Weekly Report: Jan. 12, 2015

In the midst of a tough four-game road swing through the Midwest Division, the Checkers have seen a mixed bag in terms of results.

The Checkers started the week on a fairly positive note, dropping a tight overtime contest to Grand Rapids before avenging themselves in the rematch with a 2-1 win to put together a three-game points streak, one off their best stretch of the season. The week didn’t end as positively, however, as they stumbled to a 5-0 loss in Milwaukee.

After wrapping up the road trip with a contest against the division-leading Rockford IceHogs, the Checkers will return home for a quick weekend series with the Toronto Marlies.

Week in Review

Grand Rapids 3, Checkers 2 (OT)

The Checkers kicked off their road trip with a visit to the red-hot Grand Rapids Griffins, who entered the game having earned points in 10 of their last 12 games. After the Griffins got on the board late in the first to take a lead into the intermission, Chad LaRose and Alex Aleardi each lit the lamp in the first 5:09 of the second to put Charlotte ahead. Teemu Pulkkinen knotted the game at two less than three minutes later, extending his goal streak to eight games in the process. The two squads battled to a stalemate in the third and the game proceeded to overtime, where Landon Ferraro netted the game-winner 78 seconds in to secure two points for the Griffins. Full recap

Checkers 2, Grand Rapids 1

After an off day to practice, the two teams went back at it in Grand Rapids. After a scoreless first period, the Griffins once again found the back of the net first when Kevin Porter gave them a lead late in the second period, but for the second game in a row, LaRose came through to tie the game with a tally early in the final frame. Brendan Woods then notched the game-winning goal in the final six minutes to lift the Checkers to the victory and extend the team’s points streak to three games. The win also marked just the second time out of 19 chances this season that the Checkers have won a game in which they entered the third period trailing. Drew MacIntyre, making his third consecutive start, earned his 203rd AHL win, moving him into a tie for 10th place all time. The game also marked the fifth-straight start for MacIntyre in which the Checkers have earned at least one point in the standings. Full recap

Milwaukee 5, Checkers 0

The Checkers followed their big win over the Griffins with a tough tilt against the Milwaukee Admirals the next night. The two squads were locked in scoreless battle until the waning seconds of the first period, when Viktor Arvidsson broke through to give the Admirals a lead. Colton Sissons struck twice in the middle frame, both on the power play, to extend the Milwaukee advantage to 3-0 heading into the final period. The Checkers could not muster up another comeback, surrendering two more goals to the Admirals as they cruised to a 5-0 win, giving Magnus Hellberg his second shutout of the season. John Muse was in goal for Charlotte and took his fifth-straight loss (four in regulation, one in overtime). Full recap

Notables

Coming up Empty

The Checkers suffered their third shutout of the season, all of which took place on the road, in Milwaukee on Jan. 10. That equals the amount of times the Checkers failed to score a goal all of last season, with all of those taking place on the road as well. The club record for most times shut out in a single season is six, set in 2011-12. Meanwhile, the Checkers are one of two AHL teams (Iowa) that have yet to shut out an opposing team this season.

For the season, the Checkers rank last in the AHL in goals (81) and goals per game (2.19). They have scored two goals or fewer in 24 of their 37 games this season (4-15-5 record in those games), including seven of their last eight (2-3-3).

LaRose Takes Over

Chad LaRose has goals in two of his last three games dating back to Jan. 7, which coincides with his taking sole possession of the team's scoring lead. He now has 19 points on the season, breaking what had been a three-way tie with Ryan Murphy and Justin Shugg. He also leads the team in shorthanded points (three - t-3rd AHL), is tied for second in power-play points (four) and leads the team in shots on goal (89). Seven of LaRose's nine goals on the season have come in his last 15 games.

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 year away from hockey. He now has 102 points (50g, 52a) in 161 career AHL games with Lowell and Charlotte.

MacIntyre Cracks Top 10

Since becoming the 12th goaltender in the AHL's 78-year history to reach 200 wins on Dec. 13, Checkers goalie Drew MacIntyre, who has picked up 11 of the Checkers' 13 wins this season, has picked up three more victories to move into a tie with Neil Little for 10th on the league's all-time list.

MacIntyre, a 31-year-old veteran now playing his 12th professional season with his eighth AHL club, is just 29 wins away from tying Frederic Cassivi for fifth on the all-time wins list. He has a 203-126-24 record, 2.44 goals-against average, .937 save percentage and 16 shutouts in 376 career AHL games dating back to the 2004-05 season. He currently ranks fifth in the league with 661 saves this season.

