February 10, 2012 7:10 AM
Having finally created some distance between itself and its divisional challengers, Charlotte will look to make that gap even wider starting with tonight’s game against the Milwaukee Admirals.
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GAME INFORMATION |
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WATCH: www.AHLLive.com |
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LISTEN: WBCN 1660 AM | www.AHLLive.com |
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TWITTER: @CheckersInGame | @PaulBranecky |
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SEASON SERIES |
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Friday, Nov. 4: Milwaukee 3, Checkers 1 |
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Saturday, Nov. 26: Checkers 3, Milwaukee 2 |
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Sunday, Nov. 27: Checkers 5, Milwaukee 1 |
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Saturday, Jan. 7: Checkers 4, Milwaukee 3
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Friday, Feb. 10 at 8 p.m. (Milwaukee) |
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Tuesday, April 3 at 7 p.m. (Charlotte) |
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Thursday, April 5 at 7 p.m. (Charlotte) |
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Sunday, April 15 at 4 p.m. (Milwaukee) |
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CHECKERS STATS |
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RECORD
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28-16-4 |
2nd Western Conference
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GOALS / GAME
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2.92 |
t-13th AHL |
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GOALS ALLOWED / GAME
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2.65
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6th AHL |
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POWER PLAY |
21.5%
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2nd AHL |
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PENALTY KILL
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83.9% |
t-7th AHL |
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PIM / GAME
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14.4 |
7th AHL |
With seven wins in their last nine games, the Checkers (28-16-4) have a four-point lead over Chicago in the Midwest entering tonight’s contest, the first of a three-in-three set that will also take them to Peoria before returning home to face Norfolk on Sunday. Prior to a recent slide, Milwaukee (24-20-2) was the Checkers’ biggest threat, even overtaking them for a brief period in late December.
Tonight’s game is the fifth in the eight-game series between the two teams, with Charlotte winning each of the last three. In the last meeting in Milwaukee on Jan. 7, Zac Dalpe and Zach Boychuk scored 20 seconds apart midway through the third period to give the Checkers a 4-3 victory.
CHARLOTTE
Having been off since Saturday’s 4-3 win in Texas, the Checkers are coming off their longest interrupted stretch of practices since the second week of the season. After a busy month of January restricted their ability to hit the ice other than for games and abbreviated morning skates, they practiced in Charlotte for four consecutive days beginning Monday.
“The first few days we took advantage of the time to do some conditioning, but knowing that we had the three-in-three coming up we took it easy the last few days,” said Daniels. “We had three new guys that hadn’t really practiced with us yet (Evgenii Dadonov, A.J. Jenks and Joe Sova), so we focused on some systems and that kind of stuff.”
This visit to Milwaukee begins the Checkers’ sixth of eight three-in-three sets this season and first since they played one entirely at home in early December. Though the first game may seem like the easiest in terms of wear and tear, they are just 1-4-0 in those games this season, including a 3-1 loss in Milwaukee on Nov. 4.
Center Riley Nash rejoins the team after a recall to Carolina caused him to miss the last two Checkers games. Though he went scoreless in three games with the Hurricanes, he has 6 points (3g, 3a) in his last five AHL outings dating back to Jan. 20. Another recent addition from the NHL, Jerome Samson, scored twice on Saturday to increase his team-leading total to 17 goals.
With Mike Murphy still unable to return from an injury that has kept him out of the lineup since Jan. 25, the Checkers will, for the most part, continue to roll with rookie goaltender John Muse. In eight AHL games this season, the 23-year-old, who began the season as the No. 3 option behind Murphy and Justin Peters, is 7-1-0 with a 1.67 goals-against average and .948 save percentage.
Though Muse has started each of the team’s last five games and will more than likely do so again tonight, tryout signing Dave Caruso of the ECHL’s Trenton Titans could start Saturday in Peoria to avoid the less-than-ideal situation of Muse playing three consecutive nights. Caruso, 29, has 51 games of AHL experience dating back to 2006-07 season.
MILWAUKEE
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ADMIRALS STATS |
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RECORD
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24-20-2 |
10th Western Conference
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GOALS / GAME
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2.85 |
17th AHL |
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GOALS ALLOWED / GAME
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2.74
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10th AHL |
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POWER PLAY |
19.9%
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10th AHL |
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PENALTY KILL
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78.1% |
t-26th AHL |
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PIM / GAME
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13.6 |
2nd AHL
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Since Charlotte’s come-from-behind victory in early January, the Admirals have won just four of 14 games to fall from second to fourth in the Midwest. However, two of those wins have come in their last three games, as they on Sunday broke a five-game losing streak that marked their longest in seven years.
