Game 61: Grand Rapids Griffins at Charlotte Checkers

Puck Drop: Thursday, 7 p.m.

TV/Radio info: AHL Live / Online

Records: Checkers (23-31-5-1), Griffins (36-17-6-1)

The Charlotte Checkers, who narrowly missed sending Tuesday night's game to overtime thanks to a strong push with Drew MacIntyre off for an extra attacker, gave the hottest team in the AHL just about all they could handle in an eventual 3-2 loss.

Rookie left wing Brock McGinn continued his torrid offensive pace with the Checkers' first goal on Tuesday. The 21-year-old second-round pick now has seven points (6g, 1a) over his last 10 games and 20 points (11g, 9a) on the season.

Tonight is the second of four games this week for the Checkers. Following this series with the Rapids, the team will head on a season-long six-game road trip, starting with a pair of games in Oklahoma City.

Recent Transactions: The Checkers released Gabriel Desjardins from his PTO on Wednesday.

Notes: The Griffins win over the Checkers on Tuesday ran their current point streak to 16 games. That matches the longest such streak in the franchise's history and is the longest in the AHL since the 2011-12 season. ... Grand Rapids rookie Andrea Athanasiou, who scored a highlight-reel goal on Tuesday, now has 13 goals on the season. ... Zach Boychuk (10-7-17) has points in five-straight games and 10 over his last 11 contests. ... Rookie Trevor Carrick (6-13-19) leads all Checkers defenseman in scoring and has five points in his last five games. ... Justin Shugg (16-15-31) has eight points in his last nine contests. ... Tonight's game will be Brendan Woods' 99th as a professional. ... Tonight is the sixth of eight regular-season games between the Griffins and Checkers. Grand Rapids has won four of the five games thus far. ... The Griffins are 17-1-3-0 over their last 21 and currently sit first in the Western Conference.

Checkers lines:  

Zach Boychuk-Brody Sutter-Patrick Brown
Brock McGinn-Brendan Woods- Justin Shugg
Phil Di Giuseppe-Ben Holmstrom-Alex Aleardi
Kyle Hagel-Sean Dolan-Jared Staal

Trevor Carrick-Danny Biega
Dennis Robertson-Mike Cornell
Austin Levi-Beau Schmitz

Drew MacIntyre
John Muse

Healthy scratches: Carter Sandlak

Injured/out: Forwards Chad LaRose (upper Body) and Greg Nemisz (knee) and defenseman Keegan Lowe (undisclosed) have been ruled out of Thursday's game due to injuries.

Game 60: Grand Rapids Griffins at Charlotte Checkers

Puck Drop: Tuesday, 7 p.m.

TV/Radio info: AHL Live / Online

Records: Checkers (23-30-5-1), Griffins (35-17-6-1)

The Charlotte Checkers will close out a five-game home stand with back-to-back showdowns with the Western Conference-leading Grand Rapids Griffins beginning on Tuesday and Thursday. The Checkers are 2-1 on their current home stand and have won five of their last six overall at Time Warner Cable Arena to bring their season home record to 16-12-2.

*The Observer released a profile on Checkers' rookie forward Brock McGinn today online. It will run in print on Wednesday.

Recent Transactions: none.

Notes: Reigning AHL goal-scoring champion Zach Boychuk has found his scoring touch of late with six goals and nine points in his last ten games. Boychuk is the Checkers' all-time leader with 112 goals in 267 games played. He is currently riding a four-game point streak, tied for the longest active streak on the team with Trevor Carrick (2G, 3A). Carrick currently leads all Checkers defensemen in goals (6) and points (19) and is tied for seventh among AHL rookie blue liners in scoring. ... Patrick Brown recorded his first pro fight during Charlotte's 4-2 win over Norfolk on Sunday. ... Charlotte's 7-18-4 mark on the road is the worst in the AHL this season. ... Following Thursday's game, the Checkers will take off on their longest road trip of the season, beginning Saturday in Oklahoma City. ... The Griffins are 9-0-1-0 over their last 10 games and enter Charlotte well rested after a 3-2 overtime win over the Rockford Ice Hogs on Saturday.

Checkers lines: 

Zach Boychuk-Brody Sutter-Patrick Brown
Brock McGinn-Brendan Woods- Justin Shugg
Phil Di Giuseppe-Ben Holmstrom-Alex Aleardi
Kyle Hagel-Sean Dolan-Jared Staal

Trevor Carrick-Danny Biega
Dennis Robertson-Mike Cornell
Austin Levi-Beau Schmitz

Drew MacIntyre
John Muse

Healthy scratches: Kyle Hagel

Injured/out: Forwards Gabriel Desjardins (undisclosed), Chad LaRose (upper Body) and Greg Nemisz (knee) and defenseman Keegan Lowe (undisclosed) have been ruled out of Tuesday's game due to injuries.

