Checkers News

Returning to the ice after the holiday break, the Checkers dropped a hard-fought battle with the Texas Stars by a score of 4-2.

The Checkers found themselves in a hole early after Greg Rallo and Brett Ritchie each found the back of the net within 66 seconds of one another. Jared Staal quickly cut the lead in half less than a minute after the Ritchie goal when he sniped a wrist shot from the slot past Stars goalie Jussi Rynnas.

Ritchie lit the lamp later in the first frame on a strange play that saw Checkers goalie John Muse turn the puck over behind his own net, leading to Ritchie throwing it into the vacated goal. Phil Di Giuseppe answered less than five minutes later when he capitalized on a scramble in front to pull the Checkers back within one.

A scoreless second period brought the game into the final frame with the Checkers still only down by one. Despite lots of pressure by Charlotte and several chances, including one that rang off the post, Ritchie notched the empty-netter to complete his hat trick and send the Stars home with a 4-2 victory.

The Checkers' offense was buzzing from start to finish, producing several solid scoring opportunities and holding a 30-24 edge in shots. But, as it has all year, the team struggled with the man advantage, going scoreless on five opportunities, including two consecutive power plays in the third period.

With Drew MacIntyre currently in Switzerland representing Canada at the Spengler Cup, Muse took the crease for the Checkers in Texas. He turned aside 20 of the 23 shots he faced and looked strong in net for the majority of the game, but early mistakes landed him his fifth loss on the season.

The team will now face a quick turnaround as it heads to Oklahoma City to take on the Barons for an early game tomorrow. The Checkers will then have a rematch with the Barons on New Year's Eve before heading home to kick off 2015 with a pair of home games against Texas starting Jan. 3.

NOTES

Three of Jared Staal’s career-high six goals this season were scored against Texas. He has five points (3g, 2a) in his last six games overall … Di Giuseppe has goals in consecutive games for the first time in his career … Chad LaRose had an assist to extend his point streak to four games (3g, 2a) … Ryan Murphy had a helper to extend his assist streak to five games (0g, 6a) … The Checkers and Stars have alternated victories since Texas opened the eight-game season series with an 8-2 win in Charlotte on Nov. 8. Texas now leads the series with three victories in five meetings … The Checkers’ power play, which entered the game with a league-low 10 percent success rate, went 0-for-5 tonight. It is 4-for-59 (6.8 percent) in its last 15 games dating back to Nov. 22 … The Checkers have allowed two hat tricks this season, both to Texas players (Derek Hulak on Nov. 8, Ritchie tonight) … Forwards Greg Nemisz and Brody Sutter and defenseman Beau Schmitz missed the game due to injury … Defenseman Mike Little was a healthy extra.