ONE DOWN, ONE TO GO

     VERSUS    

 

CHECKERS BLANK CYCLONES TO FORCE GAME 7

Munce Earns Second Shutout Of Series In 3-0 Win Over Cincinnati

The Charlotte Checkers entered Tuesday night facing elimination. One stunning performance in between the pipes by Ryan Munce and three different Checkers scoring goals and Charlotte will host a Game Seven battle at the Time Warner Arena Wednesday night.

Cincinnati entered the game Tuesday night needing just one win to advance to the Conference finals, but the Checkers put three behind Cyclones starter, Jeremy Smith (25 saves, 29-19-1)  to even the conference semifinal series at 3-3.

The Cyclones threw shots at Munce (25 saves, 32-18-2) from every angle, but the Mississauga, Ontario native was up to the challenge and blanked the visitors for the second time in the series. 

Kenny Roche notched what proved to be the game-winning goal very early into the contest. He also would add an assist on Andrew Carroll’s fourth of the playoffs. Randy Rowe also scored for the home team, while Wolf Pack defenseman Julien Brouillette, on loan to Charlotte for the playoffs, chipped in with two assists.

With the win, the Checkers improve their home record to 4-1 in the playoffs.

The Checkers opened the scoring on their first shot of the game just 2:24 into the first period. After Cincinnati put considerable pressure on Munce, the Checkers responded. Matt Stefanishion laid a big hit along the boards freeing the puck up for Trevor Hendrikx. Hendrikx then took it to the net and fed Roche who tapped it in from the top of the crease for his third goal of the playoffs. Roche’s goal was the Checkers first of the game after seven by the Cyclones.

Early in the second, Charlotte was handed a 5-on-3 man advantage when Cincinnati was assessed a tripping penalty to Dustin Sproat and then a delay of game infraction put forward Mark Van Guilder in the box as well. The Checkers worked the puck down low and back to the point. The Cyclones didn’t make it easy for their hosts blocking several shot attempts and keeping Charlotte to the outside, maintaining a 1-0 game.

Cincinnati forward Barret Ehgoetz was called for a goaltender interference penalty late in the period and the Checkers went to work on another power play. Aaron Slattengren grabbed the puck down low and fed Brouillette who fired a one-timer from the left point. Rowe was in the slot and tipped the puck down and past Smith who on the replay didn’t appear to see it through the traffic in front of him. The power-play goal came at 18:50 of the second period and put the Checkers up 2-0.

Early in the third, the puck took a strange bounce and landed on the stick of Michel Leveille who fired a shot at Smith from the slot but the rookie netminder scrambled to make an impressive pad save.

Munce then responded to his Cincinnati counterpart when he did the splits and gloved a Jimmy Kilpatrick slap shot from the high slot.

With less than seven minutes to play in the third period, Carroll broke in alone on Smith, faked the shot, went to the backhand but was denied by Smith’s left arm.

Charlotte then took a 3-0 lead with 6:14 to play when Brouillette entered the zone on a 3-on-1 and launched a pass cross-ice to Carroll. The rookie took the pass on the right-wing side and fired a wrist shot which deflected off Smith’s shoulder and into the top corner for his fourth of the postseason.

Munce then shut the door for the remaining six minutes and the Checkers walked away with a 3-0 victory, setting the stage for Game 7 tomorrow in Charlotte.

Charlotte (6-4) will host Cincinnati for Game 7 tomorrow in Charlotte (7 p.m.).

Tickets are now on sale and information can be obtained by calling 704-342-4-ICE or visiting www.gocheckers.com/playoffs.

  
GAME SUMMARY and OFFICIAL SCORERS SHEET

 

 NOTES:

* Ryan Munce leads the ECHL with two postseason shutouts

* Aaron Slattengren leads the Checkers with 10 points (2g, 8a) in the playoffs while Mike Taylor leads the team with five goals

* Matt Schepke is on a four-game point streak (4g, 2a)

* Charlotte is 12-2 in its last 14 home games

* Charlotte clinched its first division title and #1 conference seed in franchise history heading into the playoffs

* Ryan Munce led the ECHL in save percentage (.913), was third in wins (26) and was named ECHL Goaltender of the Month for March

* Andrew Carroll led the Checkers this season with 30 goals, including six game winners
 

 
LINES:

Taylor – Leveille © – Slattengren
Rowe – Bartlett – Roche 
Doig – Carroll – Stefanishion
Marshall

Schaefer – Brouillette  
Nightingale – Reynolds
Hendrikx – Ward

Munce
Zemlak

(Assistant Captains Bold and Italicized)

SCRATCHES:
Dave Urquhart – Healthy Scratch
Mike Berube – Healthy Scratch
Brock Bradford – Healthy Scratch 
Matt Schepke – Upper Body Injury 
Daniel Tkaczuk – Upper Body Injury

THREE STARS

1. CHR – R. Munce 
2. CHR – K. Roche 
3. CHR – J. Brouillette

ON-ICE OFFICALS:

Referee:
Keith Kaval (20)

Linesmen:
Mathieu Chenier (71)
Mike Hamilton (80)

NEXT GAME:

GAME SEVEN…need we say more? Jason Shaya and Chris Snavely with the call from the Time Warner Cable Arena starting at 7pm.

For live in-game coverage from your cell phone or computer, we’ll have the action for you at www.twitter.com/howlingstoday.

You can always buy tickets for any Checkers game home or away at Ticketmaster.com.

Should you want to watch this very exciting team from the comfort of your computer chair, all Checkers games are available on B2Live.

SCORE-SHEET:

Cincinnati Cyclones 0 At Charlotte Checkers 3 – Status: Final

Apr 27, 2010 – Time Warner Cable Arena

Cincinnati 0 0 0 – 0

Charlotte 1 1 1 – 3

1st Period-1, Charlotte, Roche 3 (Hendrikx), 2:24. Penalties-Stefanishion Chr (hooking), 9:35; Del Monte Cin (slashing ), 15:19; Doig Chr (slashing ), 17:37.

2nd Period-2, Charlotte, Rowe 1 (Slattengren, Brouillette), 18:50 (pp). Penalties-Sproat Cin (tripping), 0:11; Van Guilder Cin (delay of game), 2:04; Slattengren Chr (slashing ), 4:58; Ehgoetz Cin (interference on the goalkeeper), 17:24.

