Weekly Report: Jan. 19, 2015

The Checkers started the second half of the season in promising fashion taking two of three games this week.

After enjoying one of their most successful road trips of the season, going 2-1-1 against a formidable slate of Midwest Division opponents, the Checkers returned home to host a surging Toronto Marlies team. Despite stumbling to a dissapointing loss in the first contest, the Checkers rallied in the rematch to split the series and improve to 4-2-1 in their last seven games.

The Checkers will see their second and final three-in-three of the season this week, traveling to Norfolk Wednesday before coming home for two tilts with the Oklahoma City Barons to head into the All-Star break.

Week in Review

Checkers 3, Rockford 2 (SO)

One game removed from a 5-0 throttling in Milwaukee, the Checkers wrapped up their Midwest road trip with an impressive victory over the division-leading IceHogs. The Checkers jumped out to a 2-0 midway through the second period thanks to strikes from breakout offensive performers Brendan Woods and Jared Staal. The IceHogs wouldn't go away, however, rallying back to tie the game on a third period goal from rookie Ryan Hartman. After a scoreless overtime, the game moved on to a shootout, where Drew MacIntyre stonewalled all three Rockford shooters and Alex Aleardi found the back of the net to secure the two points for Charlotte. Full recap

Toronto 4, Checkers 1

Returning home from their longest road trip of the season thus far, the Checkers hosted the red-hot Marlies, who entered the game on a nine-game points streak. After a marker from Josh Leivo late in the first, Zach Boychuk, playing in his first home game for the Checkers this season, knotted things up in the second. Toronto's offense could not be slowed down, however, as Connor Brown gave them a lead with another late-period goal, followed by two Toronto goals in the third to seal the dominating 4-1 win for the Marlies. Drew MacIntyre stopped 20 of the 23 shots he faced and was saddled with the loss, snapping his streak of six straight starts in which the team earned at least one point in the standings. Full recap

Checkers 4, Toronto 1

The Checkers exacted their revenge one night later, halting the Marlies streak with a convincing 4-1 win. The ailing powerplay unit, which was mired in a 1-41 stretch on the power play over the last 11 games, came to life, going 2-for-3 and giving the Checkers a 2-1 lead heading into the third period thanks to deflection goals from Ben Holmstrom and Chad LaRose. Justin Shugg notched an insurance marker with a snipe in the third and Boychuk added an empty netter, which also gave him sole possesion of the franchise's all-time goals leader, to clinch the 4-1 stomping. John Muse earned the win, snapping a streak of five-straight winless starts for the netminder. Full recap

Notables

Boychuk's Goals

With an empty netter to seal the Checkers win over Toronto on 1/16, Boychuk became the franchise's all-time goals leader, surpassing longtime teammate Chris Terry.

The reigning Willie Marshall award winner as the AHL's top goal scorer with 36 last season, Boychuk also led the league with 18 power-play goals and took home Second-Team All Star honors. One of five players to appear in at least one Checkers game in all five of the team's AHL seasons (Michal Jordan, Rasmus Rissanen, Jared Staal and Terry), he ranks second on the team's all-time list in points (231) and assists (126) and is fifth in games played (249). He is currently two shy of 300 professional points.

LaRose Takes Over

With an assist on 1/15 and the game-winning goal on 1/16, Chad LaRose has taken sole posession of the team scoring lead, becoming the first Checkers player to record 20 points on the season. The alternate captain has put up 10 of those points in his last 13 games. In addition to being the team's overall points leader, he also leads the team in shorthanded points (three - t-3rd AHL), is tied for second in power-play points (seven) and leads the team in shots on goal (95).
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 105 points (51g, 54a) in 167 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 12 of the Checkers' 14 wins this season, has picked up four more victories to take sole possession of 10th on the league's all-time wins list.

MacIntyre, a 31-year-old veteran now playing his 12th professional season with his eighth AHL club, is just 28 wins away from tying Frederic Cassivi for fifth on the all-time list. He has a 204-127-24 record, 2.43 goals-against average, .936 save percentage and 16 shutouts in 378 career AHL games dating back to the 2004-05 season. He currently ranks fourth in the league with 722 saves this season.

