April 10, 2012 6:54 AM
A desperate Checkers team kicks off its regular-season-ending, four-game road trip with tonight’s game in Rockford.
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GAME INFORMATION |
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WATCH: www.AHLLive.com |
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LISTEN: WFNZ 610AM | www.AHLLIVE.com |
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TWITTER: @CheckersInGame | @PaulBranecky |
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SEASON SERIES |
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Sunday, Nov. 6: Charlotte 4, Rockford 2 |
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Friday, Nov. 18: Rockford 3, Charlotte 2 (SO) |
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Sunday, Nov. 20: Charlotte 4, Rockford 3 |
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Friday, Dec. 30: Charlotte 4, Rockford 3 (SO) |
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Thursday, Jan. 26: Charlotte 4, Rockford 3 (SO) |
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Friday, Jan. 27: Rockford 3, Charlotte 2
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Tuesday, April 10 at 8 p.m. (Rockford) |
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Saturday, April 14 at 8 p.m. (Rockford) |
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CHECKERS STATS |
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RECORD
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35-28-9 |
11th Western Conference
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GOALS / GAME
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2.71 |
19th AHL |
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GOALS ALLOWED / GAME
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2.83
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14th AHL |
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POWER PLAY |
19.8%
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4th AHL |
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PENALTY KILL
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84.4% |
6th AHL |
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PIM / GAME
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14.1 |
8th AHL |
After losing each game of last week’s four-game home stand, Charlotte (35-28-9) ranks 11th in the Western Conference, three points behind four teams that are tied for the final four playoff spots. They enter their longest road trip of the season in terms of games and days away from home still in control of their own destiny thanks to games in hand on most of the teams they’re chasing, but even one point lost would cause them to require help from around the league.
Tonight’s game is the first of two games in Rockford (34-31-8 – 12th Western Conference) this week, as the Checkers return on Saturday for the middle game of a three-in-three set that will also take them through Peoria and Milwaukee. Charlotte leads the season series with a record of 4-1-1.
CHARLOTTE
Having tied two previous instances for the longest losing streak in the team’s two-year history (four games), the Checkers will tonight be looking to create some momentum that they can take into another always-grueling, three-in-three set this weekend. As tough as that stretch will be, anything less than a win tonight could spell serious trouble.
“We’ve got to expect nothing less than to win all four games,” said forward Matthew Pistilli.
“We’ve got to start fresh and act like it’s the playoffs right away.”
In doing so, they’ll have to shake off the disappointment of an 8-2 loss to Abbotsford on Sunday that set a team record for most lopsided defeat. That was the culmination of a four-game stretch that saw the Checkers out-scored by a combined 18-5 margin while dropping from fifth place to 11th place.
“When you go through a stretch like that you’ve got to hit rock bottom before you can go the other way,” said coach Jeff Daniels.
According to Hurricanes General Manager Jim Rutherford, the Checkers may have rookie defenseman Brian Dumoulin at their disposal. Rutherford said that he hopes Dumoulin, a 2009 second-round draft choice who last week completed his junior season at Boston College by winning his second NCAA national championship, will sign a professional contract and join the Checkers on an amateur tryout in time for tonight’s game.
Update: The Hurricanes signed Dumoulin earlier this evening, but he will not join the team in time for the game.
The 6-foot-4, 225-pound blueliner, who scored 28 points (7g, 21a) in 44 games this season, was a finalist for the Hobey Baker award as the best player in college hockey and earned first-team All American honors for the second time in his career.
The Checkers could potentially be getting closer to a full lineup, with forwards Nicolas Blanchard, Sean Dolan and A.J. Jenks all considered day-to-day with upper body injuries. Should the Checkers continue their recent trend of giving each goalie two consecutive starts, Mike Murphy would get the nod after starting the team’s most recent game on Sunday.