3rd Period-3, Charlotte, Carroll 4 (Brouillette, Roche), 13:46. Penalties-Stefanishion Chr (roughing), 4:54; Sheahan Cin (holding), 10:17; Benson Cin (unsportsmanlike conduct, unsportsmanlike conduct), 16:36; Stefanishion Chr (unsportsmanlike conduct), 16:36; Ehgoetz Cin (roughing), 18:47; Hendrikx Chr (double – roughing), 18:47.

Shots on Goal-Cincinnati 12-7-6-25. Charlotte 5-13-10-28.

Power Play Opportunities-Cincinnati 0 of 5; Charlotte 1 of 7.

Goalies-Cincinnati, Smith 6-4-1-0 (28 shots-25 saves). Charlotte, Munce 6-4-0-0 (25 shots-25 saves).

A-2,456

TO QUOTE DARTH VADER, “IMPRESSIVE!”

     VERSUS    

CHECKERS BLANK CYCLONES, 5-0, TO EVEN SERIES

Munce Stops 25 For First Postseason Shutout; Bartlett Nets Two

The Charlotte Checkers jumped out to an early lead and didn’t look back, running over the Cincinnati Cyclones, 5-0, in Game 2 of the American Conference Semifinals on Saturday evening.

The win evens the best-of-seven series at 1-1. The next three games to be played in Cincinnati Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. During the regular season, During the regular season, the Checkers were 18-13-2-3 on the road. In Cincinnati, the Checkers dropped their first visit to the Queen City 4-1 on January 27th and then came back to win on a Julien Brouillette goal, 2-1 on February 26th.

For the Checkers, it was a balanced effort all around. Between the pipes, Ryan Munce (4-2-0) stopped 25 shots for his first career playoff shutout. On the offensive side, Mike Bartlett potted his first two goals of the postseason. Mike Taylor, who had just four goals during the regular season, scored to extend his point streak to six games and tallied for his fifth goal of the post season. Right Winger David Marshall added a goal and an assist to up his goal streak to four games.

Meanwhile for the Cyclones, rookie netminder Jeremy Smith (4-2-1) had a very shaky night allowing some soft goals while stopping 33 of 38 shots for Cincinnati.

The Checkers scored first for the fourth time in six games this postseason on Bartlett’s first of the evening. Marshall chipped the puck to Bartlett who skated out from the corner and backhanded a shot by Smith over the left pad at 4:19 of the first period.

Early in the second frame, Matt Stefanishion doubled the Checker advantage when he beat two Cincinnati defenders and fired a wrist shot high over Smith’s glove. The play came as a result of quick thinking and a quicker outlet pass from Jared Nightingale in his first game since being sent back to Charlotte after the end of the Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL) season.

The Checkers grew their lead to 3-0 just 1:25 later after Dustin Sproat was sent to solitary confinement for Holding. On the resulting power play, Julien Brouillette took a pass at the blueline and fired a low slap shot at the net. Smith initially stopped the shot with his right pad, but the puck rebounded away from the Cyclone cage protector and right to Bartlett on the doorstep to whack the rebound into the top corner for his second of the game.

If there’s one thing you can say about this Cyclones team, they don’t quit. Cincinnati showed some signs of life midway through the period and went put pressure on Munce who made several impressive saves to keep the visitors off the board.

Just sixteen seconds after Bartlett took a Slashing call at 6:17 of the third period, Taylor forced a turnover in the Cyclones end. The Checkers’ forward then broke in alone on Smith and beat him with a nifty backhanded shot that went to the far side and past Smith to make it 4-0. The goal was Taylor’s team-leading fifth of the playoffs.

Munce continued to make his case for a promotion to the next level with his solid play stopping a great Cincinnati scoring chance on the power play before denying Cyclones leading scorer, Barret Ehgoetz, with an acrobatic kick save.

Any coach would attest to the fact that their team can get a major boost from play in net, the Checkers did just that feeding off their goaltender’s strong play and put strong offensive zone pressure on the Cyclones forcing Cincinnati to take costly back-to-back penalties.

On the ensuing 5-on-3 power play, Michel Leveille’s impressive backhanded saucer pass over to Marshall early in the first part of the power play, allowed the Buffalo, Minnesota native to fire a bullet of a slap shot off the crossbar and in on the short side.

Munce shut the door for the remaining seven minutes and the Checkers cruised to a 5-0 victory.

Charlotte (4-2) will host Cincinnati again on Tuesday, Apr. 27 and Wednesday, Apr. 28, if necessary. Ticket information can be obtained by calling 704-342-4-ICE or visiting www.gocheckers.com/playoffs.

 

GAME SUMMARY and OFFICIAL SCORERS SHEET

 

NOTES:

* Charlotte is 11-2 in its last 13 home games

* Mike Taylor (5g, 2a) and David Marshall (4g, 3a) lead the Checkers with seven points each in the playoffs

* Taylor has a point in each of the six playoff games thus far while Marshall has scored in four straight games

* Michel Leveille is currently on a five-game point streak (1g, 4a)

* Charlotte clinched its first division title and #1 conference seed in franchise history heading into the playoffs

* The Checkers had the four largest crowds in the ECHL this season

* Ryan Munce led the ECHL in save percentage (.913), was third in wins (26) and was named ECHL Goaltender of the Month for March

* Andrew Carroll led the Checkers this season with 30 goals, including six game winners.

LINES:

Taylor – Leveille © – Slattengren
Roche – Bartlett – Marshall
Doig – Carroll – Roche
Stefanishion

Schaeffer – Brouillette 
Nightingale – Reynolds
Hendrikx – Ward

Munce
Zemlak

(Assistant Captains Bold and Italicized)

SCRATCHES:
Mike Berube – Healthy Scratch
Matt Schepke – Healthy Scratch
Brock Bradford – Healthy Scratch
Dave Urquhart – Healthy Scratch
Daniel Tkuczak – Healthy Scratch

THREE STARS

1. CHR – R. Munce
2. CHR – M. Bartlett
3. CHR – D. Marshall

ON-ICE OFFICALS:

Referee:
Jarrod Ragusin (28)

Linesmen:
Mathieu Chenier (71)
Paul Reid (97)

NEXT GAME:

In a great move for fans, the Checkers are sending both Jason Shaya and Chris Snavely to call Games Three, Four and Five on the road starting Wednesday night at 7:30pm.

