Game Preview: Checkers vs. Abbotsford (Feb. 15, 2014)

The Checkers return from the All-Star break to play a pair of games at Raleigh’s PNC Arena, home of the parent Carolina Hurricanes.

Two match-ups against the Abbotsford Heat technically continue the Checkers’ five-game home stand that began last week – one that ends with a true home game against Norfolk on Tuesday. Charlotte enters the set against its West Division rival looking to end a four-game winless streak (0-3-1) that is its longest since suffering seven consecutive regulation losses in November.

Charlotte is 0-2-0 against Abbotsford this season, with the previous two match-ups coming just two weeks earlier. Sunday afternoon’s game will conclude the season series.

Charlotte

In the hockey world, the game immediately following the All-Star break isn’t necessarily known for its technical beauty. That said, the Checkers are hoping that a week of rest will allow them to get back to the hockey that allowed them to win eight of 10 games between Jan. 3 and Feb. 1 before the fatigue of a hectic schedule became a factor.

“Mentally it came at the right time,” said coach Jeff Daniels of the four-day break between team activities that officially ended when the team held its first practice in Raleigh on Friday afternoon. “We struggled a bit, but coming into the break we did a lot of travel and had a lot of games in a short period of time and that eventually caught up to us. It was good to get away from a few days, get a chance to practice and be ready for the next few days.”

The Checkers enter tonight’s game ranked 13th in the Western Conference and eight points out of a playoff spot, though they have games in hand on many teams ahead of them. Part of that is due to a pair of postponed games, including tonight’s that was originally scheduled for Friday.

With that and the opportunity to make a firsthand impression on Carolina’s management on its own turf in mind, the Checkers are expecting to put their best foot forward this weekend, just as they did in their only previous PNC Arena game, a 3-1 win over Norfolk last January.

“We didn’t want to finish the way we did going into the break but guys were able to get away from hockey, relax a little bit and get rested up,” said Zach Boychuk, who leads the Checkers with 22 goals.

As for the ability to get back into game shape quickly?

“A couple of days off sometimes throws the guys off with being off the ice, but we’re professionals and we’re not going to lose it in a couple of days,” said defenseman Matt Corrente. “I think (Friday’s) practice definitely helped get the rust out. Guys are scoring on the two-on-ones and that’s confidence for us. Hopefully it carries over into tomorrow.”

Forward Greg Nemisz will not get a chance to face his former team as he is out for the weekend due to an injury that also kept him out of the Checkers’ last game on Sunday. The team will still have one extra forward, with Matt Marquardt helping out on defense on Friday. Defensemen Mark Flood and Ryan Murphy are available after missing Friday's practice due to travel delays, giving the team an extra at that position as well.

Abbotsford

The Heat had the advantage of being the home team while the Checkers traveled cross-continent in the teams’ first meetings on Feb. 4 and 5. Even though Charlotte had to do a bit of travel to play these home games, the tables have certainly turned.

Even with tonight’s game postponed from Friday, the Heat were unable to get a flight out of Chicago to complete the last leg of their trip from British Columbia, causing them to hop on what was supposed to be a 14-hour bus ride on Friday morning. Winter weather was likely to make that even longer, with the team not arriving in Raleigh until sometime Saturday morning.

Given what they saw in their first meetings with the Heat, when they were outscored 11-4 in a pair of losses, the Checkers will take whatever advantage they can get.

“They’ve got good depth at all positions and on paper they’re probably one of the best teams in the AHL,” said Boychuk.

“They’re a great team, they skate, they hit and we know that and we’re going to be ready for that,” said Corrente.

After going through a bit of a slide in December and January, the Heat have picked things up this month with wins in five of their last six games to climb back into the top spot in the Western Conference. They are coming off a lopsided loss, however – a 7-2 setback against the Texas Stars in their most recent game on Sunday.

The Heat’s resurgence coincides with the addition of a handful of key players from the NHL’s Calgary Flames, including AHL All-Star Ben Street, forward Blair Jones and defenseman Shane O’Brien. Those players join a supporting cast that includes top rookies Markus Granlund, Corban Knight, former AHL MVP Corey Locke and All-Star defenseman Chad Billins, among others. Starting goaltender Joni Ortio, who missed the games against the Checkers, has also returned from the Flames.

Checkers Notes

Bump in the Road

The Checkers' current four-game winless streak is their second-longest of the season, trailing a franchise-record, seven-game regulation losing streak from Nov. 2-19. It is also tied for the longest active winless streak in the AHL. Prior to the current streak, the Checkers had won eight of their previous 10 games.

Before the streak started with a 7-1 loss in Abbotsford on Feb. 4, the Checkers ranked 10th in the Western Conference and were three points behind eighth-place Rockford, which had played five more games. Heading into today's game, they are 13th in the conference and eight points behind eighth-place Rochester.

Sutter Connection

In 58 Checkers games together, cousins Brett and Brody Sutter had never scored in the same game until each found the back of the net one time against Oklahoma City on Feb. 7. They had also never recorded points on the same goal until Brett assisted on Brody's game-tying goal with 38 seconds remaining in regulation one game later on Feb. 9.