Some Checkers thoughts...

Some lingering thoughts following the Charlotte Checkers' 3-2 shootout win over the San Antonio Rampage on Wednesday night...

Excluding a shaky second period, a short-handed Checkers squad played some quality hockey in what was an exciting win on Wednesday. The only problem was, just about no one saw. Wednesday's paid attendance was 3,056.

The game was a perfect example of why the team moving to the Bojangles Coliseum next season should be a good thing for everyone.

As is, the Checkers share Time Warner Cable Arena with the NBA's Charlotte Hornets, who act as the arena's main tenant. As such, the Hornets get first pick when it comes prime scheduling days, leaving the Checkers with whatever's left.

This season, and especially this month, what's left has been a ticket salesman's nightmare.

The Checkers are one game into a current five-game home stand. Here's the days they're set to play on: Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday.

Yikes.

A member of the Checkers' staff walked by the media section on Wednesday night, scanned the largely empty arena, and shrugged.

"Safe to say you won't see a home stand like this next season," he said.

And he should be right, as the main tenants of Bojangles, the Checkers should be able to secure whatever home dates they'd like and that's important for a team that's seen its average attendance drop three seasons in a row.

Charlotte currently ranks 12th in the AHL in average attendance (5,537). That's a little more than 730 tickets a game down from last year's pace, when the team drew the seventh most fans in the AHL. The team could sellout its 10 remaining home games and still not hit last year's attendance mark (241,685).

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Changing gears, it's tough not to feel for veteran forward Chad LaRose, who was injured during a collision that occurred during last Tuesday's practice. LaRose was leading the Checkers in points (31) and goals (16) and might have made a nice late-season addition for an NHL team looking for a fourth-line forward and some special teams help.

"LaRose is a leader for us," Checkers coach Jeff Daniels said on Wednesday. "He's got the experience... and he did a lot of good stuff for us. He's around and checking in on the guys to see how they're doing, but injuries happen and call-ups happen. We've just got to find a way to be ready to go."

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Both Brendan Woods and Patrick Brown have started to see time at the wing as of late. It's been something Daniels has wanted to experiment with all season, but the team's lack of depth at center had prevented, both played well in their new roles on Wednesday.

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Checkers goaltender Drew MacIntyre has stopped 19 of 20 in the shootout this season. He had lost seven of his last eight games entering Wednesday.

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Scouts love what they've seen from rookie defenseman Trevor Carrick. Carrick scored his fifth goal of the season on Wednesday and has recorded the most penalty minutes of any Checkers' rookie this season. He's a guy that will be fun to watch as he matures.

While on the topic of Checkers' rookies, I get the feeling left wing Brock McGinn -- who has been red hot as of late -- may get a look in Carolina sooner than later. McGinn, 21, ranks tied for fourth on the Checkers and first among rookies with 19 points. He is tied for third on the team with 10 goals, five of which have come in his last seven games.

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Here's an excerpt of Paul Branecky's story on Checkers broadcaster Jason Shaya moonlighting as an AHL goaltender.

On the first day of training camp during the latter part of the Checkers’ ECHL era, a New York Rangers prospect named David Urquhart heard the locker room chatter and was confused. Finally, he approached one of the team’s goalies.  

“Why do they call you the radio guy?” he asked. 

“Because I am the radio guy,” Jason Shaya recalls saying that day, aware of the apparent absurdity of the situation. “He was probably taking shots on Henrik Lundqvist three weeks earlier and now he’s down in the ECHL taking shots on me.” 

It's an interesting read that I highly recommend if you have some free time. Here's a vine of former NHL 50-goal scorer Dany Heatley beating Shaya over the right blocker.

Shaya's response to this vine was pretty great as well...

1) Bad D 2) I was screened 3) Wasn't ready RT @CheckersHockey: Heatley 1, @jason_shaya 0 https://t.co/T1EdcE6C55
— Jason Shaya (@Jason_Shaya) March 4, 2015

Game 57: San Antonio Rampage at Charlotte Checkers

Puck Drop: Wednesday, 7 p.m.

TV/Radio info: AHL Live / Online

Records: Checkers (21-29-5-1), Rampage (31-19-5-0)

The Checkers headed north of the boarder riding a season-long three-game winning streak, but were humbled by the Marlies, who outscored them 10-4 in a two-game sweep before splitting two games in Hamilton. Charlotte now returns home, where it has won its last three contests for a mid-week back-to-back with San Antonio.

