AHL Board of Governors approves divisional alignment for 2015-16 season

Per the AHL's release... 

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … American Hockey League President and CEO David Andrews announced that the league’s Board of Governors, convening for its Spring Meeting today in Chicago, Ill., has approved the following division alignment for the 2015-16 AHL season (National Hockey League affiliates in parentheses):

Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
Bridgeport Sound Tigers (NYI)
Hartford Wolf Pack (NYR)
Hershey Bears (WSH)
Lehigh Valley Phantoms (PHI)
Portland Pirates (FLA)
Providence Bruins (BOS)
Springfield Falcons (ARI)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (PIT)

North Division
Albany Devils (NJ)
Binghamton Senators (OTT)
Rochester Americans (BUF)
St. John’s IceCaps (MTL)
Syracuse Crunch (TB)
Toronto Marlies (TOR)
Utica Comets (VAN)

Western Conference
Central Division
Charlotte Checkers (CAR)
Chicago Wolves (STL)
Grand Rapids Griffins (DET)
Iowa Wild (MIN)
Lake Erie Monsters (CBJ)
Manitoba Moose (WPG)
Milwaukee Admirals (NSH)
Rockford IceHogs (CHI)

Pacific Division
Bakersfield Condors (EDM)
Ontario Reign (LA)
San Antonio Rampage (COL)
San Diego Gulls (ANA)
San Jose Barracuda (SJ)
Stockton Heat (CGY)
Texas Stars (DAL)

The format for the 2016 Calder Cup Playoffs will be finalized by the Board of Governors at its Annual Meeting in Hilton Head Island, S.C., July 6-9, and the complete playing schedule for the 2015-16 regular season, which begins Oct 9, will be announced later this summer. 

Game 26: Oklahoma City Barons at Charlotte Checkers

Puck Drop: Tuesday, 7 p.m.

TV/Radio info: AHL Live / Online

Records: Checkers 9-14-2-0, Barons 15-6-2-2

The Checkers, who snapped a franchise-worst eight-game road-winless streak with a 3-1 victory against Texas on Saturday, begin a four-game home stand on Tuesday that will take them up to next week’s holiday break.

After tonight, the Checkers will host a rematch with Oklahoma City on Thursday before the San Antonio Rampage come to Charlotte for two games this weekend.

Notes: Saturday’s win was the 200th of Checkers goaltender Drew MacIntyre’s career. MacIntyre, 31, is the 12th goalie in the 79-year history of the American Hockey League to reach 200 wins. … Charlotte will take the ice Tuesday without it’s top two scorers. The Carolina Hurricanes recalled Justin Shugg (nine goals, two assists) on Monday, and Greg Nemisz (eight goals, six assists) suffered what is likely a season-ending knee injury during the Checkers’ victory Dec. 6 against Iowa. … The Checkers are 2-for-38 (5.3 percent) on the power play over their past 10 games and rank last in the AHL with a 9.6 percent success rate on the power play. That said, Charlotte has five shorthanded goals (tied for third in the league), already two more than its league-low total from all of last season. … Defenseman Ryan Murphy is tied for 11th among AHL defensemen in assists (11). He played his 100th professional game on Saturday. … The Checkers are 0-2 against the West-Division leading Barons and have been outscored 9-4. ... With mounting injuries and callups, the Checkers signed Gabriel Desjardins and Mike Little to PTO's Tuesday morning. ... Along with A.J. Jenks and Andrew Rowe, the signing of Little and his Everblades teammate, Desjardins, gives the Checkers four professional tryouts on their active roster. ... Fans who bring toys to Tuesday’s game will receive a free ticket for the Checkers’ game on Jan. 4 against Texas.

Checkers lines: 

Brock McGinn-Ben Holmstrom-Jared Staal
Andrew Rowe-Brendan Woods-Chad LaRose
Gabriel Desjardins-Patrick Brown-Phil Di Giuseppe
Kyle Hagel-A.J. Jenks-Carter Sandlak

Rasmus Rissanen-Ryan Murphy
Trevor Carrick-Danny Biega
Dennis Robertson-Mike Little

Drew MacIntyre
John Muse

Healthy scratches: Kyle Jean

Injured/out: Brody Sutter (undisclosed), Greg Nemisz (knee), Beau Schmitz (undisclosed), Keegan Lowe (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)  

Charlotte Checkers rebound in big way from bad loss with 3-1 win over Texas Stars on Monday

Checkers goalie Drew MacIntyre called his team together following Monday night’s 3-1 win over the Texas Stars at Time Warner Cable Arena.