Brett heads into the All-Star break with 10 points (3g, 7a) in his last eight games, while Brody has goals in back-to-back games for the first time in his AHL career after going 23 games without one. Dating back to last season's playoffs, five of Brody's last seven goals have come against Oklahoma City, including two game-winners and the game-tying goal in the last minute on Feb. 9.

Working Overtime

The Feb. 9 game against Oklahoma City was just the fifth time the Checkers have been to overtime this season - the fewest of any AHL team. That game marked the team's first loss in the five-minute, four-on-four period since April 12 of last season.

Charlotte is 3-2 in overtime games this season, including a 2-1 record in the five-minute period and a 1-1 record in the shootout.

Floodgates Open

Mark Flood scored his 11th goal of the campaign against Oklahoma City on Feb. 7 to set a new team record for most goals by a defenseman in a single season. Flood, who needed just 46 games to accomplish the feat, topped the old mark of 10 set by Bobby Sanguinetti in the 2011-12 season and tied his own career high set with Manitoba in 2010-11.

Flood, a 29-year-old veteran who scored just one goal in 52 games in the Russian KHL last season, ranks second in terms of goals by AHL defensemen and is tied for third among league blueliners with six power-play goals.

Biega Breakthrough

After going without a goal in his first 38 professional games with Charlotte dating back to last season, Danny Biega scored twice in the Checkers' 4-3 loss to Abbotsford on Feb. 5. It marked the second multi-goal game by a Charlotte defenseman this season, with Matt Corrente also scoring twice at Milwaukee on Dec. 27. Of Biega's 11 points this season, seven have come in his last 10 games (2g, 5a).

This season's two-goal performances by Biega and Corrente mark the fifth and sixth times that a player has scored his first two Checkers goals in the same game (Zach Boychuk on Oct. 17, 2010, Cedric McNicoll on Jan. 14, 2011, Jeremy Welsh on Oct. 27, 2012, and Beau Schmitz on March 15, 2013). Biega was the third player to score his first two professional goals in the same Checkers game, joining Welsh and Schmitz.

Boychuk Burst

Checkers forward Zach Boychuk has seven goals in his last seven games, including the second and third hat tricks of his career on Jan. 24 and Feb. 1. He leads the Checkers and ranks fourth in the AHL with 22 goals, which are just one shy of his career high set last season. He has hit the 20-goal mark in the AHL in each of his four seasons with the Checkers.

Boychuk's 88 career Checkers goals are one short of tying Chris Terry for the franchise's all-time lead. He already leads the franchise with 40 power-play goals, including 12 this season that are tied for the most in the AHL and for the Checkers' single-season record.

Quick Hits

• Now in its fourth AHL season, Charlotte is a perfect 3-0-0 in the game immediately following the All-Star break
• The Checkers ended a season-long, 0-for-21 drought on the power play with Justin Shugg's goal on Feb. 9. It was their first man-advantage goal since going 5-for-7 against Oklahoma City on Jan. 24 (five games earlier)
• After allowing a total of 11 goals in his last two starts, neither of which resulted in a completed game, John Muse's goals-against average for the season has risen from 2.39 to 2.71.
• Chris Terry has gone 12 games without a goal, which is his longest stretch since he tied his career high, set once previously, with a 13-game drought from Nov. 24-Dec. 21 of last season.
• The Checkers are 10-6-1 against fellow West Division opponents this season, making it the only division they have a winning record against. They have lost each of their last four divisional games and will play each of their next two against divisional opponents.
• The Checkers have scored three or more goals in 14 of their last 18 games. They are 20-8-1 when scoring three or more, though they are 0-2-1 in their last three when accomplishing that feat. They are 2-15-1 when scoring fewer than three.
• The Checkers have lost each of their last three one-goal games after winning 10 of their previous 11.
• Charlotte's two shorthanded goals are tied with Adirondack for the fewest in the league

Player Streaks

• Brett Sutter has points in each of his last three games (Feb. 5-9: 1g, 4a)
• Zach Boychuk has assists and points in each of his last three games (Feb. 5-9: 1g, 3a)
• Brody Sutter has goals and points in each of his last two games (Feb. 7-9: 2g, 0a)
• Aaron Palushaj has points in each of his last two games (Feb. 7-9: 1g, 1a)
• Justin Shugg has points in each of his last two games (Feb. 7-9: 1g, 1a)
• Ryan Murphy has assists and points in each of his last two games (Feb. 7-9: 0g, 2a)

Milestones

• Nicolas Blanchard is one shy of 450 professional games
• Aaron Palushaj is one shy of 200 professional penalty minutes
• Justin Shugg is two shy of 150 professional games
• Chris Terry is four shy of 350 AHL games
• Rasmus Rissanen is four shy of 200 Checkers/AHL/professional penalty minutes
• Nicolas Blanchard is five shy of 800 professional penalty minutes
• Matt Corrente is five shy of 500 professional penalty minutes

Injuries

• Greg Nemisz - missed one game starting Feb. 9

Transactions

Incoming

• Feb. 6 - (D) Beau Schmitz recalled to Charlotte from Carolina (NHL)
• Feb. 6 - (C) Sean Dolan recalled to Charlotte from Carolina (NHL)

Outgoing

• Feb. 7 - (C) A.J. Jenks released from professional tryout contract
• Feb. 7 - (RW) Matthew Pistilli released from professional tryout contract