For live in-game coverage from your cell phone or computer, we’ll have the action for you at www.twitter.com/howlingstoday.

You can always buy tickets for any Checkers game home or away at Ticketmaster.com.

Should you want to watch this very exciting team from the comfort of your computer chair, all Checkers games are available on B2Live.

 

SCORE-SHEET

Cincinnati Cyclones 0 At Charlotte Checkers 5 – Status: Final

Apr 17, 2010 – Time Warner Cable Arena

Cincinnati 0 0 0 – 0

Charlotte 1 2 2 – 5

1st Period-1, Charlotte, Bartlett 1 (Marshall), 4:19. Penalties-Ortiz Cin (high-sticking), 6:14; Roche Chr (hooking), 18:25.

2nd Period-2, Charlotte, Stefanishion 2 (Nightingale), 3:33. 3, Charlotte, Bartlett 2 (Brouillette, Roche), 4:58 (pp). Penalties-Sproat Cin (holding), 4:00; Carroll Chr (interference), 8:08; Eddy Cin (unsportsmanlike conduct), 15:27; Lacroix Cin (boarding), 15:27; Nightingale Chr (unsportsmanlike conduct), 15:27; Motherwell Cin (roughing), 18:06; Doig Chr (double – roughing), 18:06; Sproat Cin (fighting – major), 20:00; Carroll Chr (fighting – major), 20:00.

3rd Period-4, Charlotte, Taylor 5   6:33 (sh). 5, Charlotte, Marshall 4 (Leveille, Doig), 12:41 (pp). Penalties-Bartlett Chr (slashing ), 6:17; Benson Cin (double – roughing, misconduct), 10:31; Del Monte Cin (slashing ), 11:38; Del Monte Cin (slashing , fighting – major), 15:21; Nightingale Chr (fighting – major), 15:21; Roche Chr (interference), 16:42.

Shots on Goal-Cincinnati 6-12-7-25. Charlotte 11-17-10-38.

Power Play Opportunities-Cincinnati 0 of 5; Charlotte 2 of 6.

Goalies-Cincinnati, Smith 4-2-1-0 (38 shots-33 saves). Charlotte, Munce 4-2-0-0 (25 shots-25 saves).

A-3,015

CLOSE OUT SPECIALS

      VERSUS      

“It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.”

As cliché as that phrase might sound, and it’s been used too often, it truly is the best phrase to sum up the entire New York Rangers organization 2009-2010 campaigns in both Hartford and with the parent club.

Each of their season’s came to a close on Sunday as neither club made the post season despite both clubs playing solid hockey at the end of the season. The Wolf Pack won on the road in Bridgeport in their final game of the season with a 2-1 victory, while the New York Rangers suffered a shootout loss on the road to Philadelphia by the same score.

But even winning eight of the team’s last eleven games (8-3-0-0) was of no consolation for Wolf Pack head coach Ken Gernander. “It was a good effort tonight; a good win. But I guess it was pretty bitter sweet.”

Forward Dane Byers said, “We showed up tonight and it was nice to get the win before a long summer.” But ultimately the emotional reality hasn’t been lost on the Pack’s first year team Captain. “We’re still disappointed that we didn’t make the playoffs. I think if we’d have gotten in we could have made some noise. We were playing our best hockey as of late other than that little hiccup against Worcester.” He said. “So the boys can be happy the way the season ended. A lot of the guys learned a lot of things. It’s a long season and you can’t let up in any games. Every game means something and you can’t take any of the m for granted.”

Dealing with the sting of defeat won’t be easy for Gernander who has never known what it’s like not to be playing in the playoffs even back to his junior days in Mocton. “Who knows how long you can take it with you or what you’re learn from it or gleam from it. But I guess time will tell.”

The Pack and Sound Tigers traded goals in the first period.

As it has all season long, the Pack surrendered the games first tally when Jeremy Reich’s backhander hit the glove of starter Chad Johnson (30 saves, 24-18-2) and flipped in behind him.  It was Reich’s 12th of the season.

Hartford got it back just 59 seconds after Bridgeport starter Nathan Lawson (23 saves, 16-16-2) took a Delay-of-Game call for swatting a puck out of the air and into the net behind him.

At 11:57 Sean Bentivoglio lost the puck to Corey Potter in the high slot. Potter flipped it behind him to Ilkka Heikkinen who blasted the puck. Byers then redirected the puck for his 25th of the season.

Heikkinen has previously publically stated that he will not return to Hartford or the Rangers next season. 

It was a pretty lifeless second frame, but things certainly picked up in the third.

Nothing much was happening action wise for either squad until Jon Gleed put a his stick into Paul Crowder and went off to the box for a hooking call at 3:05 and the Pack power play almost gave up it’s 13th shorthander of the season when Sean Bentivoglio broke in on Johnson. The Calgary native rose to the occasion and snuffed out the threat.

At 6:01, Ryan Garlock would get the game winner when he beat Jake Gannon back to the front of the Sound Tigers net.

“(Chris McKelvie) was taking the puck wide and he kind of neck-and-neck with their defenseman so I just figured that the puck was going to make it to the net. So I went to the front looking for a rebound or something like that.” Garlock said. “As I was stopping the puck ended up bouncing off my skate and felt and saw it go in. So it was just a matter of getting to the net hard and hoping for a good thing to happen there.”

“I don’t think we have (Garlock) the most glamorous assignments. But he worked hard,” Gernander said in assessing the sixth year pro. “He’s a pretty determined kid. He had some offensive success at the end of the season there with the departure of a few other guys.”

Gernander has been impressed with McKelvie. “He’s a guy who came in on at the end of the season there and had opportunity to get him into the games and he worked hard and made the most of it.”

But Bridgeport isn’t heading into the off season because they quit and lay down when they trail. They’re a group of hard workers and when Brodie Dupont took an interference call just 15 seconds later, the Sound Tigers looked for the equalizer in their second power play. Tyler Haskins and Bentivoglio had golden opportunities with an empty net in front but both missed the net.

Johnson was strong in keeping the puck out as the shots began to pour in.

“(Johnson) probably got a little more comfortable the more playing time; a little more stable environment,” Gernander said. “I think as far as team defense everything goes hand in hand. The more confidence the goalie has the more confident the people are in front of him to make plays. It’s a team game; a team thing. I think one enhances the others.”

