2013–14 Charlotte Checkers season

2013–14 Charlotte Checkers
Division 4th West Division
Conference 11th Western Conference
2013–14 record 37–36–1–2 (77 pts)
Home record 19–18–1–0
Road record 18–18–0–2
Goals for 228
Goals against 241
Team information
General Manager Jeff Daniels
Coach Jeff Daniels
Assistant Coach Geordie Kinnear
Arena Time Warner Cable Arena
Team leaders
Goals Zach Boychuk (36)
Assists Chris Terry (41)
Points Zach Boychuk (74)
Penalties in minutes Matthew Corrente (136)
Plus/minus (+) Matthew Corrente (+9)
(–) Mark Flood (–26)
Wins John Muse (27)
Goals against average Allen York (0.94)
< 2012–13 2014–15 >

The 2013–14 Charlotte Checkers season is the franchise's fourth season in the American Hockey League, which began on October 4, 2013.

Off season

Charlotte remained in the same division after an American Hockey League realignment in the summer of 2013, but it was renamed from the South Division to the West Division.[1] The Checkers unveiled new uniforms for the 2013–14 season, preserving the team's logo and its red, black and white colors, but making several design changes including the removal of a hurricane warning flag strip, new fonts for the letters and numbers, and a greater distinction between the home red and away white uniforms.[2] Mark Binetti, who had been Charlotte's assistant broadcaster, departed from the team to work for the Central Hockey League's Rapid City Rush.[3] The Checkers underwent several roster changes in the off season, retaining only two skaters who finished in the team's top ten in scoring from the previous year: forwards Chris Terry and Zach Boychuk. As a result, coach Jeff Daniels said the team would have to focus more on crashing the net and scoring "dirty goals".[4][5]

Some of the team's departures included forwards Zac Dalpe, Jeremy Welsh,[6] David Marshall,[7] Riley Nash,[5] David Rutherford,[8] and Tim Wallace;[9] and defensemen Brett Bellemore, Danny Biega, Ryan Murphy,[5] and Bobby Sanguinetti.[10] Former team captain Brett Sutter, Charlotte's second-leading scorer the previous season, was recalled to the Carolina Hurricanes,[11] although he would be returned to the Checkers by November.[12] Center Manny Malhotra joined the Checkers roster, marking his return from a one-year absence due to a left eye injury.[13] Other Charlotte newcomers included forwards Adam Brace,[14] and Aaron Palushaj;[15] and defensemen Matt Corrente,[16] Mark Flood,[17] and Keegan Lowe.[18] After starting their training camp on September 23,[19] Charlotte split a home-and-home preseason series against the Norfolk Admirals on September 27 and 28.[20][21] Palushaj scored two goals, including the final empty netter in a 4–2 victory in the first game.[20]

2013–14 Preseason Game Log: 1–1–0–0 (Home: 0–1–0–0; Road: 1–0–0–0)
# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Record
1 September 27 Norfolk 2–4 Charlotte Peters 1–0–0–0
2 September 28 Charlotte 3–4 Norfolk Murphy 1–1–0–0

Regular season

October

The Checkers had only two home games in October, the lowest to start the season for any team in the league.[22] But they also went their first five away games without a regulation loss, and never trailed in any of them.[23] The Checkers started the season with two 3–2 victories against the Oklahoma City Barons on October 4 and 5, scoring the first two goals in both games.[24][25] Terry scored the Charlotte's first goal of the season just 49 seconds into the season opener.[24] After a two-week layoff, the Checkers lose two straight home games against the Iowa Wild on October 19 and 20, including a 7–2 loss in the latter game, where the Wild scored within the first 44 seconds.[4] Charlotte would next play six away games in nine nights, none in consecutive locations, which marked their longest road trip in team history in term of consecutive days out of town.[26] But they also saw a great deal of turnover in their goaltenders due to Mike Murphy and Justin Peters being recalled by the Carolina Hurricanes to fill in for the injured Cam Ward and Anton Khudobin.[27][28] The Checkers would end up using five goalies in their first six games of the season.[27] They signed professional tryout contracts to goaltenders Allen York,[29] and Rick DiPietro, the 32-year-old veteran the New York Islanders released in July with a compliance buyout. Hurricane general manager Jim Rutherford called DiPietro's signing a "safety net" to provide more goaltending depth in light of their recent injuries.[30]

