Weekly Report: March 23, 2015

Despite kicking the week off with one of their worst losses of the season, the Checkers were able to turn things around with a weekend sweep of the Iowa Wild.

Although they have found themselves on the wrong end of some lopsided losses, the Checkers have been quietly turning in one of their best stretches of the year, winning seven of their last 11 contests.

The Checkers will wrap up their road trip Wednesday night with their final visit to Norfolk before returning to Charlotte for their longest and final home stand of the season.

Week in Review

San Antonio 9, Checkers 3

Two days after a 6-1 blowout at the hands of the Barons, the Checkers ran into a hot Rampage team and suffered one of their worst losses of the season. The Checkers pulled within one less than one minute into the second with a Brock McGinn strike, but things spiraled out of control from there. The Rampage went back up by two late in the period, and then poured in three goals in the first five minutes of the third to build a 7-2 lead. Brendan Woods notched his second goal of the night midway through the third, but San Antonio kicked in two more and rode away with an overwhleming 9-3 win. Full recap

Checkers 3, Iowa 2

After returning to Charlotte for a few days to regroup, the Checkers headed out for a two-game series in Iowa looking to right the ship following two big losses. Brett Sutter found the back of the net twice to put the Checkers out in front 2-0 midway through the second. The Wild pulled back within one shortly after, but Justin Shugg ripped a power-play marker, the Checkers' second of the game, to regain the two-goal advantage. The Wild turned up the pressure late in regulation, pulling back within one with five minutes to go, but Drew MacIntyre and the visitors buckled down and held on for the 3-2 win. Full recap

Checkers 4, Iowa 2

The Checkers took the ice the next day for their final matchup with the Wild and came away with their secodn straight win. After a scoreless first frame, Marc Hagel put the Wild on the board early in the second. The Checkers responded swiftly, however, chipping in three goals throughout the rest of the second to build a two-goal lead. Joel Chouinard struck 29 seconds into the third to put Iowa back within one, but once again the Checkers stood strong and held onto their lead. Zach Boychuk then found the empty net with less than two seconds left on the clock to seal back-to-back wins for Charlotte. Full recap

Notables

Home And Road

With a pair of wins this weekend in Iowa, the Checkers moved out of a tie for the fewest road points this season, but their 20 losses away from home are the second most in the league, trailing only Norfolk. Meanwhile, the Checkers are 17-13-2 at home, including wins in six of their last eight games.

The Checkers have a -48 goal differential on the road (66 goals for, 114 against) and a -5 goal differential at home (83 goals for, 88 against). All five shutouts the Checkers have suffered this season occurred on the road.

Carrick Lights It Up

With 12 points in his last 11 games, Trevor Carrick has emerged as an offensive force on the Checkers blue line. He currently leads all Charlotte defensemen in goals (six), assists (20) and points (26), all of which are new records for a Checkers roookie defenseman. Of his five multi-point outings this season, four have occurred during the month of March, including a trio of two-assist efforts in his last five games.

Carrick is currently tied for third on the team in points. His 20 assists lead the team. Eleven of his assists have come on the power play, a total that leads the Checkers, ranks fourth among all AHL rookies and first among AHL rookie defensemen.

A fourth-round pick in 2012, the 20-year-old Carrick put up 51 points in his final season of junior last year, split between Mississauga and Sudbury, and ranked second among OHL defensemen in goals (22).

Sutter Strikes

Brody Sutter's two-goal effort on Saturday marked his second AHL multi-goal game and first since scoring two goals, including the overtime winner, in his first professional playoff game at Oklahoma City on April 26, 2013. He also assisted on Justin Shugg's game-winner, giving him a point on all three Checkers goals in the 3-2 victory and marking a new career high for points in a single game. He then followed that up with another goal the following night, giving him six points in his last five games.

Sutter, who has been limited to just 38 games this season due to injury, has now tied his career high of eight goals set in 69 games last season. His first goal on Saturday marked his 50th AHL point (133 games).

MacIntyre's Workload

Checkers goalie Drew MacIntyre, who has played in six of the team's last eight games, ranks fourth in the AHL with 2,544 minutes played and is second with 1,265 saves. He would only need to appear in four of the team's last 11 games to tie the franchise record for games played by a goaltender in a single season (48 by Justin Pogge in 2010-11).