Jared Nightingale challenged the penalty killers to rise to the occasion one last time when he got sent off into seclusion for an interference call with just 4:55 remaining in regulation. They looked strong and killed it off despite being the team’s biggest Achilles Heel all season long.

“I would have liked to have seen a little more of (the effort on the penalty kill) through the course of the season,” Gernander stated. “It was a problem a problem all year long. We tried addressing it. Who knows what it was?”

The Pack not only got the win in the game, but also won the season series which clinched for them another GEICO Connecticut Cup. Bridgeport had eleven points on a 5-4-1-0 record while Hartford had twenty posting a 5-3-0-2 record against their intrastate and franchise rival.

Gernander summed it all up. “There’s probably a lot of (positives) and some of it you may be able to see until the start of next season or some time. But at some point in time through the course of next season we say, ‘Boy that guy has come a long way from where he was last year. For some of the younger guys especially it seems to sink in the off season for whatever reason they have some time to decompress a little bit and allows some of these messages to sink in and they’re probably better prepared and have a fuller understanding of what it means to be a professional and you see the that amount of progress throughout the course of an offseason. We’ll let the guys play next season for a bit and see how much they’ve improved.”

Brian Ring has the Hartford story at Hartfordwolfpack.com while the extremely talented Michael Fornabaio has the Bridgeport view from the locker room at CTPost.com.

 

GAME SUMMARY and OFFICIAL SCORERS SHEET

 

NOTES:

* If you have yet to sign up for our new service to our readers on Twitter, you’re really missing out on the most extensive coverage of the Wolf Pack and Checkers you’ll find anywhere. In addition to keeping you posted here on all major news stories, visit www.twitter.com/howlingstoday for in-game coverage of both Wolf Pack and Checkers games. Please “Follow” us on Twitter.

* Well at least they didn’t finish last in penalty killing. The Wolf Pack finish 28th of 29 but on the bright side, led the AHL with 18 shorthanded scores. On the other side of the ledger, after leading in the PP for the better part of the first half of the season, the Pack finish 14th overall wit ha 17.4% effectiveness rate.They tied for 10th in surrendering shorthanded goals with 12.

* In terms of overall ranking, the Pack finish a disappointing 20th out of 29 with 83 points (36-33-6-5). They also did manage to finish strong and were over .500 for the thirteenth straight season.

* Attendance wise, the sales staff hit their numbers for this season and while they were only down two people per game from 4,190 to 4,188 this season, the team continued to be headed south attendance wise. But, given how lousy the economy was this season, it’s still quite the accomplishment to even be that close. The league average this season was 5,100 compared to 5,115 last year. Hershey led the league in attendance, as usual, with 9,520.

 

LINES:

Byers © – Newbury – Ambϋhl
Soryal – Dupont – Crowder
Brashear – Garlock – Grachev
McKelvie

Heikkinen – Baldwin
Williams – Potter
Brouillette – Nightingale
Dowzak

Johnson
Talbot

 

(Assistant Captains Bold and Italicized)

 

SCRATCHES:

P.A. Parenteau – Recall NY Rangers
Dale Weise – Recall NY Rangers
Anders Eriksson – Recall NY Rangers
Matt Zaba – Healthy Scratch
Derek Couture – Upper Body injury – Season over
Devin DiDiomete – Lower Body injury – Season over
Bobby Sanguinetti – Lower Body injury – Season over
Steven Valiquette – Hand Injury – Season over
Michael Sauer – Shoulder – Season over
Mike Hoffman – Shoulder – Season over
Brent Henley – Knee – Season over

 

THREE STARS:

1. HFD – R. Garlock
2. BRI – J. Reich
3. HFD – C. Johnson

 

ON-ICE OFFICIALS:

Referee:
Jamie Koharski (84)

Linesmen:
Luke Galvin (2)
David Spannaus (8)

 

NEXT GAME:

Just because the season is over does not mean that we’re over. Training camp is in September, but we’ll be keeping you up to date with any and all information that we come up with all throughout the summer.

Season Tickets can be purchased for the 2010 – 2011 season. For Ticket information call (860) 548-2000.

Too far away or can’t make it? Listen live at WTIC.com or from your cell phone or computer visit www.twitter.com/howlingstoday for complete live in-game coverage.

 

SCORE-SHEET:

Hartford Wolf Pack 2 At Bridgeport Sound Tigers 1 – Status: Final

Apr 11, 2010 – Arena at Harbor Yard

Hartford 1 0 1 – 2

Bridgeport 1 0 0 – 1

1st Period-1, Bridgeport, Reich 12 (Joensuu), 1:34. 2, Hartford, Byers 25 (Heikkinen, Potter), 11:57 (pp). Penalties-Lawson Bri (delay of game), 10:58.

2nd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Brashear Hfd (hooking), 12:30; Flood Bri (holding), 17:06.

3rd Period-3, Hartford, Garlock 7 (McKelvie, Nightingale), 6:01. Penalties-Gleed Bri (hooking), 3:05; Dupont Hfd (interference), 6:16; Nightingale Hfd (interference), 14:05.

Shots on Goal-Hartford 9-11-5-25. Bridgeport 11-12-8-31.

Power Play Opportunities-Hartford 1 of 3; Bridgeport 0 of 3.

Goalies-Hartford, Johnson 24-18-2 (31 shots-30 saves). Bridgeport, Lawson 16-16-3 (25 shots-23 saves).

A-6,060

MEANWHILE IN THE CHARLOTTE PLAYOFFS:

     VERSUS    

CHARLOTTE DOWNS TOLEDO IN OVERTIME TO WIN SERIES

Tkaczuk Scores OT Winner To Edge Walleye 4-3, Advance To Next Round

The Charlotte Checkers scored a third-period goal to force overtime and then made good in the extra frame as they edged the Toledo Walleye, 4-3, to win the series 3-1 and advance to the conference semifinals for the first time since 2006-07.

Daniel Tkaczuk potted two goals, including the game winner while David Marshall chipped in with a goal and two assists. Tkaczuk now has all three game-winning tallies for the Checkers in these playoffs. Charlotte was playing without the services of captain Michel Leveille who sat out with an injury.