Both Keegan Lowe and Chad LaRose suffered injuries during the Toronto trip that will likely keep them out for extended time. LaRose, who currently leads the Checkers in points (31) and goals (16), may be lost for the season. The Checkers aren't disclosing the veteran's injury, but it occurred during practice last Tuesday.

"There’s no timeline, but they’re both going to miss some time," Charlotte coach Jeff Daniels told the team's website. "It’s nothing day-to-day, it’s probably more week-to-week."

Checkers' rookie LW Brock McGinn will serve his one-game suspension for a charging penalty that took place during a game at Hamilton on Feb. 28. The suspension is McGinn's second this season for an illegal hit.

Recent Transactions: Defenseman Rasmus Rissanen was recalled by Carolina on March 2. ... Tuesday afternoon, the team signed center Sean Dolan to a professional tryout contract. Dolan, 27, played 142 total games for Charlotte between the 2011-12 and 2013-14 seasons, scoring 31 points (14g, 17a) and recording 89 penalty minutes. The center, who has missed the majority of this season due an injury suffered in training camp with his ECHL club in South Carolina, made his season debut on Feb. 21 and has scored two points, both goals, in five games with the Stingrays. ... Defenseman Austin Levi was also added to the Checkers roster on Tuesday.

Notes: Despite scoring three or more goals in five of their last seven games, the Checkers entered Tuesday tied for the worst goals-per-game average (2.20) in the AHL. … Charlotte goaltender Drew MacIntyre is 1-7 over his last eight starts and has allowed three or more goals in all seven losses. … MacIntyre’s backup, John Muse, is 5-2 over his last seven, with a 2.28 goals-against average. … The Checkers have killed 19 consecutive penalties over their last seven games. The streak is tied for the longest this season by the team. … Charlotte's penalty kill ranks ninth in the league at 85.8 percent. … After going 29 games without a goal (Nov. 30) and 20 games without a point (Dec. 29), Checkers rookie forward Brock McGinn has five goals in his last eight games (5g, 1a). … Since returning from the ECHL's Florida Everblades on Jan. 4, forward Alex Aleardi has 14 points (8g, 6a) in 19 games, including eight in his last nine (5g, 3a). … The Rampage (178), who have gone 5-4-1 over their last 10, have scored 55 more goals than Charlotte (123) this season, which is tops in the AHL.

Checkers lines: 

Zach Boychuk-Brody Sutter-Patrick Brown
Justin Shugg-Brendan Woods-Jared Staal
Phil Di Giuseppe-Ben Holmstrom-Alex Aleardi
Kyle Hagel-Sean Dolan-Carter Sandlak

Trevor Carrick-Danny Biega
Dennis Robertson-Beau Schmitz
Austin Levi-Mike Cornell

Drew MacIntyre
John Muse

Healthy scratches: none.

Injured/out: Chad LaRose (missing his third-straight game), Keegan Lowe (missing his second in a row) Greg Nemisz (out for season - knee), Gabriel Desjardins. 

Game 52: Iowa Wild at Charlotte Checkers

Puck Drop: Thursday, 7 p.m.

TV/Radio info: AHL Live / Online

Records: Checkers (19-26-5-1), Wild (17-35-1-1)

The Checkers will look to extend their current winning streak to a season-long three games after disposing of the Wild, 4-1, on Wednesday. Both Brock McGinn and Chad LaRose finished Wednesday night with two goals, while Drew MacIntyre snapped a personal five-game slide with 35 saves.

The loss was the sixth in a row for the Wild, who remain the sole team currently looking up at the Checkers in the Western Conference standings.

Recent Transactions: The Carolina Hurricanes reassigned Checkers captain Michal Jordan to Charlotte on Thursday morning. Following the announcement, Hurricanes' coach Bill Peters suggested that the defenseman's stay in the AHL could be a short one.

Coach Peters said he anticipates bringing Jordan back with the #Canes, but they wanted to get him down to play with @CheckersHockey tonight.
— Carolina Hurricanes (@NHLCanes) February 19, 2015

Notes: Since returning from the ECHL's Florida Everblades, Alex Aleardi has posted 10 points (6g, 4a) in 14 games, including four in his last four (3g, 1a). … With 18 points (12g, 6a) in his last 24 games, Chad LaRose has taken sole possession of the Checkers’ scoring lead with 29 points (16g, 13a). … Checkers rookie Brock McGinn snapped a 29-game goal drought – and a 20-game point drought -- with a first-period goal in Monday’s 4-3 shootout win over Norfolk and then netted two more on Wednesday. ... Thursday's game is the Checkers third of four scheduled contests this week. Following the game, the Checkers will pack up and head to Toronto to face the Marlies on Sunday. ... Tonight's game is the sixth of eight contests between the Checkers and Wild this season. The Checkers have taken three of five.

