Checkers News

For the second game in a row, the Checkers were unable to overcome a slow start to stay winless on their road trip through Canada.

The Hamilton Bulldogs got all of the game’s scoring out of the way in the first period as they cruised to a 4-0 win over the Checkers in the first of back-to-back games against the two clubs. The loss dropped the Checkers, who are a league-worst 6-18-4 on the road this season, to 0-3-0 on their four-game trip that concludes with tomorrow’s rematch.

The result marked the fifth time the Checkers, who rank last in the AHL in terms of goals scored this season, have suffered a shutout this season. That puts them one shy of their franchise record for a single campaign set in 2011-12. Since enjoying a stretch that saw them score three or more goals in four straight games, they have managed just one total goal in their last two outings.

It didn’t take a particularly long time for it to become apparent that the Checkers were in for a long night. Eric Tangradi started things off with two goals in the game’s first 13 minutes, both of which came off highlight-reel passing plays by the Bulldogs’ attack. The wheels then came off in the following minutes, with Daniel Carr taking over on an unassisted goal as he stripped the Checkers’ defense and went in alone on Charlotte goalie Drew MacIntyre and then tipped in a Sven Andrighetto shot to finish a shift of sustained pressure in the Charlotte zone four minutes later.

The fruitless first marked the fourth time the Checkers have given up four or more goals in a period this season – two of which have occurred in their last three games. It was also the second time in as many games that Charlotte gave up what would prove to be the winning goal within the first six minutes, having also done so in Toronto on Wednesday.

The game settled down considerably over the final two periods, with the Checkers and goalie MacIntyre (28 saves) able to stop the bleeding from that point out. However, signs of a comeback were never truly prominent, with Charlotte mustering just four shots in the second period. A hit post by Phil Di Giuseppe and a giveaway received by Hamilton native Kyle Hagel in the third period proved to be the visitors’ best chances of the night, but they were not enough to foil a 24-save shutout by Bulldogs’ netminder Mike Condon.

Hamilton, which had never previously faced the Checkers despite the two teams being together in the Western Conference since 2011-12, is now 2-1-0 in the four-game season series between the clubs that concludes Saturday night. Following that game, the Checkers return to Charlotte to play five home games in nine days starting Wednesday.

NOTES

Checkers defenseman Keegan Lowe left the game early on and did not return. The team did not have a healthy extra on its roster as of game time … Hagel and Jared Staal each earned fighting majors. Hagel now has 17 this season, while Staal’s was the fourth of his 216-game AHL career and first since Dec. 7, 2012. Staal now has over 100 penalty minutes in his pro career … Ben Holmstrom and Justin Shugg each saw their three-game assist/point streaks come to an end … MacIntyre, a former Bulldog, has allowed four or more goals in five of his last eight starts … With Greg Nemisz (2) and Chad LaRose accounting for the Checkers’ three goals in the previous two meetings against Hamilton, no player on Charlotte’s roster has a goal against them this season … Charlotte has lost four straight on the road, including one prior to their current trip. Meanwhile, they have won three in a row at home … The Checkers went 4-for-4 on the penalty kill, improving them to 18-for-18 over their last six games. It is their second-longest kill streak of the season … When playing the same team in consecutive games, the Checkers are now 5-13-4 in the first game and 11-9-1 in the second … In addition to LaRose and Nemisz, forward Gabriel Desjardins and defenseman Rasmus Rissanen also missed the game due to injury.