The Checkers opened the scoring just three minutes into the game on a goal by Matt Scheke. Marshall picked up the puck on the right wing wall and fed a pass between the defenseman and goaltender. Schepke took the puck off his skates and tucked it home for the early 1-0 lead.

Toledo evened the score on the power play midway through the period when a Derek Nesbitt point shot was redirected in front and snuck past Checkers goaltender Ryan Munce.

Charlotte would take its second lead of the game 2:13 later while on a 5-on-3 power play. Aaron Slattengren, parked on the right wing wall, fed a pass to the point to Mike Bartlett who one-timed it on net. Marshall picked up the rebound and found the back of the net from a bad angle to take a 2-1 lead.

With less than two minutes to play in the period, Matt Stefanishion made it a 3-1 game when he streaked in from the blueline, grabbed a pass from Slattengren and fired a shot into the top corner past Walleye netminder Jordan Pearce.

Toledo then scored its first of three straight goals with 2.5 seconds to play in the first frame when Scooter Smith redirected a shot past Munce in front of the net.

Munce and Toledo forward Adam Keefe engaged in an altercation at the buzzer and the Checkers were somehow handed an extra roughing penalty to start the second period.

On the ensuing power play, Chris Robertson dished the puck back to Simon Danis-Pepin who one-timed a slap shot into the back of the net.

Minutes later, Toledo forward Derek Nesbitt broke in alone on the Charlotte net and Munce made a beautiful pad save to keep it a 3-3 game.

With four minutes to play in the second period, Walleye defenseman J.C. Sawyer grabbed the puck at the blueline and pump-faked a shot to drop a Checkers defender to the ice. He then carried it around and let go a wrist shot that beat Munce between the legs to make a 4-3 Toledo lead.

Early in the third period, Daniel Tkaczuk found a rebound from a Trevor Hendrikx point shot but missed a wide open net. Tkaczuk then made good, seconds later, when he stuffed home another rebound, this time off a shot from the slot by Slattengren, to tie the game at 4-4.

Charlotte had many scoring chances throughout the rest of the third period but Pearce turned everything aside and the two teams headed for sudden-death overtime.

Early in the overtime period, the Checkers were assessed a penalty and Toledo went to work on the power play. The Walleye had several good scoring chances, however Munce shut the door to keep it a tie game.

Minutes later, the Checkers went to work on a power play of their own. Steve Ward made a pass across the blueline to Marshall who took a shot toward the net. Tkaczuk was parked at the side of the net and tipped it home for the game-winning and series-clinching goal.

The Checkers will now host the winner of the South Carolina/Cincinnati series on Friday.

Charlotte (3-1) will host the winner of the South Carolina/Cincinnati series on Friday at 7 p.m.. Ticket information can be obtained by calling 704-342-4-ICE or visiting www.gocheckers.com/playoffs.

 

GAME SUMMARY and OFFICIAL SCORERS SHEET

 

NOTES:

* The Checkers advance to the conference semifinals for the first time in three seasons

* Charlotte clinched its first division title and #1 conference seed in franchise history heading into the playoffs

* The Checkers had the four largest crowds in the ECHL this season

* Charlotte is 10-1 in its last 11 home games

* Ryan Munce led the ECHL in save percentage (.913), was third in wins (26) and was named ECHL Goaltender of the Month for March

* Andrew Carroll led the Checkers this season with 30 goals, including six game winners.

 

LINES:

Doig – Taylor – Slattengren
Rowe – Tkaczuk – Stefanishion
Roche – Carroll – Bartlett
Marshall – Schepke

Urquhart – Schaeffer
Ward – Reynolds
Hendrikx – (Bartlett)

Munce
Zemlak

 

(Assistant Captains Bold and Italicized)

 

SCRATCHES:
Mike Berube – Healthy Scratch
Jean-Philipp Chabot – Healthy Scratch
Brock Bradford – Healthy Scratch
Michel Leveille – Undisclosed Injury
Tysen Dowzak – Recall in Hartford
Matt Ford – Recall in Lake Erie
Julien Brouillette – Recall in Hartford
Ethan Graham – Recall in Texas
Chris Snavely – Wrist Surgery – Season over
Trevor Glass – Back Surgery – Season over
Codey Burki – Undisclosed – Season over
Chris Chappell – Shoulder Surgery – Season over

 

THREE STARS

1. CHR – D. Tkaczuk
2. CHR – D. Marshall
3. CHR – A. Slattengren

 

ON-ICE OFFICALS:

Referee:
Nick Krebsbach (8)

Linesmen:
Ray King (39)
Terry Wicklum (98)

 

NEXT GAME:

The second round of the Kelly Cup playoffs begin on Friday, April 16th against the winner of game five between Cincinnati and South Carolina. Jason Shaya will have all the action with the irrepressible Chris Snavely alongside at 7pm.

For live in-game coverage from your cell phone or computer, we’ll have the action for you at www.twitter.com/howlingstoday.

You can always buy tickets for any Checkers game home or away at Ticketmaster.com.

Should you want to watch this very exciting team from the comfort of your computer chair, all Checkers games are available on B2Live.

 

SCORE-SHEET:

Toledo Walleye 4 At Charlotte Checkers 5 (OT) – Status: Final OT

Apr 11, 2010 – Time Warner Cable Arena

Toledo 2 2 0 0 – 4

Charlotte 3 0 1 1 – 5

1st Period-1, Charlotte, Schepke 1 (Carroll, Marshall), 3:10. 2, Toledo, Nesbitt 3 (Danis-Pepin, Piche), 12:35 (pp). 3, Charlotte, Marshall 2 (Slattengren, Bartlett), 14:48 (pp). 4, Charlotte, Stefanishion 1 (Taylor, Slattengren), 18:34. 5, Toledo, Smith 1 (Hedden), 19:58. Penalties-Reynolds Chr (cross-checking), 5:59; Slattengren Chr (high-sticking), 12:09; Romano Tol (hooking), 13:39; Piche Tol (boarding), 14:09; Urquhart Chr (interference), 15:48; Keefe Tol (unsportsmanlike conduct, roughing), 20:00; Munce Chr (roughing), 20:00; Urquhart Chr (roughing, roughing), 20:00.

2nd Period-6, Toledo, Danis-Pepin 1 (Robertson, Nesbitt), 0:45 (pp). 7, Toledo, Sawyer 2 (Charlebois, Robertson), 16:14. Penalties-Ward Chr (roughing), 4:51; Sawyer Tol (slashing ), 5:59; Tanguay Tol (interference), 13:47.

