ONT

Transactions

Incoming

• December 6 - (LW) Brock McGinn assigned to Charlotte (AHL)
• December 6 - (F) Ryan Rashid signed to PTO
• December 4 - (D) Ryan Murphy assigned to Charlotte (AHL)

Outgoing

• December 4 - (LW) Phil Di Giuseppe recalled to Carolina (NHL)
• December 4 - (D) Jaccob Slavin recalled to Carolina (NHL)

Coming Up

By the Numbers

Team Statistics
CATEGORY	RECORD	AHL RANK	LAST WEEK
Power play	20.8%	7th	5th
Penalty kill	82.8%	15th	18th
Goals per game	2.95	t-14th	7th
Shots per game	31.23	9th	8th
Goals allowed per game	3.23	23rd	24th
Shots allowed per game	26.90	10th	6th
Penalty minutes per game	15.09	20th	14th

Team Leaders
CATEGORY	LEADER(S)
Points	Derek Ryan (17), Trevor Carrick (14), Zach Boychuk (13)
Goals	Derek Ryan (8), Trevor Carrick, Brock McGinn (6)
Assists	Zach Boychuk (11), Derek Ryan (9), Trevor Carrick, Jake Chelios (8)
Power play goals	Derek Ryan, Trevor Carrick (3), Three tied (2)
Shorthanded goals	Patrick Brown (1)
Game-winning goals	Six tied (1)
Shots on goal	Zach Boychuk (75), Derek Ryan (58), Trevor Carrick (51)
Penalty minutes	Kyle Hagel (46), Mike Cornell (40), Trevor Carrick (26)
Plus/minus	Brendan Woods (+3), Carter Sandlak (+2), Tyler Ganly, Drayson Bowman (+1)
Wins	Drew MacIntyre (7)
Goals-against average	Drew MacIntyre (3.04)
Save percentage	Drew MacIntyre (.893)