March 30, 2012 7:07 AM
The Checkers resume their playoff push as they begin a two-game road trip with tonight’s game in Grand Rapids.
Charlotte (33-24-9) enters the game in a three-way tie for eighth place in the Western Conference. Given how tight the standings are at the moment, a win tonight could bring them up to sixth, while a weekend sweep that would include a Saturday win in Peoria could take them up to fourth. Grand Rapids (30-26-10) is looking to get back into that race, as they currently sit in 13th place, five points behind Charlotte.
A win tonight would give Charlotte a sweep of the four-game season series with Grand Rapids.
CHARLOTTE
Despite picking up just a single point in a two-game trip to Hershey last weekend, the Checkers returned home mostly happy with the way they played. The only glaring area for improvement is scoring, as the Checkers emerged with just three goals in two games – all three of which came during power plays.
“We played well for 60 minutes both games and just came up short in the goal-scoring department,” said coach Jeff Daniels.
That’s been a common theme as the team has picked up just four wins in its last 17 games. Though the Checkers are 27-4-2 when they score three or more goals, they’ve only achieved that feat five times during their recent slide despite out-shooting the other team in 12 of those contests.
“It’s a combination of having that killer instinct and bearing down when you get those chances,” said Daniels.
After a week of practices designed to hone that scoring touch, the Checkers now face an opponent that has brought them some offensive success. The teams combined for 11 goals in their most recent meeting on Jan. 17 – a 6-5 win for Charlotte.
Though defenseman Justin Krueger could play his first game since suffering an upper-body injury on Feb. 18, the Checkers will again be without the services of forward Nicolas Blanchard, who is out indefinitely after a hard hit along the boards knocked him out of last Saturday’s game in Hershey.
In goal, a recent trend of giving each goaltender two consecutive starts would have Justin Peters face the Griffins tonight. In any case, he and Mike Murphy will almost certainly split the back-to-back weekend series.
GRAND RAPIDS
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GRIFFINS STATS |
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RECORD
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30-26-10 |
13th Western Conference
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GOALS / GAME
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3.21 |
5th AHL |
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GOALS ALLOWED / GAME
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3.18
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t-26th AHL |
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POWER PLAY |
15.8%
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21st AHL |
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PENALTY KILL
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81.6% |
19th AHL |
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PIM / GAME
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15.9 |
15th AHL
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Injuries suffered by the parent Detroit Red Wings have caused some recent roster shuffling in Grand Rapids, mostly in goal. Though opening night No. 1 netminder Joey MacDonald won the full-time backup job with the Red Wings earlier in the season, a recent injury resulted in the man he beat out for the job, Ty Conklin, temporarily reclaiming that role after a successful stint with the Griffins.
With Detroit starter Jimmy Howard returning to action only yesterday, Grand Rapids at least has Jordan Pearce back in the fold, eliminating the need for tryout signings to fill the roster. One of Pearce and Tom McCollum, both of whom have spent time in the ECHL this season, will start tonight. McCollum has started each of the team’s last four games, going 2-2-0 with a pair of 40-save victories.
Up front, scoring leader Gustav Nyquist, one of the AHL’s top rookies, remained with Detroit as of Friday morning. Originally recalled to fill the void left by the injured Johan Franzen, Nyquist has posted six points in eight games, causing the Red Wings to keep him in the fold longer than anticipated and despite Franzen’s return.
Another top NHL prospect, defenseman Brendan Smith, recently returned to Grand Rapids following his own impressive stint with the Red Wings. Smith, an offensive-minded blueliner who played alongside Checkers center Sean Dolan at the University of Wisconsin, has 32 points (10g, 22a) in 47 AHL games.
CHECKERS NOTES
 THE MAGIC NUMBER: The Checkers are 27-4-2 when scoring three or more goals this season. All four of those regulation losses occurred when the team scored exactly three goals, making them 16-0-1 when scoring four or more. When the Checkers score two or fewer goals, something they’ve done 12 times while going 4-8-5 in their last 17 games, they are 6-20-7 for the season.
SANGUINETTI STARS: Defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti recorded two power-play assists in Hershey on Sunday, giving him 10 points (2g, 8a) during an active six-game point streak. Due to a second half that has seen him score 36 points in 38 games since returning from a broken foot on Dec. 11, he now ranks second on the Checkers and fourth among AHL defensemen with 42 points, 28 of which have come on the power play (2nd AHL defensemen).
Though he has missed 12 games this season, Sanguinetti, a fourth-year pro, is on pace to set new AHL career highs in assists (39) and points (49). He already has a new career high in goals, having notched his 10th of the season in Hershey on Saturday.
BOYCHUK IN BUNCHES: Charlotte’s Zach Boychuk recorded his 18th and 19th goals of the season on Wednesday, surpassing Jerome Samson for the team lead and putting him just three goals away from his career high set last season. Boychuk, who now has five goals in his last six games, has more multi-goal games (five) than any other Checkers player this season. Prior to Boychuk’s recent run, which includes two separate two-goal games, he had not scored a goal in his previous seven contests.
SHOOTOUT SLUMP: After starting the season with a record of 5-2, the Checkers have lost four consecutive shootouts to dip below the .500 mark for the first time. For the season, the Checkers rank tied for 10th in shooting (.333) and 21st in terms of opponents’ shooting percentage (.355). They have six players who have scored on more than half of their attempts in Drayson Bowman (3-5), A.J. Jenks (3-5), Justin Krueger (2-3), Justin Shugg (2-4), Nicolas Blanchard (1-1) and Jerome Samson (1-1). In goal, Mike Murphy, who has three of the team’s shootout wins, is the top option with a save percentage of .714.
SPECIAL SPECIAL TEAMS: With six goals in their last 26 power-play opportunities (23.1 percent), the Checkers have jumped into a fourth-place tie in the AHL with a season mark of 20.3 percent. Together with their No. 2 penalty kill (85.2 percent), the Checkers are one of two teams (Hershey) that have both of their special teams units rank in the top five.
STREAKS
• (D) Bobby Sanguinetti has points in each of his last six games (March 16-March 25; 2g, 8a)
• (LW) Chris Terry has points in each of his last four games (March 20-25; 1g, 4a)
INJURIES
• (RW) Nicolas Blanchard – missed one game, last played March 24 at Hershey
• (LW) Justin Soryal – missed six games, last played March 11 vs. Chicago (out for season)
• (D) Justin Krueger - missed 13 games, last played Feb. 18 at Chicago
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Charlotte
• March 27 – (D) Brandon Gentile released from professional tryout
Grand Rapids
• March 29 – (G) Jordan Pearce reassigned to Grand Rapids from Detroit (NHL)
• March 29 – (G) Ramis Sadikov released from amateur tryout contract
• March 27 – (D) Adam Almqvist assigned to Grand Rapids from HV 71 (Sweden)
• March 27 – (C) Alan Quine signed to amateur tryout contract
• March 27 – (D) Bryan Rufenach reassigned to Toledo (ECHL) from Grand Rapids
• March 27 – (D) Gleason Fournier reassigned to Toledo (ECHL) from Grand Rapids
• March 27 – (D) Richard Nedomlel signed to amateur tryout contract
• March 27 – (D) Ryan Sproul signed to amateur tryout contract
• March 25 – (D) Brendan Smith reassigned to Grand Rapids from Detroit (NHL) |
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