Weekly Report: Feb. 23, 2015

The Checkers started the week strong, sweeping the Iowa Wild, but ended it with a lopsided affair on the road in Toronto.

With back-to-back wins over the Wild, the Checkers extended their winning streak to three games, their longest such streak this season. Hitting the road with a new-found confidence, they didn't see the same success in their search for a fourth win, as a disastrous third period derailed them against the Marlies.

The Checkers will now look to get themselves back on track and start another streak as they face the Marlies Wednesday morning for a rematch before traveling to Hamilton.

Week in Review

Checkers 4, Iowa 1

Following up their win over the Admirals two days prior, the Checkers turned in another solid effort, crushing the Wild 4-1. The home team jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the third period before the Wild were able to break up Drew MacIntyre's shutout bid. Charlotte's offense was powered by two of their top talents, as leading scorer Chad LaRose and high-powered rookie Brock McGinn tallied two goals each. The victory gave the Checkers consecutive wins for just the second time all season. Full recap

Checkers 4, Iowa 2

The Checkers wrapped up their back-to-back series against a plummeting Iowa Wild team with another dominating performance. Despite trailing 1-0 after the first period, the Checkers poured in three goals in the middle frame en rout to a 4-2 win. McGinn and Zach Boychuk stayed hot by chipping in a goal each, while Brendan Woods notched his first since returning from injury and Keegan Lowe racked up a three-point night. The victory was the Checkers third straight, marking their longest winning streak of the season. Full recap

Toronto 6, Checkers 3

Looking to keep that momentum going on the road, the Checkers ran out of gas against the Toronto Marlies, getting doubled up 6-3. The two squads were locked in a tight battle for the majority of the game, trading goals until McGinn gave Charlotte a 3-2 lead heading into the final 20 minutes. Things fell apart for the visitors in the third, however, as the Marlies evened the score just 37 seconds into the period and then pumped in three more to run away with the game. Despite the unfavorable result, McGinn continued to tear it up, extending his goal streak to four games, the longest active streak in the AHL. Full recap

Notables

Winning Streak

The Checkers' three-game win streak that ended Sunday marked their longest of the season and longest since winning four in a row from March 25-30 of last season. Prior to that streak, they had only won conecutive games once this season, a home sweep of Milwaukee on Nov. 29-30.

Since coming out of the All-Star break with a season-high four consecutive regulation losses from Jan. 30-31, the Checkers have won four of their last six games since Feb. 10.

Home And Road

By sweeping a three-game home stand last week, the Checkers improved their record at Time Warner Cable Arena to 14-11-2 this season. Meanwhile, they are 6-15-4 on the road, with their 16 points earned away from home marking the fewest of any AHL team.

Brock's Breakout

After going 29 games without a goal (Nov. 30) and 20 games without a point (Dec. 29), Checkers rookie forward Brock McGinn has found the back of the net five times in his last four games (5g, 1a). His goal streak ties the one set by Justin Shugg (Nov. 14-21: 4g: 1a) for the longest by a Checkers player this season and is the longest active streak in the AHL.

McGinn has scored at least one goal in eight games this season, with the Checkers posting a 6-2-0 record in those contests.

McGinn, who scored 43 goals in his final junior hockey campaign with Guelph last season, has recorded two multi-goal games this season (Nov. 21 and Feb. 18). He is third on the team with 10 goals and ranks fourth with 19 points in 51 games, leading all Checkers rookies.

Muse Heats Up

Checkers goaltender John Muse has won each of his last three games, equaling his win total from his first 16 appearances of the season. He is the franchise's all-time wins leader with 50, including a single-season team record of 27 set last season.

In four February appearances, Muse is 3-0-0 with a 1.70 goals-against average and .956 save percentage. During that time, he has lowered his GAA for the season from 2.87 to 2.65 and raised his SV% from .910 to .920, overtaking Drew MacIntyre in both categories.

LaRose Takes Over

During a current stretch that has seen him score 20 points (12g, 8a) in his last 26 games, Chad LaRose has taken sole possession of both the team's scoring lead with 31 points (16g, 15a). In addition to being the team's overall points leader, he also leads the team in goals, power-play goals (six), shorthanded points (four - t-1st AHL), shots on goal (142) and game-winning goals (three).