John Muse made his first start of the season on October 25, stopping all 30 shots he faced in a 5–0 victory over the Grand Rapids Griffins. Boychuk, Flood and Terry each scored power play goals.[31] The Checkers maintained a 110-minute shutout streak that ended against the Rockford IceHogs on October 26, which ended in a 2–1 loss after York allowed two of five shootout shots in his Charlotte debut.[29] The Checkers secured another 5–0 win the next day against the Chicago Wolves, with Muse perfect for in second straight start, earning him the designation of AHL Player of the Week.[28] Charlotte also scored three power play goals for the second time in three games, this time from Terry, Justin Shugg and Brody Sutter.[31] The Checkers saw their first away loss in regulation on October 30, falling 5–2 to Grand Rapids, with DiPietro stopping 25 of 29 shots in his team debut.[23] They defeated Rockford the next day, however, with Rask scoring two goals in a 5–3 victory.[32] Holm scored at least one point in all nine games of the month, the best point streak of his career.[33]

November

The Checkers fell into a five-game losing slump, tying a team record for consecutive losses.[34] It started with a 5–3 loss to the San Antonio Rampage in which Charlotte surrendered a lead after allowing three goals in the third period, marking the first time they lost after leading at the second intermission. DiPietro's 37 saves were the most by a Checkers goalie since Rob Madore's 43 saves against the Texas Stars on April 12, 2013.[22] Terry, who lead the team in goals for the season with six, in shots with 35,[35] was recalled on November 6 by the Carolina Hurricanes, who in turn sent down 18-year-old rookie forward Elias Lindholm, the fifth overall pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.[26] Charlotte next lost a pair of games each against both the Chicago Wolves and the Hershey Bears,[34][36] including an 8-1 loss against the Bears on November 14 that Daniels described as "pretty much rock bottom". The seven-goal deficit marked a franchise worst in any regular season. The game marked the Checkers' sixth straight home loss, marking their longest home losing streak in franchise history, and the longest such streak of any team in the league in the season thus far.[34]

Standings

Conference standings

 y–  indicates team has clinched division and a playoff spot
 x–  indicates team has clinched a playoff spot
 e–  indicates team has been eliminated from playoff contention

    		 Western Conference[37] Div GP W L OTL SOL Pts GF GA
    1 *y– Texas Stars (DAL) WT 76 48 18 3 7 106 274 197
    2 *y– Chicago Wolves (STL) MW 76 45 21 5 5 100 239 191
    3 *y– Toronto Marlies (TOR) NT 76 45 25 2 4 96 223 202
    4 x– Grand Rapids Griffins (DET) MW 76 46 23 2 5 99 238 187
    5 x– Abbotsford Heat (CGY) WT 76 43 25 5 3 94 237 215
    6 x– Milwaukee Admirals (NSH) MW 76 39 24 6 7 91 215 199
    7 x– Rochester Americans (BUF) NT 76 37 28 6 5 85 216 217
    8 x– Oklahoma City Barons (EDM) WT 76 36 29 2 9 83 239 256
    9 e– Rockford IceHogs (CHI) MW 76 35 32 5 4 79 234 262
    10 e– Utica Comets (VAN) NT 76 35 32 5 4 79 187 216
    11 e– Charlotte Checkers (CAR) WT 76 37 36 1 2 77 228 241
    12 e– Lake Erie Monsters (COL) NT 76 32 33 1 10 75 197 232
    13 e– Hamilton Bulldogs (MTL) NT 76 33 35 1 7 74 182 224
    14 e– San Antonio Rampage (FLA) WT 76 30 37 3 6 69 206 235
    15 e– Iowa Wild (MIN) MW 76 27 36 7 6 67 169 235
    * = Division leaders are seeded 1, 2, and 3 in Conference standings.
    The top eight teams in each conference qualify for the playoffs.

    Schedule and results

    2013–14 Game Log – Regular season

    Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1-point)

    Player statistics

    Skaters

    Note: GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes
    Source:[38]

