Paul Branecky
The top two teams in the Western Conference collide tonight as the Checkers conclude the first leg of their road trip in Houston.
Charlotte, which has won four straight games to improve its record to 6-2-1, enters the game tied with the Aeros with 13 points. Tonight’s match-up will already be the third meeting of the season between tonight’s opponents, with each team leaving Time Warner Cable Arena with a victory just last week.
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GAME INFORMATION |
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VIDEO: www.AHLLive.com |
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RADIO: WBCN 1660 AM | www.AHLLIVE.com |
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TWITTER: @CheckersHockey |
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SEASON SERIES |
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Friday, Oct. 21: Houston 3, Charlotte 2 |
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Saturday, Oct. 22: Charlotte 2, Houston 1 (SO)
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Sunday, Oct. 30 at 6 p.m. (Houston) |
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Sunday, Nov. 13 at 6 p.m. (Houston) |
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CHECKERS STATS |
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RECORD
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6-2-1-0 |
2nd Western Conference
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GOALS / GAME
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3.00 |
t-14th AHL |
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GOALS ALLOWED / GAME
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2.50
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t-8th AHL |
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POWER PLAY |
10-43 (23.3%)
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9th AHL |
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PENALTY KILL
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26-32 (81.3%) |
16th AHL |
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PIM / GAME
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13.89 |
7th AHL |
Both squads enter the match-up on top of their games, with Houston having earned points in each of its last five contests, including two shootout losses, one at the hands of the Checkers. The defending Western Conference champion Aeros have not suffered a regulation loss at home this season.
CHARLOTTE
The Checkers have a chance to sweep a three-games-in-three-days set for the first time in their two-year history with a win tonight, having already secured victories in Oklahoma City and San Antonio. Charlotte twice posted a 2-0-1 record during its inaugural season, a mark it would match with an overtime or shootout loss tonight.
Though Mike Murphy has been stellar of late, winning each of his last five starts, Charlotte coach Jeff Daniels will have a decision to make regarding his goaltending for tonight’s match-up. He could elect to stay with the hot hand – Murphy’s .949 save percentage is tops among league goalies that have played more than one game – or turn to rookie John Muse, who has yet to make his season debut in the AHL.
Muse, a 23-year-old rookie with two NCAA national championship wins at Boston College, is 0-1-1 with a 2.41 goals-against average and .924 save percentage with the ECHL’s Florida Everblades this season. He made his AHL debut with Portland at the conclusion of his college career last season, making 33 saves in a 3-2 shootout victory over Albany on April 9.
HOUSTON
The Aeros will also be concluding a three-in-three set tonight, having won at San Antonio on Friday before dropping a shootout decision at home to Oklahoma City on Saturday. The shootout is the only thing stopping Houston from topping the league standings, as Saturday’s loss dropped them to 0-3. They’ve scored just one goal in 20 attempts, including an 0-5 showing against Murphy last week.
Despite their strong record, the Aeros have been slow starters this season. They’ve scored the first goal in just two of their nine games, and have been out-scored by a total of 8-3 in the first period. They’ve made up for that with strong finishes, out-scoring the opposition 11-3 in the third period, including two late comebacks against the Checkers last week.
On offense, the Aeros are led by Casey Wellman, who has seven goals in nine games and is currently tied for second in the league with four power-play goals, while Justin Fontaine is currently riding a three-game goal streak. Their defense is paced by stay-at-home blue liner Justin Hendry, whose plus-8 rating ranks tied for second in the league.
The Aeros will have strong goaltending no matter who starts, with Matt Hackett and Dennis Endras both ranking in the league’s top 13 in goals-against average. Endras, who has yet to face the Checkers this season, is third with a mark of 1.47. As a team, the Aeros rank tied with Charlotte for fifth with a 2.33 GAA.
CHECKERS NOTES
• Chris Terry, the Checkers’ leading goal scorer from last season, finally broke through with his first two tallies of the season on Saturday night in San Antonio. Despite taking longer than he would have liked to find the back of the net, Terry still ranks tied for fourth on the team in overall scoring with 6 points (2g, 4a), and is guaranteed of finishing the month of October with more points than he had during the opening month of his career-best season of 2010-11 (5).
• Over his last five starts, Murphy has posted a record of 5-0-0 with a 0.98 goals-against average and .969 save percentage. He has appeared in all but two of the Checkers’ nine games this season, and is tied for the AHL lead in wins (5), ranks second in save percentage (.949) and sixth in goals-against average (1.76). As a team, the Checkers have allowed 11 goals in their last seven games since giving up nine in their first two.
• Forward Jerome Samson’s 45 shots on goal are currently tied with Hershey’s Chris Bourque for first in the AHL. With an average of five per game, he’s taking shots at an even greater pace than last season, when he finished fifth in the league with 245 despite playing in just 53 games. Samson took a season-low three shots during Saturday’s win in San Antonio, but registered a season-high two assists.
• Checkers forward Drayson Bowman scored his team-leading fifth goal of the season on Saturday while taking eight shots on goal – the highest single-season total of any Checkers player this season. The third-year pro, who also leads the team with a plus-6 rating, is on pace for 42 goals over a full season, a mark that would easily eclipse his previous career high of 17.
TRANSACTIONS
Charlotte
Oct. 28 – (C) Brett Sutter reassigned by Carolina (NHL) to Charlotte
Oct. 27 – (F) Justin Shugg recalled by Charlotte from Florida (ECHL)
Oct. 26 – (D) Justin Faulk reassigned to Charlotte from Carolina (NHL)
Oct. 25 – (RW) Zach Boychuk recalled by Carolina (NHL) from Charlotte
Oct. 24 – (D) Justin Faulk recalled by Carolina (NHL) from Charlotte
Houston
Oct. 29 – (D) Nate Prosser recalled by Minnesota (NHL) from Houston