Backup goalie Atte Engren, who allowed two goals on two shots in Charlotte on Nov. 27, was in net for Milwaukee’s two recent victories, stopping 57 of 61 shots. His win to break Milwaukee’s losing run also ended a 10-game starting streak by No. 1 option Jeremy Smith, with Smith, a former Plymouth Whaler teammate of a handful of Checkers players, returning to the net for a 6-3 loss to Texas in the team’s most recent game on Wednesday.
Smith, still the better of the two statistically, ranks fifth in the AHL with 18 wins and is tied for 11th with a 2.47 goals-against average. No goaltender in the league has played more minutes than he has this season (2,161).
Leading scorer Chris Mueller (33 points in 43 games), the Admirals’ only representative at this season’s All-Star Classic, has goals in each of his last two games and 7 points (4g, 3a) in four games against Charlotte. Rookie Michael Latta, who still ranks tied for third on the team in goal scoring (12) behind Mueller and Juuso Puustinen despite missing the last eight games, is out with a broken arm.
CHECKERS NOTES
 • BOBBY’S WORLD: Defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti has recorded at least one point in each of his last 10 games, setting a new team record. He has 14 points (5g, 9a) dating back to the Checkers’ Jan. 12 game against Hershey, giving him the longest active streak by any AHL player and tying him for the longest posted by any defenseman this season. Hershey’s Keith Aucoin (16 games) and Chris Bourque (12) are the only players that have recorded longer streaks this season.
Despite missing 11 games, Sanguinetti, in his fourth AHL campaign, is on pace to tie his career highs in assists (36) while setting a new career high in points (45). He ranks fourth on the team and is tied for 10th among league defensemen in points (26). Twelve of 14 points on his current streak have come on the power play, as he is now tied for third among all AHL defensemen with 19 on the Checkers’ No. 2 ranked man advantage (21.5 percent).
• FINDING MUSE: Starting with his professional debut with Portland at the conclusion of his college career last season and continuing through eight Checkers games this season, rookie goaltender Muse is now 8-1-0 with a 1.69 goals-against average and .947 save percentage in his AHL career. Though he has not yet played enough minutes to officially qualify among league leaders, he would rank first in both categories this season.
Muse, a 23-year-old undrafted free agent signed by the Checkers this offseason, began the season with the ECHL’s Florida Everblades, where he posted a 7-3-2 record, 2.31 goals-against average and .927 save percentage. A winner of two NCAA national championships as a four-year starter at Boston College, Muse has started each of the Checkers’ last five games with Mike Murphy out due to injury.
• THREE IN THREES: The Checkers will play sets of three games in three nights over each of the next two weekends. They are 8-7-0 this season in games that are a part of a three-in-three set, including a perfect 5-0-0 record in Game Two, a 1-4-0 record in Game One and a 2-3-0 record in Game Three.
• ON THE ROAD: The Checkers play seven of 10 games away from home in February, which ties November as the most road-heavy month of the season. The team has won seven of its last nine games on the road dating back to Dec. 30, giving it a record of 13-9-1 for the season.
• DIVISIONAL DOMINANCE: The Checkers are 11-4-1 against fellow Midwest Division teams this season, giving it the second-best percentage of possible points earned (.719) of any AHL team against its own division. Only St. John’s (15-5-2 in the Atlantic, .727) has a better divisional record.
STREAKS
• Bobby Sanguinetti has points in each of his last 10 games (Jan. 12-Feb. 4; 5g, 9a).
• John Muse has started five consecutive games (Jan. 24-Feb. 4; 4-1-0) and has wins in each of his last two (Feb. 3-4).
• Justin Soryal has assists and points in each of his last three games (Jan. 27-Feb. 4; 3a).
• Riley Nash has points in each of his last two games (Jan. 26-27; 2g, 1a).
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Charlotte
• Feb. 9 – (LW) Justin Shugg reassigned to Florida (ECHL) from Charlotte
• Feb. 9 – (G) Dave Caruso signed to professional tryout contract
• Feb. 6 – (C) Riley Nash reassigned to Charlotte from Carolina (NHL)
• Feb. 5 – (G) Scott Darling released from professional tryout contract
Milwaukee
• Feb. 9 – (C) Justin Bowers released from professional tryout contract
• Feb. 7 – (C) Ben Ryan reassigned to Cincinnati (ECHL) from Milwaukee |
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