Checkers lines: 

Zach Boychuk-Brody Sutter-Chad LaRose
Brock McGinn-Brendan Woods-Justin Shugg
Carter Sandlak-Ben Holmstrom-Alex Aleardi
Phil Di Giuseppe-Patrick Brown-Jared Staal

Beau Schmitz-Michal Jordan
Trevor Carrick-Danny Biega
Dennis Robertson-Keegan Lowe

John Muse
Drew MacIntyre

Healthy scratches: Kyle Hagel

Injured/out: Greg Nemisz (out for season - knee), Gabriel Desjardins (missed 18 games starting 1/4), Rasmus Rissanen (undisclosed). 

Game 51: Iowa Wild at Charlotte Checkers

Puck Drop: Wednesday, 7 p.m.

TV/Radio info: AHL Live / Online

Records: Checkers (18-26-5-1), Wild (17-34-1-1)

The Checkers rebounded nicely from a season-long four-game losing streak by taking two of their three games this past week. They’ll have a prime opportunity to continue their roll when the Iowa Wild – the Western Conference’s current cellar dwellers -- travels to Charlotte for back-to-backs games beginning on Wednesday.

Recent Transactions: none.

Notes: Since returning from the ECHL's Florida Everblades, Alex Aleardi has posted 10 points (6g, 4a) in 13 games, including four in his last three (3g, 1a). … With 16 points (10g, 6a) in his last 23 games, Chad LaRose has taken sole possession of the Checkers’ scoring lead with 27 points (14g, 13a). … Checkers rookie Brock McGinn snapped a 29-game goal drought – and a 20-game point drought -- with a first-period goal in Monday’s 4-3 shootout win over Norfolk. McGinns ranks third on the Checkers with 101 shots on goal this season. … The Checkers rank last in the AHL on the power play with a season-long percentage of 10.7. The lowest recorded power-play percentage for a season in AHL history is 10.4, set by the Rochester Americans in 2001-02. … Brendan Woods returned to the Checkers lineup on Monday after missing six games with an undisclosed injury. Woods left the Checkers' Jan. 23 contest against the Barons after taking a hit that earned Travis Ewanyk a suspension from the league office. … The Wild enter town just 2-8 over their last 10 games and in the midst of a five-game losing streak. … Forward Tyler Graovac, who is in his second pro season, leads Iowa in points with 34 (16 goals, 18 assists).

Checkers lines: (projected)

Zach Boychuk-Brody Sutter-Chad LaRose
Brock McGinn-Brendan Woods-Justin Shugg
Phil Di Giuseppe-Ben Holmstrom-Alex Aleardi
Kyle Hagel-Patrick Brown-Jared Staal

Rasmus Rissanen-Beau Schmitz
Trevor Carrick-Danny Biega
Dennis Robertson-Keegan Lowe

Drew MacIntyre
John Muse

Healthy scratches: Carter Sandlak

Injured/out: Greg Nemisz (out for season - knee), Gabriel Desjardins (missed 17 games starting 1/4).

Game 46: Chicago Wolves at Charlotte Checkers

Puck Drop: Friday, 7 p.m.

TV/Radio info: AHL Live / Online / TWC SportsChannel 323

Records: Checkers (16-23-5-1), Wolves (22-18-5-1)

As of Friday afternoon, the Charlotte Checkers sit 13 points out of the final Western Conference playoff spot. With the season entering the home stretch, the Checkers will need to find a way to string consecutive wins together – a feat they’ve accomplished just once this season. … The Wolves (50 points) arrive one point behind the Texas Stars (51 points) for the final playoff spot in the conference and 4-4-1-1 over their last 10 games.

Beginning with Friday’s matchup, four (Chicago, Lake Erie, Toronto, Hamilton) of Charlotte’s six opponents in February are teams also competing for the eighth seed in the conference.

Transactions: Charlotte announced Friday morning that it has signed forward Jason Bast to a professional tryout contract. Bast, 25, has spent the majority of the season with the Idaho Steelheads of the ECHL, racking up 44 points (25g, 19a) in 43 games. He recently earned the ECHL's Rookie of the Month award for January by scoring 17 points in 14 games.

The undrafted center is tied for second in the ECHL in goals, is tied for ninth in scoring and holds a share of the scoring lead among ECHL rookies.