The Checkers have earned points in six of MacIntyre's last seven starts dating back to Dec. 19 (4-1-2). Including a perfect 3-for-3 performance in Rockford on Jan. 13, he has stopped 13 of 14 shootout attempts this season, helping the Checkers to a 2-1 record despite just two total goals of support.

Power Outage

Even with a 2-for-3 performance in Friday's win over Toronto, the Checkers are 3-for-44 on the power play (6.8 percent) over their last 12 games dating back to Dec. 21. During that time, they have fallen to 30th in the AHL with a season-long percentage of 9.4. With Ryan Murphy (seven points, all assists) in the NHL, no active Checker has more than five points on the power play this season (Chad LaRose 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.

We Meet Again

The Checkers have faced the same opponent in consecutive games 16 times this season. They are a combined 3-9-4 in the first halves of those series and a combined 9-6-1 in the second, including one instance where they won both games (against Milwaukee on Nov. 29 and 30) and three where they lost both (Grand Rapids on Oct. 17-18, San Antonio on Nov. 14-15 and Oklahoma City on Nov. 21-22).

Stalled Offense

For the season, the Checkers rank second to last in the AHL in goals per game with a paltry average of 2.23. Excluding goals awarded for shootout victories, they have scored two goals or fewer in 26 of their 40 games this season (5-16-5 record in those games), including nine of their last 11 (3-4-3).

The Checkers are one of just three teams with only a single player over 20 points (LaRose-21), as well as having the league's lowest combined point total from their top-three scorers (LaRose-21, Shugg-19, Woods-18).

The Checkers have never finished lower than 18th in the league in terms of goals per game. Their lowest-ever average to finish a season was 2.75. The lowest point total for the team's scoring leader at the end of the season was 59 points.

Ranks

• Kyle Hagel leads the AHL in major penalties (13)
• Chad LaRose is tied for the AHL lead in shorthanded assists (3) and is tied for third in shorthanded points (3)
• Greg Nemisz ranks third in the league in shooting percentage (25.0%)
• Drew MacIntyre ranks fourth in the AHL in saves (722) and is tied for 12th in wins (12)

Injuries

• Gabriel Desjardins - missed seven game starting 1/4
• Beau Schmitz - missed 18 games starting 12/10
• Greg Nemisz - missed 19 games starting 12/8

Milestones

• Zach Boychuk became the franchise's all-time goals leader on 1/16
• Justin Shugg recorded his 50th AHL assist on 1/16
• Jared Staal played in his 200th AHL game on 1/13

Transactions

Incoming

• None

Outgoing

• Jan. 16 - (D) Austin Levi assigned to Stockton (ECHL) from Charlotte (AHL)
• Jan. 15 - (LW) Andrew Rowe released from PTO to South Carolina (ECHL)
• Jan. 14 - (C) Andrej Nestrasil recalled to Carolina (NHL) from conditioning stint with Charlotte (AHL)

Coming Up

By the Numbers

Team Statistics
CATEGORY	RECORD	AHL RANK	LAST WEEK
Power play	9.4%	30th	30th
Penalty kill	84.6%	12th	t-13th
Goals per game	2.23	29th	30th
Shots per game	28.18	26th	27th
Goals allowed per game	2.93	21st	22nd
Shots allowed per game	31.48	23rd	20th
Penalty minutes per game	18.03	20th	22nd

Team Leaders
CATEGORY	LEADER(S)
Points	Chad LaRose (21), Justin Shugg (19), Brendan Woods (18)
Goals	Justin Shugg (13), Chad LaRose (10), Brendan Woods, Greg Nemisz (8)
Assists	Chad LaRose (11), Brendan Woods (10), Phil Di Giuseppe, Trevor Carrick (9)
Power play goals	Justin Shugg, Chad LaRose (4)
Shorthanded goals	Greg Nemisz, Brendan Woods (2)
Game-winning goals	Brendan Woods, Greg Nemisz, Chad LaRose (2)
Shots on goal	Chad LaRose (95), Phil Di Giuseppe (86), Brock McGinn (85)
Penalty minutes	Kyle Hagel (87), Brendan Woods, Keegan Lowe (71)
Plus/minus	Zach Boychuk, Dennis Robertson (+3), Beau Schmitz (+2)
Wins	Drew MacIntyre (12)
Goals-against average	Drew MacIntyre (2.50)
Save percentage	Drew MacIntyre (.919)