3rd Period-8, Charlotte, Tkaczuk 3 (Doig, Slattengren), 1:42. Penalties-No Penalties

OT Period-9, Charlotte, Tkaczuk 4 (Ward, Marshall), 8:10 (pp). Penalties-Roche Chr (roughing), 4:18; Piche Tol (tripping), 7:43; Roche Chr (unsportsmanlike conduct), 8:10.

Shots on Goal-Toledo 12-12-6-5-35. Charlotte 8-7-11-5-31.

Power Play Opportunities-Toledo 2 of 6; Charlotte 2 of 5.

Goalies-Toledo, Pearce 1-2-1-0 (31 shots-26 saves). Charlotte, Munce 3-1-0-0 (35 shots-31 saves).

A-3,126

HUGE NIGHT FOR THE AFFILIATES

      VERSUS     

“We rose to the occasion for some big games this year, and this was another one,” Dale Weise said after the Hartford Wolf Pack got a much win victory over the Lowell Devils 5-2 Friday night at the XL Center.

“The more compact you can be, the better,” Hartford head coach Ken Gernander said after the game. “We had puck possession and that was the key to our transition. We won one-on-one battles, and if possible you want to outnumber your opponent.”

With the team now sitting seven points out of a playoff spot with a game in hand, every game now is a must win. Friday night, the Pack played with that desperation and it showed. Unlike so many games this season where they have struggled in the first period, that wasn’t the case in this one. Hartford came out of the locker room determined not to fall behind early. Dale Weise, who you could make a strong case for team MVP this season, almost put the Pack on the board just 3:49 into the contest when his shot hit starter Jeff Frazee (24 saves, 13-16-0) and dropped behind the Lowell netminder and was swept away at the last second by the Devils defense.

Louis Robitaille took a hooking call at 5:27 sending the struggling Pack power play onto the ice. But even without the AHL’s third leading scorer, Corey Locke, or their most offensively gifted player in P.A. Parenteau on the ice, both are on recall in New York, the power play looked strong. They moved the puck well along the perimeter and got shots. Paul Crowder had a great chance in front, but Frazee erased it with a sweeping glove save. But at 7:02, the Pack found pay-dirt.

Ilkka Heikkinen, who has said publicly that he won’t be back in Hartford next season, passed the puck from the right side to Corey Potter in the high slot. Potter saw Kris Newbury open on the right and fed him the puck just above the right face-off circle. Just as Newbury got the puck, Heikkinen charged the net from the left point and split the defense of Cory Murphy and Rob Davison. Newbury saw Heikkinen break in and put a perfect pass right on Heikkinen’s stick. The Rauma, Finland native simply deflected the puck and it beat Frazee over the glove.

The Pack kept Lowell from even getting a shot on net for the first 16:35 of the game. The teams finished the period with the Pack outshooting their guests 12-5 and lead 1-0.

Hartford doubled their lead early in the second period as a great setup pass from Donald Brashear sprung Ryan Garlock into the offensive zone and his wraparound shot hit Oliver Magnan’s skate and went into the net at 1:36.

It only took 1:14 for the Rangers’ top farm team to strike a third time as Weise followed up a shot that he took from the right side that hit Alexander Vasyunov and came right back to him. Weise blasted it into the upper corner over the stick side blocker of Frazee for his 27th of the season unassisted at 2:50.

But Lowell didn’t give up trailing by three goals. They peppered Pack goaltender Chad Johnson (36 saves, 20-18-2) who started his tenth consecutive game and who won for the 20th time this season. In the second they put 12 shots on net and not one got by the Pack rookie.

In the third period, Hartford looked strong defensively as Lowell wasn’t going down without a fight. Magnan put the puck in the net for the second time, this time in the opposition’s net, when he jumped on a loose puck and fired a shot that hit Jared Nightingale’s stick and redirected past Johnson at 2:29.

Lowell tallied again just 49 seconds later. Hartford could not get the puck out of the zone and when Nathan Perkovich got hold of the puck to Johnson’s left, he saw that nobody was picking up a streaking David McIntyre up the slot and fed the Lowell center the puck. McIntyre then ripped it right past Johnson and it was 3-2.

But this kind of thing has killed the Pack all season long. Quick strikes and poor defense after establishing a lead. This time however they answered back. Despite giving up a season high 21 shots in a period, the Pack returned fire with a Crowder goal at 11:35 off some nice work in front of the net by Brodie Dupont, who’s had an excellent season.

Dupont then got his second helper of the contest with a nice pass that set up Bobby Sanguinetti for his ninth of the season to finish the scoring with just 3:11 left.

The win got the Pack back to .500 at 32-32-6-5 and kept heir faint playoff hopes alive. They got help on the scoreboard with both Bridgeport and Wilkes Barre lost. If they are going to have a shot, they truly need to run the table and win their five remaining games.

“We get up (Saturday morning) and start all over again,” said Gernander.

Brian Ring substitutes for the vacationing Bruce Berlet and sums it all up at Hartfordwolfpack.com. One of the reasons that Lowell will probably lose the Devils to Albany is the lack of community support. No story at all in the Lowell Sun so the only Devils perspective is at the Devils’ own website.

 

GAME SUMMARY and OFFICIAL SCORERS SHEET

   

STANDINGS:

TEAM	GP	W	L	OTL	SOL	PTS	GF	GA	STK	P 10	PIM
1. x-Sharks	75	47	23	2	3	99	257	226	0-1-0-0	7-3-0-0	1196
2. x-Pirates	75	43	22	6	4	96	229	199	7-0-1-1	7-1-1-1	1352
3. x-Monarchs	76	41	26	3	6	91	203	188	6-0-0-0	7-2-0-1	1112
4. Sound Tigers	76	36	30	4	6	82	191	212	0-1-0-0	6-3-1-0	1647
5. Devils	76	36	30	4	6	82	222	219	0-3-0-0	2-6-0-2	1345
6. WOLF PACK	75	32	32	6	5	75	211	233	1-0-0-0	6-4-0-0	1474
7. Bruins	75	34	35	5	1	74	198	210	1-0-1-0	3-5-2-0	1135
8. Falcons	76	24	37	11	4	63	192	277	0-3-1-1	3-4-2-1	1555

x = clinched a playoff spot

y = clinched division title

 

STANDINGS FOR LAST PLAYOFF SPOTS:

TEAM	GP	W	L	OTL	SOL	PTS	DIV
1.W-B/Scranton	76	39	32	2	3	83	East
2. Sound Tigers	76	36	30	4	6	82	Atlantic
3. Devils	76	36	30	4	6	82	Atlantic
3. Norfolk Admirals	75	37	32	3	3	80	East
4. WOLF PACK	75	32	32	6	5	75	Atlantic
5. Bruins	75	34	35	5	1	74	Atlantic

 

WOLF PACK TRAGIC NUMBER IS 4 (Four) Any combination of Bridgeport or Lowell, who’s ever on top, getting points and the Pack not getting them reduces that number. Pack have one game in hand on both Bridgeport and Lowell.

