Weekly Report: March 21, 2016

Taking on a busy string of games, the Checkers came away with an up and down week as they chase the final playoff spot.

Charlotte's long road trip rolls on this week with a midweek date in Chicago followed by a weekend visit to Manitoba as the regular season winds down for the Checkers.

Week in Review

Rockford 1, Checkers 0

The Checkers took their four-game winning streak on the road looking to beat Rockford for the third straight time. The two clubs locked in a defensive struggle, going scoreless through the first 50 minutes of regulation before Mark McNeill struck on the power play to give the IceHogs a lead. The Checkers pushed for the equalizer, but that would stand as the only goal of the contest, with the home team squeaking out a 1-0 victory to snap the Checkers perfect stretch. Full recap

Checkers 2, Milwaukee 1 (SO)

The Checkers’ extended road trip took them to Milwaukee next, where they kicked off a three-in-three weekend. They found themselves in a tight battle once again, but the Admirals broke the ice midway through the second to take a one-goal advantage into the final frame. The Checkers offense continued to fight to find the back of the net and with five minutes left in regulation it was Jake Chelios who evened the score with a quick wrister from the slot to force overtime. The extra period proved fruitless, and the game then proceeded to a shootout, where John Muse stonewalled all four Admirals he faced. With the game on his stick, Justin Shugg beat Marek Mazanec five hole to secure the two points for Charlotte. Full recap

Milwaukee 6, Checkers 2

The next night’s rematch saw another scoreless first, but this time it was the Checkers who opened the scoring, with Derek Ryan striking less than a minute into the middle frame. Milwaukee roared back, however, notching four unanswered goals to build a 4-1 lead early in the third. It looked like the Checkers would mount a rally when Ryan quickly brought them back within two with his second of the night, but the Admirals pumped in two more of their own down the stretch to win running away. Full recap

Rockford 2, Checkers 1 (SO)

The Checkers wrapped up their final three-in-three of the season back in Rockford, squaring off with the IceHogs for the fourth time in six games. Rockford got on the board first with a Bryan Bickell one timer early in the second period, but the captain Derek Ryan erased that lead in the final minute of the middle frame. The goalies took center stage in the third and the game would head to overtime, which provided no winner. In the shootout, both goalies stopped the first two attempts before Pierre-Cedric Labrie and Viktor Svedberg each lit the lamp for Rockford. But Ryan and Andrew Miller answered both calls to extend the shootout. John Muse then stepped up, giving the Checkers eight straight chances to end the game, but no one could solve Rockford goalie Mac Carruth. IceHogs finally beat Muse in the 13th round, leaving it up to Patrick Brown to keep the Checkers alive. But he couldn’t put one past the glove of Carruth and the IceHogs came away with the second point. Full recap

Three Stars Of The Week

Notables

Three In Three

The Checkers finished up their second and final three games in three days of the season this past weekend, going 1-1-1 against Milwaukee and Rockford. Charlotte’s all-time record in three-in-threes now sits at 49-33-11, with 17-10-4 record in the first game, 16-10-5 in the second and 16-13-2 in the third.

Playoff Picture

Despite picking up a point in the standings on Sunday, the Checkers currently sit on the outside of the AHL’s playoff picture with 11 games remaining. In a race for the fourth playoff spot in the Pacific Division thanks to the new crossover rule, the Checkers trail the San Jose Barracuda in point percentage by .006 and lead the Bakersfield Condors by a .002 margin.

Shootout Bound

Sunday marked the third time that the Checkers have gone to a shootout in their last eight games and the 10th time this season, tying them for the most shootout appearances in the AHL. Of the 16 games that the Checkers have played this season that have gone to overtime, only six have been decided in the extra frame.

Since starting the year 4-0, Charlotte has gone 2-4 in their last six shootouts.

Vanishing Offense

After scoring at least three goals in each of their four consecutive wins two weeks ago, it looked as if the Checkers had regained their offensive groove. But this week saw them fall back into their old ways. Charlotte recorded two or fewer goals in each of its last four games, including scoring one or fewer in regulation in three of those. In fact, the Checkers have scored two or fewer goals in 10 of their last 14 contests, with the four outliers being that winning streak.

Derek Ryan has accounted for all three of the Checkers’ goals over the last two games, meaning no other Checkers player has scored since the 14:50 mark of Friday’s win over Milwaukee, which comes out to a 135-minute, 10-second stretch, including overtimes.

Power Outage

The Checkers’ power play, which has spent the majority of the season in the top two in the league, has dropped down to sixth thanks to a two-for-42 drought over the last nine games. Charlotte, who immediately prior to this cold spell had 13 power-play goals in eleven games, has now gone scoreless in its last 17 man advantages.

Lockdown

The bright spot for the Checkers last week was that they continued to stifle opposing offenses (for the most part, as the Admirals were able to hang six goals on them in Saturday’s rematch). They have held their opponents to one goal in regulation in three of their last four games, and have kept them to two or fewer in seven of their last 11 contests.

John Muse has played a big part in that, allowing two or fewer goals in seven of his nine appearances since rejoining the team at the trade deadline. Although he saw his winning streak come to an end at five, Muse has earned the Checkers a point in the standings in six of his last seven starts between the pipes.

Ranks

• Kyle Hagel leads the league in major penalties (17) and ranks third in penalty minutes (153)
• John Muse ranks 17th in the AHL in goals-against average (2.54)
• Trevor Carrick is tied for eighth among AHL defensemen in scoring (37), ranks third in power-play points (21) and tied for third in power-play assists (17)
• Mike Cornell is tied for the lead among AHL defensemen in major penalties (13)

Injuries

• Danny Biega missed 33 games starting 1/8
• Brock McGinn missed six games starting 3/8
• Dane Fox missed six games starting 3/8
• Anthony Camara missed three games starting 3/18
• Justin Shugg missed one game starting 3/21

Transactions

Incoming

• March 19 - (C) Brody Sutter assigned to Charlotte
• March 19 - (D) Trevor Carrick assigned to Charlotte
• March 18 - (D) Nick Trecapelli signed to ATO

Outgoing

• None

Coming Up

By the Numbers

Team Statistics
CATEGORY	RECORD	AHL RANK	LAST WEEK
Power play	19.9%	6th	2nd
Penalty kill	84.2%	12th	12th
Goals per game	2.77	t-19th	t-11th
Shots per game	30.26	11th	11th
Goals allowed per game	2.98	t-16th	19th
Shots allowed per game	29.26	8th	8th
Penalty minutes per game	14.78	17th	16th

Team Leaders
CATEGORY	LEADER(S)
Points	Derek Ryan (46), Andrew Miller (42), Trevor Carrick (37)
Goals	Derek Ryan (21), Andrew Miller (17), Brock McGinn (14)
Assists	Trevor Carrick (28), Derek Ryan, Andrew Miller (25)
Power play goals	Brock McGinn, Derek Ryan (7), Andrew Miller (5)
Shorthanded goals	Patrick Brown, David Wohlberg, Brody Sutter (1)
Game-winning goals	Andrew Miller (5), Derek Ryan (4)
Shots on goal	Derek Ryan (144), Trevor Carrick (133), Andrew Miller (115)
Penalty minutes	Kyle Hagel (153), Mike Cornell (113), Keegan Lowe (69)
Plus/minus	Dennis Robertson (+14), Valentin Zykov (+7), Ethan Werek, Danny Biega (+5)
Wins	John Muse (14)
Goals-against average	John Muse (2.54)
Save percentage	John Muse (.913)