LaRose's six-game point streak from Jan. 15-30 marked the Checkers' longest of the season, eclipsing his own previous five-game run and another by Ryan Murphy, both of which occurred in December. It also tied the longest of his professional career set during his previous AHL season (4g, 7a for Lowell between Nov. 18-26, 2005).

LaRose, a 32-year-old veteran of 508 NHL games with Carolina, is playing in the AHL for the first time since 2005-06 after taking last season away from hockey. He now has 115 points (57g, 58a) in 179 career AHL games with Lowell and Charlotte.

Offense Comes To Life

After scoring just eight total goals in a six-game stretch from Jan. 30-Feb. 12, the Checkers have found the back of the net 14 times in their last four outings (excluding a goal awarded for Monday's shootout win over Norfolk). They have scored at least three goals in each of their last four games, their best such stretch of the season.

The Checkers now rank 29th in the league with an average of 2.23 goals per game.

Welcome Back Alex

Since returning from the ECHL's Florida Everblades on Jan. 4, forward Alex Aleardi has posted 13 points (7g, 6a) in 16 games, including seven in his last six (4g, 3a). Even though Aleardi did not dress for four games since that recall, he ranks second on the Checkers in scoring behind Chad LaRose (20 games) during that time.

Aleardi, an undrafted forward who the Checkers signed to an AHL contract during the offseason, has 36 points (17g, 19a) in 73 career AHL contests with Springfield and Charlotte. He scored 19 points (8g, 11a) in 16 ECHL games with the Everblades this season.

Ranks

• Brock McGinn's four-game goal streak is the longest active streak in the AHL and is tied for the seventh longest overall this season
• Kyle Hagel is tied for third in the AHL in major penalties (16)
• Chad LaRose is tied for the AHL lead in shorthanded assists (3) and shorthanded points (4)
• Greg Nemisz is tied for second in the league in shooting percentage (25.0%)
• Drew MacIntyre ranks second in the AHL in saves (1008) and fifth in minutes (2055)

Injuries

• Rasmus Rissanen - missed one game starting 2/22
• Gabriel Desjardins - missed 20 game starting 1/4
• Greg Nemisz - missed 32 games starting 12/8 (out for season)

Milestones

• Ben Holmstrom played in his 300th AHL game on 2/22
• Zach Boychuk recorded his 150th AHL assist on 2/18
• John Muse recorded his 50th AHL win on 2/16

Transactions

Incoming

• Feb. 22 - (D) Mike Cornell signed to PTO

Outgoing

• Feb. 21 - (D) Michal Jordan recalled by Carolina (NHL)

Coming Up

By the Numbers

Team Statistics
CATEGORY	RECORD	AHL RANK	LAST WEEK
Power play	10.7%	30th	30th
Penalty kill	85.1%	9th	t-11th
Goals per game	2.23	29th	30th
Shots per game	28.92	23rd	24th
Goals allowed per game	2.98	22nd	22nd
Shots allowed per game	33.00	27th	28th
Penalty minutes per game	17.38	20th	23rd

Team Leaders
CATEGORY	LEADER(S)
Points	Chad LaRose (31), Justin Shugg (25), Brendan Woods (20)
Goals	Chad LaRose (16), Justin Shugg (13), Brock McGinn (10)
Assists	Chad LaRose (15), Justin Shugg (12), Brendan Woods, Danny Biega (11)
Power play goals	Chad LaRose (6)
Shorthanded goals	Greg Nemisz, Brendan Woods (2)
Game-winning goals	Chad LaRose (3)
Shots on goal	Chad LaRose (144), Phil Di Giuseppe (117), Brock McGinn (116)
Penalty minutes	Kyle Hagel (116), Keegan Lowe (102), Brendan Woods (82)
Plus/minus	Dennis Robertson (+6), Beau Schmitz (+3), Greg Nemisz (+1)
Wins	Drew MacIntyre (14)
Goals-against average	John Muse (2.65)
Save percentage	John Muse (.920)