Game Preview: Checkers at Iowa (March 22, 2015)

The Checkers­ look to continue their success against Iowa and close the second leg of their longest road swing of the season on a high note as they face the Wild for the final time this season.

Saturday’s 3-2 victory pushed Charlotte to 5-2-0 against the Wild, the Western Conference’s bottom-ranked team, this season. It also made it so this evening’s rematch will not be against the bottom two teams, with Charlotte able to leapfrog Rochester and jump into 13th on the strength of those two points.

Following today’s game, the Checkers briefly return home before busing up to Norfolk on Wednesday. They will then play their final six home games of the season as part of a single home stand starting Friday.

Charlotte

Coming off lopsided losses of 6-1 and 9-3 heading into Saturday’s game, the Checkers tightened up defensively and made the most of their power-play opportunities to get back on track against the Wild.

Leading the charge was center Brody Sutter, who scored each of the Checkers’ first two goals, including one on the man advantage, and assisted on Justin Shugg’s eventual game-winner for his first career three-point outing. Shugg, who assisted on Sutter’s second, solidified his team scoring lead with two more points.

Against the AHL’s 30th-ranked penalty kill, the Checkers went 2-for-3 on the power play on Saturday, continuing a second-half resurgence to a unit that was flirting with historically low percentages for much of the season. Charlotte has now converted on 13 of 51 opportunities (25.5 percent) since Feb. 22, with Shugg moving to the point, Zach Boychuk returning from the NHL and the emergence of Trevor Carrick as an offensive threat all key factors.

Speaking of Carrick, the 20-year-old rookie defenseman recorded his third two-assist game in his last four outings on Saturday and now has 11 points (2g, 9a) in his last 10 games. He now leads all Checkers with 19 assists on the season, 11 of which have come on the power play.

Despite his relative inexperience, Carrick will continue to be a go-to player on the back end with many of the team’s regular blueliners in the NHL (Michal Jordan, Rasmus Rissanen, Ryan Murphy and Danny Biega) or injured (Keegan Lowe). After signing a professional tryout contract that morning, Jordan Henry made his Checkers debut against the Wild and is expected to play again tonight alongside two of his former Florida Everblades teammates from this season – Mike Cornell and Austin Levi.

Chad LaRose, who was the Checkers’ scoring leader before having to miss 11 games due to injury, returned to the lineup on Saturday but did not record a point. As long as he and the rest of the team came through Saturday’s game unscathed, Charlotte should still have a healthy extra at forward, with Carter Sandlak sitting out that particular game.

In goal, Drew MacIntyre has played in six of the Checkers’ last seven games as he inches closer to setting a franchise record for most appearances in a single season (currently five away). In his most recent start, John Muse allowed two goals on three shots before giving way to MacIntyre in Tuesday’s 9-3 drubbing at the hands of the San Antonio Rampage.

Iowa

Saturday’s loss kept the Wild firmly in the AHL cellar, as they now have eight fewer points than any other team. After splitting games with the Checkers earlier in the season, they have now conceded three straight regulation losses in the season series.

The alliterative duo of Brett Bulmer and Brady Brassart factored in on Saturday’s scoring with two points apiece, as Bulmer got his team on the board with a nifty breakaway move to make it 2-1 in the second period and Brassart again clawed his team back to within one with a backhand from the slot with approximately five minutes remaining in regulation.

On a team that has taken a hit with center Zack Phillips, a former first-round draft pick, and defenseman Danny Syvret both departing at the trade deadline, the Wild now rely on Tyler Graovac, who has six points in seven games against the Checkers this season, and Michael Keranen – their two 30-point scorers. Not far behind are a pair of familiar surnames in Marc Hagel, brother of Checkers’ forward Kyle, who has 29 points, and Brett Sutter, the former Checkers captain and cousin of Saturday hero Brody Sutter, who has 24.

Though the Wild have an even split in terms of games played in goal this season, John Curry, who the Checkers defeated Saturday, has played in each of the last seven games, including two occasions in which he has started on consecutive days. Johan Gustafsson, who has a 3.36 goals-against average and .896 save percentage, has not played since allowing two goals on four shots on Feb. 24 - an outing that lasted just 4:37.