Notes: At Sunday’s practice, the Checkers shelved their normal routine and instead took part in a power skating session with instructor Kim Muir. Muir has over 20 years of instruction experience and has worked with the Carolina Hurricanes in development camp and training camp. Muir split the forwards and the defensemen, having each group spend roughly 45 minutes on the ice, partaking in a variety of drills focused on skating. … The Checkers lost rookie forward Brock McGinn to an injury last Friday after he absorbed a big hit from behind that drew a game-misconduct penalty. McGinn did not play Saturday. McGinn likely will join Brendan Woods (undisclosed injury) on the sideline this weekend. Woods was hurt during the Checkers’ home win over Oklahoma City on Jan. 23. … After a season-long six-game point streak (3g, 3a) that ended Saturday night, Chad LaRose has taken sole possession of the team scoring lead with 25 points (12g, 13a). … Including a 5-for-5 performance in their last game in Texas on Jan. 31, the Checkers have killed off 25 of their opponents’ last 26 power plays (96.2 percent) over their last six games. During that time, they have climbed to ninth in the AHL with a season-long percentage of 85.8. ... This weekend’s contests mark the Checkers’ ninth annual “Pink in the Rink” to raise awareness and funds for the fight against cancers related to women. Fans attending the games are encouraged to wear pink. Last season’s event raised approximately $45,000 for various nonprofits.

Checkers lines: 

Phil Di Giuseppe-Ben Holmstrom-Chad LaRose
Zach Boychuk-Jason Bast-Justin Shugg
Brock McGinn-Brody Sutter-Alex Aleardi
Kyle Hagel-Patrick Brown-Jared Staal

Rasmus Rissanen-Danny Biega
Trevor Carrick-Michal Jordan
Dennis Robertson-Keegan Lowe

Drew MacIntyre
John Muse

Healthy scratches: Beau Schmitz, Carter Sandlak

Injured/out: Greg Nemisz (knee), Gabriel Desjardins (undisclosed), Brendan Woods (undisclosed), Brock McGinn (undisclosed) 

Game 14: Norfolk Admirals at Charlotte Checkers

Puck Drop: Tuesday, 7 p.m.

TV/Radio info: AHL Live / Online

Records: Checkers 4-8-1, Admirals 6-8-0

Charlotte returns home for a showdown against Norfolk before traveling to Oklahoma City for games Friday and Saturday. The Checkers ran into a hot San Antonio team last weekend and recorded one point in their two-game showdown (0-1-1). With Friday’s overtime loss, the Checkers earned a point in back-to-back games for the first time this season. They're still searching for consecutive wins.

Norfolk is hoping to inch back towards the .500 mark after splitting a pair of home games against Binghamton on Friday and Saturday. Tonight's game is the first of eight meetings between Charlotte and Norfolk (its closest opponent in terms of geographic distance). With four of those meetings coming between now and December 10, expect the two teams to become quite familiar.

Notes: After recording one point (an assist) in his first five games, Checkers forward Greg Nemisz has six goals and three assists in his past eight, including two game-winners. … After missing eight games with an upper-body injury (suffered in an Oct. 12 game at Chicago), forward Justin Shugg returned to the lineup this past weekend and recorded a goal in each game. ... Rookie Brock McGinn has one goal on 29 shots this season. His 3.4-percent shooting percentage is the lowest of any Checker who has found the back of the net at least one time. With Jared Staal (injury) ruled out for Tuesday's game, the Checkers have signed left wing Gabriel Desjardins to a professional tryout contract. The 22-year-old is expected to be ready to play against Norfolk. Desjardins joins the Checkers from their ECHL affiliate in Florida, where he posted nine points (5g, 4a) in 12 games.  Two former Checkers -- Matthew Pistilli and Casey Pierro-Zabotel -- signed PTO's with the Admirals this past Monday.

Checkers projected lines: 

Andrew Rowe-A.J. Jenks-Phil Di Giuseppe
Brock McGinn-Kyle Jean-Justin Shugg
Gabriel Desjardens-Greg Nemisz-Chad LaRose
Kyle Hagel-Brendan Woods-Alex Aleardi

Michal Jordan-Ryan Murphy
Trevor Carrick-Danny Biega
Rasmus Rissanen-Keegan Lowe

John Muse
Drew MacIntyre

Healthy scratches: Dennis Robertson, Beau Schmitz, Carter Sandlak (finishing final game of four-game suspension)

Injured/out: Ben Holmstrom (shoulder), Patrick Brown (undisclosed), Brody Sutter (undisclosed), Jared Staal (undisclosed)