Either Wilkes-Barre or Norfolk will make it and be either the three or four seed in their division. The top Atlantic team will be in and depending upon their points, be either the third of fourth seed in the East Division.

 

SCHEDULE:

For the Pack, the scores to be watching, and there are few of them, Portland visits Bridgeport, Worcester is at Lowell and Providence challenges Manchester at the Verizon Center all starting at 7pm. At 7:05 Norfolk visits Binghamton. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton will be off.

 

SCOREBOARD:

Things broke well for the New York Rangers’ top farm club Friday night.

While Norfolk beating Albany 2-1 and Providence beating Worcester didn’t help, Binghamton knocked off W/B-Scranton 6-2 and Manchester knocked off Bridgeport 4-1.

In other action, Manitoba beat Toronto 3-1. Graham Mink had two goals as Rochester beat Hershey 3-1. Syracuse won on the road at Adirondack 3-2 and Portland doubled up Springfield 6-3. Peoria snuck by Milwaukee in overtime 6-5. It was Rockford edging out Lake Erie 2-1. San Antonio lost to Texas in overtime 4-3. Houston got by Chicago by the same score as did Abbotsford over Grand Rapids.

 

NOTES:

* If you have yet to sign up for our new service to our readers on Twitter, you’re really missing out on the most extensive coverage of the Wolf Pack and Checkers you’ll find anywhere. In addition to keeping you posted here on all major news stories, visit www.twitter.com/howlingstoday for in-game coverage of both Wolf Pack and Checkers games. Please “Follow” us on Twitter.

* ex-Pack captain Greg Moore was recalled from Syracuse to Columbus.

* In case you’re interested in the battle of attendance between the two Connecticut teams, Hartford is 18th overall averaging 4,165 a game while Bridgeport is 19th with 4,039. Hershey, big surprise, is first with 9,524. Lowell is last at 2,429. The league average is 5,035.

* Dale Weise is still tied for first overall in the AHL in shorthanded goals with five. He’s tied with Derek MacKenzie (SYR) Steve Pinizzoto (HER) and Josh Hennessy (BNG).

* Special Teams have been a struggle all season. The power play, which was good at the beginning of the year, is now ranked 14th (17.1%). The PK, which was last for a few weeks, has snuck back up to 26th (79.8%) of 29.

* Weise has a three game goal scoring streak and in his last six games has five goals and three helpers for eight points.

* Kris Newbury has assists in his last six straight games, nine overall over the span.

* The Pack are 16-6-2-0 at the MassMutual Center over the last five years. They are 2-1-1-0 this season.

* In the next game with it all on the line for the Pack against Springfield, Ex-Pack Chad Wiseman has scored the most against Hartford this season on the current Springfield roster. In six games he has two goals and four assists for six points. Charles Linglet, in eight games has three goals and six assists for nine points but he is on recall with Edmonton.

* For the Pack, Corey Locke (5g, 7a, 12pts) in eight games and P.A. Parenteau (6g, 4a, 10pts) over seven meetings have torched Springfield and both are on recall. Brodie Dupont is next with four goals and a helper for five points versus the team’s I-91 rivals.

 

LINES:

Byers © – Newbury – Weise
Dupont – Crowder – Grachev
Soryal – Garlock – Ambϋhl
Brashear – McKelvie – Couture

Heikkinen – Sanguinetti 
Baldwin – Potter
Brouillette – Nightingale

Johnson
Zaba

 

(Assistant Captains Bold and Italicized) 

 

SCRATCHES:

P.A. Parenteau – Recall, NY Rangers
Anders Eriksson – Recall, NY Rangers
Devin DiDIomete – Healthy Scratch
Nigel Williams – Healthy Scratch
Cameron Talbot – Healthy Scratch 
Steven Valiquette – Hand Injury – Season over
Michael Sauer – Shoulder – Season over
Mike Hoffman – Shoulder – Season over
Brent Henley – Knee – Season over 

 

THREE STARS:

1. HFD – D. Weise
2. HFD – C. Potter
3. HFD – B. Dupont

 

ON ICE OFFICIALS:

Referee:
Shaun Davis (31)

Linesmen:
David Spannaus (8)
Brent Colby (7)

 

NEXT GAME:

Bob Crawford is on the air at 6:30 with the pre-game from the MassMutual Center with the puck dropping at 7pm as the Pack hope to keep their faint playoff hopes alive against the Springfield Falcons.

To watch the game live, you can purchased it for $6.99 at AHL-live.

If you can attend the home games, they cost is as little as $10 a ticket, why not just go? For Ticket information call (860) 548-2000.

Too far away or can’t make it? Listen live at WTIC.com or from your cell phone or computer visit www.twitter.com/howlingstoday for complete live in-game coverage. 

 

SCORE-SHEET:

Lowell Devils 2 At Hartford Wolf Pack 5 – Status: Final

Apr 2, 2010 – XL Center Veterans Memorial Coliseum

Lowell 0 0 2 – 2

Hartford 1 2 2 – 5

1st Period-1, Hartford, Heikkinen 8 (Newbury, Potter), 7:02 (pp). Penalties-Robitaille Low (hooking), 5:27.

2nd Period-2, Hartford, Garlock 6 (Brashear, Potter), 1:36. 3, Hartford, Weise 27   2:50. Penalties-Newbury Hfd (hooking), 8:54; Davison Low (slashing), 12:30; Soryal Hfd (high-sticking), 12:30; Taormina Low (holding the stick), 15:32; Perkovich Low (slashing), 19:43.