The Checkers have earned points in each of MacIntyre's last five starts dating back to Dec. 19 (3-0-2).

Shugg Leading The Way

Checkers forward Justin Shugg extended his team lead with his 12th goal of the season against Texas on Jan. 4. In just 26 games this season, the fourth-year forward is now just four shy of his career high set in 75 games last season. He is currently tied for 19th in AHL goal scoring and ranks tied for 20th with an 18.5 shooting percentage. In terms of points, his 17 on the season trail Chad LaRose by two for the team lead.

Shugg, the Carolina Hurricanes' fourth-round pick in 2010, averaged 40 goals in each of his last two junior seasons with Windsor and Mississauga of the OHL. He won back-to-back Memorial Cups in 2009 and 2010 and, after losing in the 2011 Memorial Cup final, captured an ECHL Kelly Cup with the Florida Everblades in 2012.

Power Outage

The Checkers are 1-for-34 on the power play (2.9 percent) over their last nine games dating back to Dec. 21. During that time, they have fallen to 30th in the AHL with a season-long percentage of 8.7. With Ryan Murphy (seven points, all assists) in the NHL, no active Checker has more than four points on the power play this season (Chad LaRose, Brock McGinn and Justin Shugg).

In their previous four AHL seasons, the Checkers never finished lower than fifth in the league in terms of power-play percentage. Their lowest-ever percentage to finish a season was 19.8 percent. The lowest recorded power-play percentage for a season in AHL history is 10.4, set by the Rochester Americans in 2001-02.

Road Woes

The Checkers' 5-0 loss in Milwaukee on Jan. 10 dropped them to 4-12-3 on the road this season, including losses in 13 of their last 15 games (2-10-3).

The team's 11 points earned on the road this season are the second-fewest in the league next to Rochester's five. Charlotte has scored two goals or fewer of 14 of 19 road games this season yet has been within one goal heading into the third period in 12 of those games.

Ranks

• Kyle Hagel is tied for the AHL lead in major penalties (12)
• Chad LaRose is tied for the AHL lead in shorthanded assists (3) and is tied for second in shorthanded points (3)
• Greg Nemisz ranks fourth in the league in shooting percentage (25.0%)
• Justin Shugg is tied for 19th in the AHL in goals (12)
• Drew MacIntyre ranks fifth in the AHL in saves (661) and is tied for 12th in wins (11)

Injuries

• Gabriel Desjardins - missed four game starting 1/4
• Beau Schmitz - missed 15 games starting 12/10
• Greg Nemisz - missed 16 games starting 12/8
• Brody Sutter - missed 25 games starting 11/15

Milestones

• Drew MacIntyre earned his 203rd AHL win on Jan. 9, tying him for 10th all time
• Zach Boychuk played in his 300th AHL game on Jan. 10

Transactions

Incoming

• Jan. 8 - (C) Andrej Nestrasil assigned on conditioning stint to Charlotte (AHL) from Carolina (NHL)
• Jan. 8 - (LW) Zach Boychuk assigned to Charlotte (AHL) from Carolina (NHL)
• Jan. 8 - (D) Michal Jordan assigned to Charlotte (AHL) from Carolina (NHL)

Outgoing

• None

Coming Up

By the Numbers

Team Statistics
CATEGORY	RECORD	AHL RANK	LAST WEEK
Power play	8.7%	30th	30th
Penalty kill	84.3%	t-13th	7th
Goals per game	2.19	30th	28th
Shots per game	27.84	27th	26th
Goals allowed per game	2.97	22nd	t-21st
Shots allowed per game	31.22	20th	t-19th
Penalty minutes per game	18.54	22nd	21st

Team Leaders
CATEGORY	LEADER(S)
Points	Chad LaRose (19), Justin Shugg (17), Brendan Woods (16)
Goals	Justin Shugg (12), Chad LaRose (9), Greg Nemisz (8)
Assists	Chad LaRose (10), Brendan Woods, Phil Di Giuseppe (9)
Power play goals	Justin Shugg (4)
Shorthanded goals	Greg Nemisz, Brendan Woods (2)
Game-winning goals	Brendan Woods, Greg Nemisz (2)
Shots on goal	Chad LaRose (89), Phil Di Giuseppe (82), Brock McGinn (76)
Penalty minutes	Kyle Hagel (80), Brendan Woods (71), Keegan Lowe (64)
Plus/minus	Dennis Robertson, Beau Schmitz (+2), Ben Holmstrom, Greg Nemisz (+1)
Wins	Drew MacIntyre (11)
Goals-against average	Drew MacIntyre (2.51)
Save percentage	Drew MacIntyre (.918)