AHL Charlotte Checkers

Checkers' Weekly Report

Published on November 20, 2012 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Charlotte Checkers News Release


Despite three close finishes, the Checkers kept on rolling during their three-game road trip through Texas, taking five out of a possible six points.

The 2-0-1 weekend, which featured two shootouts and three games decided by just one goal, was enough to put Charlotte back into the top spot in the AHL. The Checkers now have 24 points, one more than the Abbotsford Heat, heading into Wednesday's road game in Norfolk.

After facing the Admirals, the Checkers begin their longest home stand of a season, a run of 10 games, with back-to-back games against Jordan Eberle, Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Justin Schultz and the Oklahoma City Barons starting Saturday.

CHECKERS 4, SAN ANTONIO 3

Charlotte erased a 2-0 deficit with the help of three goals in the first five minutes of the third period to beat the San Antonio Rampage by a 4-3 score on Friday. Zac Dalpe scored two of those goals in between Nicolas Blanchard's shorthanded tally near the end of the second period and Jerome Samson's eventual game winner. Justin Peters made 22 saves to help the Checkers win their third straight and improve his personal winning streak to four games.

TEXAS 1, CHECKERS 0 (SO)

Goalies Dan Elllis (30 saves) and Cristopher Nilstorp (22 saves) each earned a shutout in a game that was tied 0-0 after regulation and overtime, but the Stars went on to prevail in the ninth round of the shootout to record the extra point. The Checkers, who were shut out for the first time this season and fell to 1-6 in their last seven shootouts dating back to last season, extended their points streak to four games.

CHECKERS 4, SAN ANTONIO 3 The Checkers concluded their three-in-three trip with a win in their rematch of Friday's game in San Antonio on Sunday. Brett Sutter, Bobby Sanguinetti and Zach Boychuk scored in a back-and-forth game that went all the way to the shootout, where Chris Terry was the only player to score in 10 total attempts between the two teams. Justin Peters made 33 saves and five more in the shootout to earn his fifth win in a row, while the Checkers extended their points streak to six games and reclaimed the top spot in the AHL.

The Charlotte Checkers 5K is set for Saturday morning. Registration includes a ticket to that night's game against Oklahoma City.

GOALS GALORE

With 10 goals each, Drayson Bowman and Zach Boychuk are in a four-way tie for most in the AHL. Bowman got there by way of a team-record, eight-game goal streak that ended on Nov. 6, while Boychuk has found the back of the net in nine of the team's 16 games. Both players are on pace to break their personal bests of 17 (Bowman) and 22 goals (Boychuk) at the AHL level, as well as Chris Terry's team record of 34 goals set two seasons ago.

ALL CYLINDERS

The Checkers, who lead the AHL with 24 points, are the only team in the league to rank in the top five in both offense (3rd - 3.63 goals scored per game) and defense (5th - 2.44 goals allowed per game). That has helped them achieve a goal differential of +19, which is second-best in the AHL behind Springfield's +26.

On special teams, the Checkers, along with Springfield, are one of two teams to rank in the top 10 in both the power play (1st - 26.4 percent) and penalty kill (10th - 85.9 percent).

COMEBACK KIDS

The Checkers are a perfect 5-0-0 when trailing after the first period, making them one of only two teams (Springfield; 1-0-0) to record the maximum amount of points in that scenario. When trailing after two periods, they're 3-1-0 on the season.

Charlotte's 25 third-period goals are the most by any team in any period, while their 23 second-period goals are tied for the second- highest mark in the league.

SHARING THE WEALTH

The Checkers are one of four AHL teams (Lake Erie, Rochester, Syracuse) that have seven different players that have hit double digits in points (Zach Boychuk, Justin Faulk, Zac Dalpe, Drayson Bowman, Brett Sutter, Chris Terry and Jerome Samson). They are also one of just three teams (Houston, Portland) with five different players that have scored at least five goals (Boychuk, Dalpe, Bowman, Sutter, Terry).

With the exception of Tommi Kivisto and Justin Soryal, who have played just three games combined, every player who has suited up for the Checkers in 2012-13, including goalies Dan Ellis and Justin Peters, has recorded at least one point.

ELLIS SHUTS THE DOOR

In his first eight AHL games played since the 2007 Calder Cup Playoffs, Checkers goalie Dan Ellis ranks third in the league in both goals-against average (1.67) and save percentage (.947). He is also tied for fourth with two shutouts, including the second time a Checkers goalie has recorded a loss in the shootout despite stopping all shots that came his way in regulation and overtime (John Muse at Chicago, Feb. 18, 2012).

Despite his superior statisics, Ellis, who has a record of 4-2-2 this season, has been in goal for four of the five games in which the Checkers did not record a victory. Meanwhile, partner Justin Peters, who has a 2.85 goals-against average and .904 save percentage, is 7-1-1 with wins in each of his last five starts.

PETERS JOINS THE OFFENSE

Goalie Justin Peters earned his third assist of the season on Friday, the most he's earned during any of his six professional seasons. Peters now has more helpers than a handful of his teammates, including Drayson Bowman, Jeremy Welsh and Tim Wallace, who all see time on the power play. Peters, who has won each of his last five starts to improve to 7-1-1 on the season, has now tied the Checkers' single-season record for assists by a goalie set by Mike Murphy in 2010-11. Peters, who once scored a playoff goal in junior hockey, now has eight career assists at the AHL level.

SHOOTOUTS

The Checkers' shootout win in San Antonio on Sunday was just their second in their last eight attempts dating back to last season. They are now 1-2 on the season, with Jerome Samson (2) and Chris Terry the only Checkers to score on 23 total attempts. Samson has now scored on each of his last three attempts after starting his AHL career scorless in five opportunities, while Terry cemented his status as the team's all-time leader with his 14th shootout goal and fifth game-winner.

In goal, Justin Peters stopped all five shots he faced to record the win on Sunday, while Dan Ellis has stopped 16 of 18 shootouts in a pair of nine-round losses to the Texas Stars. Over the course of their three AHL seasons, the Checkers have an all-time shootout record of 12-15.

POWER SURGE

Charlotte leads the AHL with a 26.4 percent success rate on the man advantage (19 goals on 72 chances). Though the team has had several contributors (11 different Checkers have scored at least one power- play goal) it also features some of the league's top individual performers on the man advantage. Drayson Bowman and Zach Boychuk are tied for third in goals (4), Marc-Andre Gragnani is tied for fourth in assists (7) and Boychuk is tied for fourth in total points (9).

THREE-IN-THREES

The Checkers have played three games in three nights three times this season, posting a combined 7-1-1 record in those games, including an undefeated 3-0-0 mark in Game One. All time, the Checkers are 32-20-5 in those games, including a 10-7-2 record in Game One, a 13-3-3 record in Game Two and an 9-10-0 record in Game Three. From Oct. 26-28, the Checkers, who play four more sets of three-in-threes this season, won all three games for the first time in franchise history (19 attempts).

STREAKS

- Justin Peters has wins in each of his last five games (Oct. 28-Nov. 18)

- The Checkers have points in each of their last five games (Nov. 8-18; 4-0-1)

INJURIES

- Marc-Andre Gragnani (lower-body, 11/8) - missed three games

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American Hockey League Stories from November 20, 2012


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