Weekly Report: Dec. 9, 2014

A two-game series split with the Iowa Wild put an end to the Checkers' most successful stretch of the season.

After going 2-0-1 to begin a five-game home stand, the Checkers split a two-game series with Iowa, bringing an end to their six-game points streak at home and their four-game points streak overall. Over those five games, Charlotte earned seven of a possible 10 points in the standings, helping them make up some much needed ground in a tight Western Conference.

The team will now head out for a quick three-game road swing, where they will visit Norfolk once and Texas twice, before returning to Charlotte for four more home contests.

Week in Review

Checkers 2, Iowa 1

The Checkers extended their points streak by outlasting the Wild 2-1 on Teddy Bear Toss Night. Brendan Woods recorded his first career mulit-point game, lighting the lamp twice, including the game-winner in the middle frame. Drew MacIntyre turned in a solid performance, stopping 27 of the 28 shots he faced. The victory made six consecutive home games with a point in the standings, one shy of a franchise record. Full recap

Iowa 4, Checkers 3

After a day off, Charlotte and Iowa squared off once again, with the Wild coming away with the win. It was a back and forth contest, with Justin Shugg kicking off the scoring just 59 seconds into the opening frame. Iowa then rattled off two-straight goals to pull ahead, but the Checkers answered with strikes from Chad LaRose and Carter Sandlak to grab a one-goal lead late in the third period. The Wild would storm back, however, scoring twice in the final six minutes to clinch a 4-3 win.Full recap

Notables

Putting Up Points

The Checkers' four-game point streak (3-0-1) that ended last night marked their longest of the season and longest since winning four in a row from March 25-30 of last season. The team has not earned points in five consecutive games since going 2-0-3 from April 7-16, 2013.

The franchise record for longest overall point streak is seven games, set most recently from Jan. 3-16, 2013. h3>Home Sweet Home Heading into last night's game, the Checkers had earned points in six consecutive home games, one shy of the franchise's best mark, set in 2012-13.

This recent success at home is a stark contrast to the team's results on the road, where the Checkers have lost four straight and failed to record a point in six straight. Having wrapped up this current home stand, the team will now hit the road for a three-game trip to Norfolk and Texas.

Shorthanded Firepower

The Checkers' five shorthanded goals are tied for the third-most in the league and are two more than their league-low total from all of last season.

Chad LaRose leads the league in shorthanded assists and is tied for second in shorthanded points (3). Greg Nemisz and Brendan Woods are part of a 12-way tie for the league lead with two shorthanded goals each. Ben Holmstrom recorded the team's other shorthanded tally with its first penalty-shot goal since Dec. 20, 2011.

The Checkers are one of just five AHL teams that has yet to allow a shorthanded goal.

Woods Breaks Out

With 10 points (5g, 5a) in 22 games, second-year-forward Brendan Woods has already surpassed his assist (3) and point (8) totals from his 41-game rookie season. The first two-goal game of his career on Dec. 6, including his second Teddy Bear Toss goal in as many campaigns, allowed him to tie last season's goal total.

Woods, who has three goals in his last three games, is now tied for second on the Checkers in terms of points. His two shorthanded goals are tied for the AHL lead.

Worst Behavior

With 21.91 penalty minutes per game, the Checkers are the fourth-most penalized team in the AHL. They rank second in major penalties with 32, 10 of which are courtesy of Kyle Hagel, who is tied for the AHL lead in that category. Rasmus Rissanen has been assessed 15 minor penalties, tying him for third among AHL defensemen. In their four previous AHL seasons, the team never finished with an average higher than 16.5 penalty minutes per game.

The Checkers have done a better job as of late with not letting those penalties hurt them, as they have held opponents to 0-11 with the man advantage in the last three games, after getting torched for six goals on 14 powerplay tries in the three games prior to that.

Ranks

• Forward Kyle Hagel leads the AHL in major penalties (10)
• Defenseman Rasmus Rissanen is tied for third among AHL defenseman in minor penalties (15)
• Forward Chad LaRose leads the AHL in shorthanded assists (3) and is tied for second in shorthanded points (3)
• Forward Justin Shugg is tied for fourth in the league in shooting percentage (28.6)
• Forward Carter Sandlak ranks fourth among AHL rookies in penalty minutes (46)
• Defenseman Trevor Carrick is tied for third among AHL rookies in major penalties (4)

Injuries

• Patrick Brown - missed 11 games from 11/10 to 12/6
• Brody Sutter - missed 10 game starting 11/15
• Jared Staal - missed seven games from 11/18 to 12/2

Milestones

• Drew MacIntyre is one shy of 200 AHL wins
• Ryan Murphy is three shy of 100 professional games
• Chad LaRose is three shy of 150 AHL games and five shy of 700 professional games
• Brendan Woods is five shy of 100 AHL/professional penalty minutes

Transactions

Incoming

• Dec. 4 - (G) Drew MacIntyre assigned to Charlotte (AHL) from Carolina (NHL)

Outgoing

• Dec. 7 - (LW) Chris Terry recalled to Carolina (NHL) from Charlotte (AHL) after conditioning stint

Coming Up

By the Numbers

Team Statistics
CATEGORY	RECORD	AHL RANK	LAST WEEK
Power play	10.2%	29th	29th
Penalty kill	82.7%	t-17th	19th
Goals per game	2.36	27th	28th
Shots per game	27.32	27th	26th
Goals allowed per game	3.09	t-24th	t-23rd
Shots allowed per game	30.86	18th	18th
Penalty minutes per game	21.91	27th	26th

Team Leaders
CATEGORY	LEADER(S)
Points	Greg Nemisz (14), Justin Shugg, Brendan Woods, Phil Di Giuseppe, Chad LaRose, Ryan Murphy (10)
Goals	Greg Nemisz, Justin Shugg (8), Brock McGinn, Brendan Woods (5)
Assists	Ryan Murphy (10), Phil Di Giuseppe, Chad LaRose, Trevor Carrick (7)
Power play goals	Justin Shugg (3)
Shorthanded goals	Greg Nemisz, Brendan Woods (2)
Game-winning goals	Greg Nemisz (2)
Shots on goal	Brock McGinn (53), Chad LaRose (50), Phil Di Giuseppe (47)
Penalty minutes	Kyle Hagel (68), Keegan Lowe (58), Brendan Woods (53)
Plus/minus	Phil Di Giuseppe (+4), Beau Schmitz (+2), Five tied (+1)
Wins	Drew MacIntyre (7)
Goals-against average	John Muse, Drew MacIntyre (2.79)
Save percentage	Drew MacIntyre (.909)