MacIntyre has made 40 or more saves seven times this season, including twice in his last six starts. Though he has yet to record a shutout, he has won five games by a 2-1 score. He owns a .933 save percentage in overtime games this season (42 saves on 45 shots) and has stopped 21 of 23 in the shootout. He is tied for the league lead in shootout victories this season (4-1 record).

MacIntyre, a 31-year-old veteran now playing his 12th professional season with his eighth AHL club, ranks 10th on the league's all-time wins list with 210 and is just 22 wins away from tying Frederic Cassivi for fifth. He has a 210-139-25 record, 2.48 goals-against average, .935 save percentage and 16 shutouts in 397 career AHL games dating back to the 2004-05 season.

Shugg Takes Over

By scoring 15 points (6g, 9a) in his last 18 outings, Justin Shugg has taken over the Checkers' leads in goals (19, a new career high) and points (36). He is also tied with Ryan Murphy for second on the team in assists with 17.

Shugg, 23, now ranks sixth on the franchise's all-time points list with 108 points (47g, 62a) in 202 games played. He needs two more to pass Jerome Samson and move into the top five.

Powering Up

The Checkers have scored a power-play goal in 10 of their last 14 games dating back to Feb. 22, going 13-for-51 (25.5 percent) during that time. As a result, their power play has risen out of the league's lowest-ranked spot it had occupied since Dec. 14 and now ranks 27th in the AHL at 13.5 percent.

Saturday's game in Iowa marked the sixth time the Checkers have scored multiple power-play goals in a single game this season and second in as many games. All six of those instances have come since Jan. 16. In Sunday's rematch, the Checkers were not awarded a power play, the second time this season that has happened.

Ranks

• Kyle Hagel ranks second in the AHL in major penalties (21)
• Chad LaRose is tied for the AHL lead in shorthanded assists (3) and tied for third in shorthanded points (4)
• Greg Nemisz leads the AHL in shooting percentage (25.0%)
• Drew MacIntyre ranks second in the AHL in saves (1,265), fourth in minutes (2,544), and is tied for the AHL lead in shootout wins (4)
• Justin Shugg is tied for the AHL lead in shootout-winning goals
• Phil Di Giuseppe ranks fourth among AHL rookies in shots (143)
• Trevor Carrick ranks third among rookie defensemen in scoring (21) and ranks fourth among AHL rookies in power-play assists (11)

Injuries

• Chad LaRose - missed 11 games from 2/25-3/21
• Keegan Lowe - missed 11 game starting 2/27
• Greg Nemisz - missed 45 games starting 12/8 (out for season)

Milestones

• Kyle Hagel recorded his 1,000th pro penalty minute on 3/22
• Justin Shugg played in his 200th AHL game on 3/17
• Sean Dolan played in his 150th AHL game on 3/17
• Brendan Woods played in his 100th AHL game on 3/17
• Zach Boychuk recorded his 200th AHL penalty minute on 3/17

Transactions

Incoming

• March 21 - (D) Jordan Henry signed to professional tryout contract

Outgoing

• March 19 - (D) Danny Biega recalled by Carolina (NHL)

Coming Up

By the Numbers

Team Statistics
CATEGORY	RECORD	AHL RANK	LAST WEEK
Power play	13.5%	27th	27th
Penalty kill	85.0%	12th	10th
Goals per game	2.26	29th	29th
Shots per game	28.85	23rd	23rd
Goals allowed per game	3.06	24th	22nd
Shots allowed per game	33.09	28th	27th
Penalty minutes per game	17.91	22nd	22nd

Team Leaders
CATEGORY	LEADER(S)
Points	Justin Shugg (36), Chad LaRose (32), Brendan Woods, Trevor Carrick (26)
Goals	Justin Shugg (19), Chad LaRose (17), Brendan Woods (13)
Assists	Trevor Carrick (20), Justin Shugg (17), Chad LaRose, Phil Di Giuseppe (15)
Power play goals	Zach Boychuk, Chad LaRose, Justin Shugg (6)
Shorthanded goals	Greg Nemisz, Brendan Woods (2)
Game-winning goals	Chad LaRose, Justin Shugg (3)
Shots on goal	Chad LaRose (146), Phil Di Giuseppe, Justin Shugg (143)
Penalty minutes	Kyle Hagel (149), Mike Cornell (118), Keegan Lowe (102)
Plus/minus	Greg Nemisz (+1), Dennis Robertson (E), Jordan Henry, Sean Dolan (-1)
Wins	Drew MacIntyre (18)
Goals-against average	John Muse (2.71)
Save percentage	John Muse (.916)