February 25, 2012; Raleigh, NC, USA; Carolina Hurricanes goalie Justin Peters (35) looks back after giving up a 3rd period goal to Florida Panthers left wing Wojtek Wolski (not pictured) at the RBC center. The Panthers defeated the Hurricanes 3-2 in a shoot out. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

The Charlotte Checkers headed into tonight’s game looking for their third straight win overall and against the Oklahoma City Barons.  Despite Brett Sutter putting the Checkers on the board early on, the Barons went on to dominate the Checkers 7-3.

Brett Sutter opened the scoring up for the Checkers at 7:39 after Justin Shugg created the power play opportunity to earn himself and Chris Terry the assists. However, the Barons answered right back as Philippe Cornet was able to find a way past the Checkers defense and put the puck past Peters to tie the game at one a piece. Just one minute later the Checkers found a way to regain their lead, Luke Pither finding his way, reinstating the Checkers lead before the halfway point of the first frame. The two teams battled back and forth, the Barons tying thigns back up with just under five minutes remaining, and then regained the lead off of a power play goal after Shugg went to the box for hooking.

The second period opened up with a big hit from Tim Wallace on Colten Teubert, causing Teubert and Bellemore to tussle, instilling a 5-on-3 advantage for Oklahoma, an advantage that pushed them further ahead. With the two-man advantage Johnathan Cheechoo capitalized just a few seconds in, putting the Barons up 4-2 early on in the second. It was at this point that John Muse would enter the game to relieve Justin Peters, in hopes of preserving the game and keeping any shot the Checkers had in winning. With eleven minutes remaining the Barons netted another goal thanks to Rajala and another less than a minute later from VandeVelde.  Wit just over half of the period remaining the Checkers trailed 6-2.  Chris Terry was able to pull them a goal closer as he capitalized on the power play, but that would be the final goal of the period, sending the Checkers into the locker room with a 3-goal deficit to overcome.

The Checkers were able to hold the Barons off for the first part of the period, but at 8:16 Marc Arcobello dug the hole even deeper for Charlotte to climb out of. The Checkers battled hard and tried to find a way to get the pucks to the back of the net, but the Barons were prepared and dominated the scoreboard as they defeated the Checkers by a final margin of 7-3.

The Checkers next game is February 9 for Charlotte’s Pink in the Rink where they will host the San Antonio Rampage.

Game Notes…

• Goaltending: Justin Peters allowed four goals by him before being replaced by John Muse in the second period. Muse went on to allow three, but stopped the other 13 shots he faced. Meanwhile, Niko Hovinen allowed just three goals to push the Barons to a 7-3 victory.
• Shots on Goal: Charlotte 8-13-10 (31) Oklahoma 18-12-7 (37)
• Power Play Opportunities: Charlotte 2/4 Oklahoma 2/6
• Three Stars of the Game:

1. Jonathan Cheechoo (Oklahoma)
2. Mark Arcobello (Oklahoma)
3. Philippe Cornet (Oklahoma)

Sep 19, 2011; Buffalo, NY, USA; Carolina Hurricanes center Zach Boychuk (11) in play against the Buffalo Sabres at the First Niagara Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

Yesterday the Carolina Hurricanes announced that they had placed Zach Boychuk on waivers with the intent of re-assigning him to the Charlotte Checkers. Today, the word spread through social media sites that Boychuk had been claimed off of waivers by the Pittsburgh Penguins, presumably to fill a spot on star forward Evgeni Malkin’s line.

Boychuk first came to the Carolina organization in 2008-2009 season.  He appeared in just two games for the Hurricanes that season along with two for the AHL affiliate Albany River Rats, recording no points after finishing the WHL season with the Lethridge Hurricanes. Overall Boychuk appeared in 71 games with Carolina, posting 7 goals and 11 assists.  For the Charlotte Checkers/Albany River Rats, he appeared in 213 games posting 94 goals and 104 assists.

If in fact the Penguins were to place Boychuk on waivers, they would claim him back and have him re-join the Checkers. However, for now fans are going to have to endure seeing him in the black and yellow uniforms as part of the Pittsburgh Penguins organization.

Sep 19, 2011; Buffalo, NY, USA; Carolina Hurricanes center Zach Boychuk (11) in play against the Buffalo Sabres at the First Niagara Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

After having the past week or so off due to the AHL All Star game, the Charlotte Checkers look to get back in action as they head to Oklahoma City to face the Barons.  The two are meeting for the fifth time this season, the series being split at 2 games a piece, the most recent win being a 4-3 shootout victory in favor of Charlotte.

Prior to the All Star break the Checkers had overcome a 2-0 deficit against the Abbotsford Heat to come out victorious with a final score of 5-3 against the best defensive team in the American Hockey League. The win ended Abbotsford’s five-game win streak and put Charlotte back on the winning side of things after dropping the first game to the Heat 4-3 the night before.

The Barons are coming off of a 4-3 victory over the Rockford Ice Hogs thanks to goals from Josh Green, Phillipe Cornet, Mark Arcobello and Colten Teubert.

Justin Peters is expected to be in net against the Barons after making a spectacular performance in the All Star game, winning the Goaltending Award in the Skills Competition. Peters is 16-9-1 on the season.

Transactions:

Today the Carolina Hurricanes organization announced that they have placed Zach Boychuk on waivers with the intent of having him re-join the Charlotte Checkers. Boychuk still holds the leading scorer title on the team, despite being with Carolina since January 11. He appeared in the team’s opening night alongside Alexandre Semin and Eric Staal, but sat out the past four games as a healthy scratch. Should he clear waivers by going unclaimed by any of the other 29 teams in the league, he would be eligible to play against Oklahoma.

The Edmonton Oilers re-assigned Yann Danis to Oklahoma City. He appeared in one game with the Oilers, stopping all 14 shots he saw in 40 minutes of work on January 22 against San Jose.