Checkers Notes

Against The Wild

Tonight is the last of the eight-game series against division rivals Charlotte and Iowa. Including a 5-2-0 mark this season and a 2-1-0 record in Iowa, Charlotte has an all-time record of 7-4-0 against the Wild. All 11 meetings between the two clubs have been decided in regulation.

Chad LaRose, who returned from an upper-body injury that cost him 11 games on Saturday, leads the Checkers with six points (4g, 2a) in seven games against the Wild this season. Drew MacIntyre has started five games, going 4-1-0 with a 1.81 goals-against average and .941 save percentage, while John Muse is 1-1-0 with a 2.53 GAA and .921 SV% against the Wild.

Tyler Graovac leads the Wild in scoring against the Checkers with six points (1g, 5a) in seven games. John Curry has gone 1-3-0 in his five starts with a goals against average of 3.68 and a save percentage of .853. Johan Gustafsson has faced the Checkers three times, going 1-1-0 with a 2.30 GAA and .930 SV%.

Home And Road

Despite earning the victory in Iowa on Saturday, the Checkers, who are in the midst of a season-long, six-game road swing, are just 9-20-4 on the road this season. Their 22 points earned on the road are tied with Rochester for the fewest of any AHL team. Meanwhile, the Checkers are 17-13-2 at home, including wins in six of their last eight games.

The Checkers have a -50 goal differential on the road (62 goals for, 112 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

Trevor Carrick has found his scoring touch of late, recording 11 points (2g, 9a) in his last 10 games. He currently leads all Charlotte blueliners in goals (six) and points (25), both 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 four games.

Carrick is currently tied for third on the team in points. His 19 assists lead the team and tie him with Ryan Murphy (2013-14) for the most by a Checkers rookie defenseman. 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 Twice

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.

Sutter, who has been limited to just 37 games this season due to injury, is now just one shy of tying 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 seven games, ranks fourth in the AHL with 2,545 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 14 points (5g, 9a) in his last 17 outings, Justin Shugg has taken over the Checkers' leads in goals (18, a new career high) and points (35). 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 107 points (46g, 61a) in 201 games played. He needs three 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 13 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.

Shootout Success

Charlotte's six shootout appearances and five shootout victories this season are tied for the second-highest totals in the league in both categories. Meanwhile, the Checkers are 2-5 in games decided during the seven-minute overtime period.

The Checkers have found success in the shootout by scoring seven goals on 26 attempts (.269, 12th AHL). Meanwhile, their goaltending tandem of Drew MacIntyre (21 saves on 23 attempts) and John Muse (three saves on four attempts) have given the Checkers the third-best save percentage in the league at .889 percent. In MacIntyre's only shootout loss of the season, he stopped seven of eight while receiving no goals of support.

The Checkers' top scorers in the shootout this season are rookie Brock McGinn (two goals on three attempts) and overall scoring leader Justin Shugg (two goals, both game-winners, on five attempts). Among AHL rookies, McGinn is tied for the league lead in shootout goals and ranks tied for second in shootout percentage (66.7). Shugg is tied for the AHL lead in shootout-winning goals.

Quick Hits

• Saturday's win lifted the Checkers over Rochester and into 13th place in the Western Conference. They had been in 14th since Feb. 7.
• Kyle Hagel is tied for second in the league with 20 major penalties.
• The Checkers are the only AHL team that has yet to record a shutout.
• Phil Di Giuseppe ranks tied for fourth among AHL rookies with 141 shots on goal.
• The Checkers' two shorthanded goals allowed tie Manchester for the fewest in the AHL.

Streaks

• Trevor Carrick has assists and points in each of his last two games (March 17-21: 0g, 4a)
• Justin Shugg has assists and points each in of his last two games (March 17-21: 1g, 2a)

Injuries

• Keegan Lowe - missed 10 games starting 2/27
• Greg Nemisz - missed 44 games starting 12/8 (out for season)

Suspensions

• Ben Holmstrom - one game remaining on two-game suspension for high sticking

Milestones

• Kyle Hagel is one shy of 1,000 pro PIM
• Mike Cornell is two shy of 200 AHL PIM
• Jared Staal is three shy of 50 pro points and one shy of 100 AHL PIM

Transactions

Incoming

• March 21 - (D) Jordan Henry signed to PTO from Florida (ECHL)

Outgoing

• March 18 - (D) Danny Biega recalled to Carolina (NHL) from Charlotte