    Regular Season
    Player GP G A Pts +/- PIM
    Boychuk, ZachZach Boychuk 69 36 38 74 −7 55
    Terry, ChrisChris Terry 70 28 41 69 −13 62
    Palushaj, AaronAaron Palushaj 68 22 36 58 −3 80
    Sutter, BrettBrett Sutter 62 15 29 44 −13 69
    Rask, VictorVictor Rask* 76 16 23 39 -3 20
    Shugg, JustinJustin Shugg 75 16 22 38 -9 26
    Flood, MarkMark Flood 74 13 18 31 −26 27
    Cornet, PhilippePhilippe Cornet† 58 13 15 28 -8 16
    Sutter, BrodyBrody Sutter 69 8 20 28 0 29
    Jordan, MichalMichal Jordan 70 4 21 25 -12 20
    Murphy, RyanRyan Murphy* 22 3 19 22 +7 8
    Biega, DanDan Biega* 65 3 15 18 −6 22
    Blanchard, NicolasNicolas Blanchard 65 7 8 15 -7 111
    Dolan, SeanSean Dolan 50 5 10 15 −6 27
    Marquardt, MattMatt Marquardt 61 6 7 13 −7 64
    Lowe, KeeganKeegan Lowe* 63 2 10 12 -7 86
    Pistilli, MatthewMatthew Pistilli‡ 21 4 7 11 +4 13
    Nemisz, GregGreg Nemisz† 14 3 8 11 +4 4
    Corrente, MatthewMatthew Corrente 72 2 9 11 +9 136
    Rissanen, RasmusRasmus Rissanen 62 3 7 10 −7 91
    Woods, BrendanBrendan Woods* 42 5 3 8 −7 40
    Staal, JaredJared Staal 50 2 5 7 −2 23
    Brace, AdamAdam Brace*‡ 10 2 4 6 +1 2
    Schmitz, BeauBeau Schmitz 23 2 4 6 +1 12
    Jenks, AJAJ Jenks 24 2 3 5 -3 20
    Lindholm, EliasElias Lindholm* 6 1 2 3 −4 4
    Levi, AustinAustin Levi* 10 1 0 1 -2 0
    Di Giuseppe, PhilPhil Di Giuseppe* 3 0 1 1 0 6
    Robertson, DennisDennis Robertson* 1 0 0 0 0 0
    Tolchinsky, SergeySergey Tolchinsky* 1 0 0 0 -1 0
    Bonis, KyleKyle Bonis‡ 3 0 0 0 −2 0
    Malhotra, MannyManny Malhotra‡ 8 0 0 0 −2 17

    †Denotes player spent time with another team before joining team. Stats reflect time with the team only.
    ‡Left the team mid-season
    *Rookie

    Goaltenders

    Note: GP = Games Played; TOI = Time on Ice; W = Wins; L = Losses; GA = Goals Against; GAA = Goals Against Average; SV = Saves; SA = Shots Against; SV% = Save Percentage; SO = Shutouts; G = Goals; A = Assists; PIM = Penalty Minutes
    Source[39]

    Regular Season
    Player GP TOI W L GA GAA SV SA SV% SO G A PIM
    York, AllenAllen York‡ 1 63:58 0 0 1 0.94 28 29 .966 0 0 0 0
    Ward, CamCam Ward 2 118:45 1 1 4 2.02 59 63 .937 0 0 0 0
    Madore, RobRob Madore‡ 1 58:32 0 1 2 2.05 25 27 .926 0 0 0 0
    Peters, JustinJustin Peters 6 363:51 4 1 13 2.14 177 190 .932 0 0 0 2
    Muse, JohnJohn Muse 47 2,656:57 27 18 121 2.73 1,305 1,426 .915 5 0 0 4
    Khudobin, AntonAnton Khudobin 2 118:48 1 1 6 3.03 77 83 .928 0 0 0 0
    Murphy, MikeMike Murphy 19 931:20 4 11 62 3.99 458 520 .881 0 0 0 0
    Deckert, JesseJesse Deckert* 1 36:33 0 0 3 4.92 10 13 .769 0 0 0 0
    DiPietro, RickRick DiPietro 5 220:16 0 4 19 5.18 104 123 .846 0 0 0 2
    Totals 4,601:00 37 37 231 3.01 2,243 2,474 .907 5 0 0 8

    ‡Left the team mid-season
    *Rookie

    Awards and records

    Awards

    Player Award Awarded
    John Muse AHL Player of the Week October 27, 2013[28]

    Milestones

    Player Milestone Reached
    Jesse Deckert 1st AHL Game October 20, 2013[4]
    Adam Brace 1st AHL Goal November 7, 2013[14]