ROCKFORD
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ROCKFORD STATS |
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RECORD
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34-31-8 |
12th Western Conference
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GOALS / GAME
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2.77 |
17th AHL |
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GOALS ALLOWED / GAME
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3.01
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24th AHL |
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POWER PLAY |
15.4%
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23rd AHL |
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PENALTY KILL
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80.2% |
26th AHL |
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PIM / GAME
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18.7 |
27th AHL
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Though they sit just one spot and three points behind the Checkers in the Western Conference race, the IceHogs suffered mathematical elimination from the playoffs after back-to-back losses to the Lake Erie Monsters over the weekend.
That leaves them with nothing left but to try and play the role of spoiler against teams like the Checkers.
“We talked about it today (Monday), and we want to try and get through the rest of the season, get wins and keep moving forward,” captain Brian Fahey told the Rockford Register Star. “I think we can have some effect on who makes the playoffs.”
Prior to dropping out of contention, the IceHogs had won five of six games to give themselves a glimmer of hope. The key to that surge was goalie Carter Hutton, who established himself at the AHL level and even earned an NHL deal with the Chicago Blackhawks after starting the season in the ECHL. Hutton ranks tied for 10th in the AHL with a 2.34 goals-against average. Hutton has started each of Rockford’s last 10 games, though he is winless in his last four following a stretch in which he won 12 of 15.
Even with the parent Blackhawks headed to the playoffs, Rockford will still have its top offensive weapons at its disposal. Brandon Pirri leads the team with 54 points (23g, 31a) while NHL veteran Rostislav Olesz continues to enjoy a productive season at the AHL level with 41 points (17g, 24a) in 50 games.
Center Rob Flick and defenseman Shawn Lalonde will serve the final game of three-game suspensions earned in the bench-clearing brawl with Milwaukee last week - the same that caused Admirals goalie Jeremy Smith to miss one game against the Checkers.
CHECKERS NOTES
 ONE TO FORGET: The Checkers’ 8-2 loss to Abbotsford on Sunday marked the most lopsided defeat in the team’s two-year history, as they had never before lost by more than five goals. They had previously lost by five goals twice, with both instances coming earlier this season (7-2 to Norfolk on March 16; 5-0 to Norfolk on March 18). The eight goals against were also the most the team has allowed in its history, topping three previous instances of seven goals against.
SLUGGISH SECONDS: Of the 18 goals the Checkers allowed in their last four games, 12 of those came in the second period. Prior to being out-scored by a combined total of 12-2 in the second periods of those games, the second period was statistically the Checkers’ best of the season with a goal differential of plus-15. Heading into the new week, the first period now sports the highest differential at plus-10, while the third period checks in at minus-21.
BOWMAN’S BACK: Now in his third professional season, forward Drayson Bowman has posted the highest scoring pace of his career at both the NHL and AHL levels. In just 38 games with the Checkers this season, Bowman, who has two points (1g, 1a) in three games since returning from the Carolina Hurricanes last week, has exceeded his total from 51 games last season. In his last 10 games with Charlotte, Bowman has 10 points (4g, 6a).
THE MAGIC NUMBER: The Checkers are 29-4-2 when scoring three or more goals this season. All four of those regulation losses were the result of games in which the team scored exactly three goals, making them 18-0-1 when scoring four or more. When the Checkers score two or fewer goals, as they have done in each game of an active four-game losing streak, they are 6-24-7.
STREAKS
• (D) Mathieu Roy has points in each of his last two games (April 7-8; 1g, 1a)
INJURIES
• (C) Sean Dolan – missed two games; last played April 5 vs. Milwaukee
• (LW) A.J. Jenks – missed four games, last played March 31 at Peoria
• (RW) Nicolas Blanchard – missed seven games, last played March 24 at Hershey
• (LW) Justin Soryal – missed 12 games, last played March 11 vs. Chicago (out for season)
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Charlotte
• April 6 – (D) Ryan Donald reassigned to Florida (ECHL) from Charlotte
• April 4 – (LW) Drayson Bowman reassigned to Charlotte from Carolina (NHL)
Rockford
• April 3 – (D) Eric Baier signed to professional tryout contract |
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