Weekly Report: Jan. 26, 2015

After a mixed bag of results last week, the Checkers headed into the All-Star break on a high note.

The Checkers endured their second and final three-in-three of the season, a rare mid-week instance, and came away with three of a possible six points in the standings. While not the most ideal end result, it helped them begin their climb back into contention, as they have now earned points in seven of their last nine contests.

They will now enjoy a much needed break as the AHL All Star Classic takes place in Utica, New York, save for Ryan Murphy, who will be representing the club as a member of the Western Conference team. Following the break, the Checkers will travel to Texas this weekend for back-to-back tilts with the Rampage and Stars.

Week in Review

Norfolk 3, Checkers 2 (OT)

Returning to Norfolk to face their geographic rival, the Checkers jumped out to a lead but fell in heartbreaking fashion. Strikes from two of the team's less prolific goal scorers, Trevor Carrick and Kyle Hagel, put the Checkers out in front 2-0 midway through regulation. The Admirals roared back, however, with a pair of their own, including the game-tying goal with under five minutes left in the game to send it to overtime. After a scoreless seven minutes, it looked as if the game would be decided in a shootout. But Nic Kerdiles charged in and found the back of the net just as time expired, handing Norfolk the win. Full recap

OKC 3, Checkers 1

After an overnight drive for a quick turnaround, the Checkers came out flat at home against the Barons. Chad LaRose gave the home team a lead with a strike late in the first period, but the Checkers came unraveled in a disastrous second frame. The Barons ripped off 18 shots and lit the lamp three times in the span of just over eight minutes to build a 3-1 lead. The Checkers shut down the OKC offense after that, but could not overcome the damage done, dropping a 3-2 contest to the Barons. Full recap

Checkers 3, OKC 2

In front of a sell out crowd on Race Night, the Checkers exacted their revenge and toppled the AHL-leading Barons. They once again jumped out to an early lead, powered by tallies from Carrick and Zach Boychuk, but the Barons cut the lead in half to make it a one-goal game heading into the final frame. 33 seconds into the third, Brody Sutter notched the critical third goal, extending the Checkers lead. The Barons chipped in one more in the final minute of play, but Charlotte squashed the rally and went into the All-Star break with a 3-2 win. Full recap

Notables

LaRose Takes Over

With one point scored in each of his last five games (2g, 3a), Chad LaRose has taken sole posession of the team scoring lead with 24 points (11g, 13a). The alternate captain has put up 13 of those points in his last 16 games (7g, 6a). 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 (five) and leads the team in shots on goal (104).

LaRose's point streak is tied for the team's longest of the season, a record shared by LaRose (Dec. 18-28: 3g, 3a) and Ryan Murphy (Dec. 16-27: 0g, 6a).

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 108 points (52g, 56a) in 170 career AHL games with Lowell and Charlotte.

Power Outage

The Checkers are 5-for-53 on the power play (9.4 percent) on the power play over their last 15 games dating back to Dec. 21 and rank 30th in the AHL with a season-long percentage of 10.1.

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.

On Jan. 21 in Norfolk, the Checkers did not receive a power play for just the second time in team history and first since April 13, 2012, at Peoria.

The Checkers hope to have turned a corner with their powerplay unit since Zach Boychuk, Michal Jordan and Ryan Murphy rejoined the team, having gone 4-12 with the man advantage (33.3 precent) over the last four games.

We Meet Again

The Checkers have faced the same opponent in consecutive games 17 times this season. They are a combined 3-10-4 in the first halves of those series and a combined 10-6-1 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).

Overtimes

Six of the Checkers' nine overtime games this season have been decided prior to the shootout. Charlotte is 1-5 in those games, with only Texas (2-9) owning a lower winning percentage in games decided during the seven-minute period. Meanwhile, the Checkers are 2-1 in the shootout.

Including their most recent overtime in Norfolk on Jan. 21, the Checkers gave up the tying goal with less than 3:30 remaining in regulation in four of their last five overtime losses.

Three-In-Threes

Friday night's game concluded the second and final instance in which the Checkers played three games in three nights this season. They went 0-2-1 in their first set from Oct. 10-12 and 1-1-1 in the most recent time.

The Checkers have an all-time record of 48-32-10 in games that are part of a three-in-three set, including a 16-10-4 mark in game one, a 16-9-5 record in game two and a 16-13-1 showing game three.

In four previous AHL seasons, the Checkers had never played fewer than five three-in-three sets over the course of a single season.

Long Time Coming

Kyle Hagel's goal in Norfolk on Jan. 21 - his 30th birthday - marked his first scored at any level since scoring for Hamilton against Lake Erie on April 12, 2013 (82 games). The Checkers now have just two active players still looking for their first goals of the season in any league - Ryan Murphy (last goal: April 19, Checkers at Rockford, 40 total games) and Beau Schmitz (last goal: Feb. 22, ECHL Florida vs. Fort Wayne, 13 total games).

Now in his seventh professional season and first with the Checkers, Hagel leads the team with 94 penalty minutes and leads the AHL with 14 major penalties.

Ranks

• Kyle Hagel leads the AHL in major penalties (14)
• Chad LaRose is tied for the AHL lead in shorthanded assists (3) and is tied for third in shorthanded points (3)
• Greg Nemisz ranks second in the league in shooting percentage (25.0%)
• Drew MacIntyre ranks fourth in the AHL in saves (797), tied for 9th in wins (12) and tied for fifth in minutes (1663)

Injuries

• Kyle Hagel - missed one game starting 1/23
• Gabriel Desjardins - missed 10 game starting 1/4
• Beau Schmitz - missed 21 games starting 12/10
• Greg Nemisz - missed 22 games starting 12/8 (out for season)

Milestones

• Zach Boychuk recorded his 300th pro point on 1/23
• Ryan Murphy played his 50th AHL game on 1/23
• Alex Aleardi played his 100th pro game on 1/22
• Keegan Lowe played his 100th AHL/pro game on 1/22
• Brody Sutter played his 150th pro game on 1/21

Transactions

Incoming

• Jan. 20 - (D) Ryan Murphy assigned to Charlotte (AHL) from Carolina (NHL)

Outgoing

• None

Coming Up

By the Numbers

Team Statistics
CATEGORY	RECORD	AHL RANK	LAST WEEK
Power play	10.1%	30th	30th
Penalty kill	85.1%	10th	12th
Goals per game	2.21	29th	29th
Shots per game	28.40	26th	26th
Goals allowed per game	2.91	21st	21st
Shots allowed per game	32.00	26th	23rd
Penalty minutes per game	18.33	22nd	20th

Team Leaders
CATEGORY	LEADER(S)
Points	Chad LaRose (24), Justin Shugg (19), Brendan Woods (18)
Goals	Justin Shugg (13), Chad LaRose (11), Brendan Woods, Greg Nemisz (8)
Assists	Ryan Murphy (17), Chad LaRose (13), Brendan Woods (10)
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 (104), Phil Di Giuseppe (94), Brock McGinn (88)
Penalty minutes	Kyle Hagel (94), Keegan Lowe (93), Brendan Woods (76)
Plus/minus	Dennis Robertson (+3), Zach Boychuk, Beau Schmitz (+2)
Wins	Drew MacIntyre (13)
Goals-against average	Drew MacIntyre (2.49)
Save percentage	Drew MacIntyre (.920)