The Checkers had entered the night looking to rebound from their worst defeat of the season this past Saturday, in which the defending Calder Cup champion Stars chased MacIntyre 10 minutes into the first period on their way to an 8-2 win.

“MacIntyre stopped us and kind of just let us know that we’ve got to bring that effort both games,” said Checkers forward Brendan Woods, who netted his first goal of the season in the win.

“It was an embarrassing night,” MacIntyre said of Saturday, where he allowed four first-period goals on nine shots. “I was ashamed, individually, and team-wise, it was one of the worst I’ve seen in my career. It was an absolute schooling, but it’s huge that we can respond like this.”

MacIntyre finished Monday night with 28 saves on 29 shots.

The Checkers were able to respond despite getting hit from every angle from a personal standpoint on Monday, with a player recalled to the NHL (Michal Jordan), an injury (Patrick Brown), and a suspension (Carter Sandlak).

As a result, Charlotte filled the hole by signing 24-year-old left wing Kyle Jean – who came to the team from the Greenville Road Warriors, where put up 10 points (6g, 4a) in nine games – to a professional tryout contract.

The Checkers (4-7-0) got some help getting on the board early, when two Stars defenders collided during a power play, springing Danny Biega for a breakaway.

Texas goalie Jack Campbell (29 saves) stopped Biega’s initial shot, but Woods was there for the put-back goal. 

"Biega came out of nowhere and I just followed up the play and the puck was sitting right there," said Woods (1-4-5) who moved into a tie with Phil Di Giuseppe for second on the team in points. "They did all the hard work; I just did the easy part." 

The two teams traded goals in the second period, but it was easily Charlotte’s best of the night.

The lone hiccup came at the thee minute, 44 second mark, when Charlotte failed to control a puck in its own zone and it led to Travis Morin's sixth goal of the season. 

Greg Nemisz helped the Checkers respond five minutes later, netting his team-leading fifth of the season, with a wraparound attempt that trickled under Campbell’s pads.

Brett Sutter added an empty-netter late to seal the win for the Checkers.

“I think we learned a big lesson this weekend,” said MacIntyre. “We pretty much play teams back-to-back all season and it’s tough. I’ve been on teams that have done it before and if you beat a team, it’s really hard to beat them again. So, we have to be better, more consistent. Hopefully we learned that lesson this weekend.”

The Checkers will now travel to San Antonio to play two games with the Rampage beginning on Friday.

Game 10: Texas Stars at Charlotte Checkers

Puck Drop: Saturday, 7 p.m.

TV/Radio info: AHL Live and TWC SportsChannel 323 / ESPN 730

Records: Checkers 3-6-0, Stars 5-2-2

The Checkers will look to build off their first home victory of the season this weekend as they play two with the Texas Stars, the first coming this Saturday and the rematch Monday at 6 pm.

Notes: Checkers assistant captain Greg Nemisz has been red-hot offensively with five points in his last four games. Nemisz scored both Checkers goals in their 2-1 win over Hamilton at Time Warner Cable Arena this past Sunday. His four goals this season are tops on the team. … The Checkers signed forward Andrew Rowe to a PTO prior to last Sunday’s win. The game was the fourth in as many nights for Rowe, who began the season with South Carolina (ECHL). He played well despite some tired legs, making his performance on Friday something worth keeping an eye on. … The Checkers, have average 1.89 goals per game, which ranks 29th in the AHL. They have been held to a single goal in five of their eight games this season, all losses. … With five fights in Sunday's game against Hamilton, Charlotte now ranks third in the league with 16 major penalties. Forward Kyle Hagel leads the AHL in major penalties with five, and defenseman Trevor Carrick is tied for the major penalties lead among rookies with three. … Drew MacIntyre has started seven of the first nine games in net. MacIntyre, a 12th-year pro who appeared in 48 games for the Toronto Marlies last season, currently ranks fourth in the AHL with 206 saves. … Stars C Travis Morin (5-9-14) enters Friday leading the Stars in goals, assists and points. Saturday is Military Appreciation Night, Camo Checkers hats will be given to the first 2,500 fans. … Monday is Teacher Appreciation Night.

