Friday, February 7, 2014

Game 46 preview: Oklahoma City Barons at Charlotte Checkers


Good morning, the Checkers will look to get back on track Friday night after dropping consecutive games (both against Abbotsford) for the first time since midway through December.

Both Sean Dolan and Beau Schmitz were recalled from the ECHL's Florida Everblades on Thursday and should be in Charlotte in plenty of time for their Pink in the Rink showdown with the Oklahoma City Barons.

The Checkers have owned the Barons this season, going 6-0-0 against their West Division rival, including a wild 9-3 win at Time Warner Cable Arena their last time out. 

Puck Drop: 7:30 p.m. ET

TV/Radio info: Video AHL Live / Audio 730 AM Charlotte

Records: Checkers 22-22-1, Barons 19-22-5

Projected Checkers lineup:

Chris Terry-Brett Sutter-Zach Boychuk
Philippe Cornet-Brody Sutter-Aaron Palushaj
Greg Nemisz-Victor Rask-Justin Shugg
Nicolas Blanchard-Sean Dolan-Brendan Woods

Michal Jordan-Danny Biega
Mark Flood-Ryan Murphy
Keegan Lowe-Matt Corrente

John Muse
Mike Murphy

Healthy scratches: Beau Schmitz, Matt Marquardt, Jared Staal (has not played since Jan. 3)

InjuredRasmus Rissanen (illness)

* Sean Dolan (out since Nov. 30 with an upper-body injury) had two goals and two assists in his three-game condition stint with the ECHL's Florida Everblades.  

Storylines: After a rough four-game road trip that saw the Checkers go 1-3-0, Time Warner Cable Arena and the Oklahoma City Barons should be a welcome sight for Charlotte players. The Checkers defeated the Barons 9-3 in their last meeting (on Jan. 24), while scoring a team-record five power-play goals. ... The victory over the Barons was the sixth this season (6-0) for the Checkers against their West Division rival. ... There were 12 fighting majors whistled the last time these two teams went head-to-head, with goaltenders John Muse and Chet Pickard nearly becoming numbers 13 and 14. ... Since that Jan. 24 win, Charlotte has gone 0-for-its-last-17 on the power play. ...  Zach Boychuk scored his team-leading 22nd goal in Wednesday's 4-3 loss. He's now just one goal shy of tying his AHL career-high set in 2012-13. ... The Checkers will wear special pink jerseys as part of their eighth annual Pink in the Rink game. The jerseys will be auctioned off live after the game to benefit several charities that help raise awareness and funds for the fight against breast cancer.


Western Conference standings update:


source: www.theahl.com

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