    References

    1. ↑ Dougherty, Pete (July 11, 2013). "AHL alignment keeps Northeast Division intact, has Utica in West". Times Union. Archived from the original on November 16, 2013. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
    2. ↑ "New uniforms unveiled". Charlotte Checkers. June 12, 2013. Archived from the original on November 16, 2013. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
    3. ↑ Holland, Jim (October 10, 2013). "New voice of the Rush". Rapid City Journal. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
    4. 1 2 3 Lakso, Seth (October 20, 2013). "Charlotte Checkers fall flat, get swept by Iowa Wild". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
    5. 1 2 3 Branecky, Paul (October 3, 2013). "Charlotte Checkers 2013–14 Season Preview". Charlotte Checkers. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
    6. ↑ Ziemer, Brad (September 30, 2013). "Trade winds whip in two Hurricanes". The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
    7. ↑ Leone, Tim (September 28, 2013). "David Marshall summons impressive exhibition performance for Hershey Bears". The Patriot-News. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
    8. ↑ "Jets hold onto IceCaps Albert, add Jerome Samson, Andrew Gordon". Winnipeg Free Press. July 6, 2013. Retrieved October 3, 2013.
    9. ↑ http://www.und.com/sports/m-hockey/spec-rel/082413aaa.html
    10. ↑ "Russia's Atlant Snaps Up Hockey Defenseman Sanguinetti". RIA Novosti. July 12, 2013. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
    11. ↑ "Hurricanes agree to 1-year deal with Sutter". ESPN. June 25, 2013. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
    12. ↑ "Hurricanes to assign Sutter to Charlotte". National Hockey League. November 3, 2013. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
    13. ↑ Jamieson, Jim (October 24, 2013). "Malhotra making a difference on and off the ice in Charlotte". The Province. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
    14. 1 2 Lakso, Seth (November 7, 2013). "Checkers fall to the Chicago Wolves 2-1". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
    15. ↑ "Transaction History: 2013–14 Regular Season". American Hockey League. November 2013. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
    16. ↑ Lakso, Seth (November 7, 2013). "Checkers fall to the Chicago Wolves 2-1". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
    17. ↑ http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/09/18/3206886/canes-now-training-camp-roster.html
    18. ↑ Alexander, Chip (July 17, 2013). "Canes' Victor Rask makes strides". The News & Observer. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
    19. ↑ Branecky, Paul (August 21, 2013). "Training Camp Set to Begin Sept. 23". Charlotte Checkers. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
    20. 1 2 "Friday's college and local roundup: Hampton women spike Norfolk State in MEAC volleyball opener". Daily Press. September 27, 2013. Archived from the original on October 9, 2013. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
    21. ↑ "Four Admirals net goals in preseason win". The Virginian-Pilot. September 29, 2013. Archived from the original on October 9, 2013. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
    22. 1 2 "AHL: Charlotte Checkers fall at San Antonio". The Charlotte Observer. November 2, 2013. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
    23. 1 2 "Charlotte Checkers road winning streak ends". The Charlotte Observer. October 31, 2013. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
    24. 1 2 "Charlotte Checkers open 2013 AHL season with win over Oklahoma City". The Charlotte Observer. October 5, 2013. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
    25. ↑ Baldwin, Michael (October 5, 2013). "OKC Barons drop second in a row to Charlotte". The Oklahoman. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
    26. 1 2 Lakso, Seth (November 6, 2013). "Gameday: Charlotte Checkers vs. Chicago Wild". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
    27. 1 2 Alexander, Chip (October 27, 2013). "Ex-Islander Rick DiPietro gets new life with tryout for Charlotte Checkers". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
    28. 1 2 3 "Muse named CCM/AHL Player of the Week". American Hockey League. October 28, 2013. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
    29. 1 2 "AHL: Charlotte Checkers suffer shootout loss to Rockford". The Charlotte Observer. October 26, 2013. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
    30. ↑ Staple, Arthur (October 26, 2013). "Rick DiPietro gets minor-league look with Hurricanes". Newsday. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
    31. 1 2 "John Muse, Charlotte Checkers shut down Chicago Wolves". The Charlotte Observer. November 16, 2013. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
    32. ↑ "IceHogs Comeback Falls Short". WREX. November 1, 2013. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
    33. ↑ Branecky, Paul (November 6, 2013). "Carolina Assigns Elias Lindholm to Charlotte, Recalls Chris Terry". Charlotte Checkers. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
    34. 1 2 3 Branecky, Paul (November 14, 2013). "Checkers Hit Low Point in Loss to Hershey". Charlotte Checkers. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
    35. ↑ Alexander, Chip (November 6, 2013). "Lindholm to Checkers; Terry recalled". The News & Observer. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
    36. ↑ Lakso, Seth (November 10, 2013). "Wolves give Checkers a case of déjà vu". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
    37. ↑ "2013–14 Regular Season – Conference". American Hockey League. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
    38. ↑ "Skaters – 2013–2014 Regular Season – Charlotte Checkers". American Hockey League. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
    39. ↑ "Goalies – 2013–14 Regular Season – Charlotte Checkers". American Hockey League. Retrieved August 5, 2015.

    External links

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