Raleigh Updates: The Hurricanes enter Friday on a four-game winning streak thanks to Thursday's 3-2 overtime win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.  Former Checkers C Elias Lindholm has 3 game-winning goals (all within the last 4 games). That ranks him tied for first in the NHL in that category.

Checkers lines: 

Andrew Rowe- Brody Sutter-Chad LaRose
Phil Di Giuseppe-Patrick Brown-Alex Aleardi
Brock McGinn-A.J. Jenks-Greg Nemisz
Carter Sandlak-Brendan Woods-Jared Staal

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

Drew MacIntyre
John Muse

Healthy scratches: Dennis Robertson, Beau Schmitz

Injured/out: Justin Shugg (upper-body injury), Ben Holmstrom (shoulder), Kyle Hagel (undisclosed) 

Greg Nemisz nets two in Charlotte Checkers first home win

Entering Sunday, the Charlotte Checkers had generated only a single goal in each of their three home games this season.

Greg Nemisz put an end to that trend all by himself, scoring a goal in the second and third periods to lead the Checkers over the Hamilton Bulldogs, 2-1, in front of 3,753 at Time Warner Cable Arena .

“Nemo, for me, is just a real solid pro with his voice in the locker room and the way he prepares for practice every day,” said Checkers coach Jeff Daniels of Nemisz, who now leads Charlotte with six points (four goals, two assists). “He put up a lot of points in junior (hockey) and it hasn’t happened yet at the pro level... but he’s off to a good start.”

The win – which featured five fights – was the Checkers’ first at home this season and improved the team to 3-6-0 overall, while also serving as revenge for a 3-1 loss to the Bulldogs this past Friday.

“We came to the rink today with a chip on our shoulder – enough is enough,” said Daniels. “It wasn’t our plan to fight five times, it just kind of happened. It got a little chippy at times, but for the most part it was a pretty honest game.”

After taking a 1-0 lead over the Bulldogs on Friday and then surrendering three unanswered goals, the Checkers found themselves in a similar position on Sunday.

Nemisz’ first – a backhanded chip past Hamilton goalie Mike Condon (31 saves) – came a minute and 47 seconds into the second period. Early on in the third, Hamilton evened the game at 1-1, thanks to a puck that bounced off the backside of Drew MacIntyre (24 saves) and slid just over the goal line.

The Checkers response, left coach Daniels impressed.

“(The game) could have gone either way with the mindset of our team, but I thought the shift after that (goal) was a really good shift by Brownie’s line (Phil Di Giuseppe-Patrick Brown-Alex Aleardi)," Daniels said. "They just went in there, were moving their legs, had some zone time and we moved on from it.”

Midway through the second period, Nemisz was sent hard into the boards by Connor Crisp and was slow to get up, as Charlotte defenseman Carter Sandlak and Crisp dropped the gloves.

In the third, Nemisz got revenge, batting home the rebound from a power-play shot off the stick of Ryan Murphy for the game-winning goal.

“As much as you want to play with a lead through 60 minutes it doesn’t always happen,” Daniels said. “Goals happen and it’s just how you respond to it. We didn’t respond well on Friday but I thought we responded well today.”

NOTES: With two goals on Sunday, Greg Nemisz now has 17 points (7g, 10a) in 23 games since his acquisition from Calgary last season. The two-goal game was his first since 2012. … Andrew Rowe, who signed with the team early on Sunday to play for the suspended Brock McGinn, played his fourth game in four days. He finished the game with four shots on goal. “He played a three-in-three and all of the sudden you get in the car, get in at two this morning and then play at one a clock,” Daniels said. “I thought he gave us everything he had and I thought he did some good things. We’ll see how this week goes about with injuries and whatnot and we’ll see where he fits in.”… 20-year-old rookie defenseman Trevor Carrick has impressed coach Daniels with his play thus far. “He’s been a pleasant surprise for us,” Daniels said. “He’s a confident kid and he plays a big, strong game. He’s not afraid to make a play out there and he gets involved physically. He’s been real good for us for a first-year pro nine games into his pro season and he’s handled it real well.”

INJURIES: Justin Shugg (upper-body injury) is yet to practice with the team and missed his sixth consecutive game. … Ben Holmstrom (shoulder injury) missed his first game of the season and “was definitely out” according to Daniels. “He wasn’s a question mark today.”