3rd Period-4, Lowell, Magnan 3 (Swift, Murphy), 2:29. 5, Lowell, McIntyre 2 (Perkovich, Vasyunov), 3:18. 6, Hartford, Crowder 12 (Grachev, Dupont), 11:35. 7, Hartford, Sanguinetti 9 (Dupont), 16:49. Penalties-Davison Low (charging), 9:11; Nightingale Hfd (cross-checking), 9:11; Byers Hfd (hooking), 14:30; Walter Low (tripping), 17:02; Dupont Hfd (slashing), 17:47; Weise Hfd (misconduct), 20:00.

Shots on Goal-Lowell 5-12-21-38. Hartford 12-9-8-29.

Power Play Opportunities-Lowell 0 of 3; Hartford 1 of 4.

Goalies-Lowell, Frazee 13-16-0 (29 shots-24 saves). Hartford, Johnson 20-18-2 (38 shots-36 saves).

A-2,914

MEANWHILE BACK IN CHARLOTTE:

      VERSUS        

CHECKERS DOWN EVERBLADES, MAINTAIN FIRST PLACE

Shorthanded, Power-Play And Even-Strength Goals Propel Charlotte To 3-1 Win

The Charlotte Checkers used three second-period goals to down the Florida Everblades, 3-1, and maintain first place in the American Conference standings with one game to play.

The Checkers scored while shorthanded, on the power play and at even strength on the way to their 12th victory in the last 13 games.

Aaron Slattengren and Matt Stefanishion each had a goal and an assist while Ryan Munce stopped 25 of 26 shots for his 26th victory of the season. Munce now ranks second in the ECHL with 26 wins and first with a .913 save percentage.

Checkers defenseman Trevor Hendrikx got things going early on when he dropped the gloves with Florida’s Benn Olson. Olson was suspended last week for two games as a result of a hit on Munce on Mar. 23. Charlotte then went on the attack following the fight but Everblades rookie goaltender Adrien Lemay shut the door.

The game remained scoreless until the 7:41 mark of the second period when Slattengren notched a shorthanded goal. Stefanishion stripped the puck from a Florida defender and fed a backhand pass to Slattengren who then beat Lemay over the glove for his 17th tally of the season.

Just 23 seconds later, Everblades forward Matthew Pistilli forced a turnover and broke in alone on Munce. Pistilli then beat the Checkers’ netminder high over the glove to make it a 1-1 game.

Charlotte took its second lead of the game, two minutes later, on a tic-tac-toe play down low in the Florida zone. Slattengren started the play as he dished a nifty pass over to Mike Taylor at the left wing. Taylor then faked to avoid an Everblades defender and fed Stefanishion who one-timed a slap shot past Lemay on the blocker side.

Less than three minutes later, the Checkers took a two-goal lead on the power play when Hendrikx one-timed a pass from Michel Leveille through traffic and into the back of the net.

Shortly after the goal, Florida forward Milan Gajic broke in on a breakaway but Munce made an impressive stacked-pad save to keep it a 3-1 game.

With time winding down in the third period and a Checkers player in the penalty box, Florida pulled its goaltender for a 6-on-4 man advantage. The Everblades threw everything they could on net but Munce stood strong and walked away with the 3-1 win.

Charlotte (93 points) has a chance to clinch first place in the conference with a win over Florida tomorrow. Kalamazoo (92), South Carolina (92) and Cincinnati (91) all won their respective games tonight to keep their first-place hopes alive with one game to play in the regular season.

The Checkers (43-21-7) will play their last ever ECHL regular season game tomorrow in Florida. Playoff dates will be announced shortly and ticket information can be obtained by calling 704-342-4-ICE or visiting www.gocheckers.com. Season tickets for the inaugural 2010-11 AHL season are now on sale and 40-game packages start as low as $200. (Photo courtesy of the Charlotte Checkers)

GAME SUMMARY and OFFICIAL SCORERS SHEET

  

STANDINGS:

TEAM	GP	W	L	OTL	SOL	PTS	GF	GA	STK	P 10	PIM
1. x-Charlotte Checkers	71	43	21	4	3	93	250	219	4-0-0-0	9-1-0-0	1515
2. x-South Carolina Sting Rays	71	40	19	6	6	92	245	216	2-0-0-0	5-4-1-0	963
3. x- Florida Everblades	71	37	25	4	5	83	230	218	0-1-0-0	5-5-0-0	1282
4. Gwinnett Gladiators	71	31	32	5	3	70	243	274	0-3-1-0	3-6-1-0	1140

x= Teams who have clinched a playoff spot.

 

SCHEDULE:

The games to watch for Checkers fans to pay attention to, and certainly Jason Shaya will keep you up to date on them on Saturday night’s broadcasts, Cincinnati will be well underway when the Checkers take the ice at 7:30 against Florida, as the Cyclones have their final game against Wheeling at 6:05. Then an hour later at 7:05, South Carolina should have their hands full against Gwinnett and then Kalamazoo and Toledo tangle at 7:30. It all boils down to this. If Charlotte wins they win the South Division and the American conference. The worst they could finish with a loss and wins by the other teams in the hunt and they finish fourth. If they can pull it off, it’s a huge accomplishment for the Checkers who could win the Conference for the first, and would be the last time, in the team’s history in the ECHL.

 

SCOREBOARD:

Kalamazoo kept the conference title from having to be decided on Friday night as they trounced Toledo 6-2. Both Patrick Asselin and Darryl Llyod had two goals a piece. Asselin also had an assist for a three point night. Justin Donati’s two goals for Elmira were matched by two from Trenton’s Dan Eves as the Devils kept their faint hopes alive with a 5-3 win over the Jackals. Cincinnati got goals from five different players and won at home 5-1 against Neil Smith’s Johnstown Chiefs. South Caolina had all they could handle from last place Gwinnett, who scored three in the third period, but the Stingrays held them off for a 4-2 win to stay in the hunt for the division and conference crown. Trent Campbell had two goals for the winning team. It wasn’t exactly a goaltender’s dream, but Reading pulled it out in a shootout with a 7-6 win on the road against Wheeling. The Nailers scored five times in the second period, but it wasn’t enough. Stefano Giliati had a three point night with two goals and a helper. Rob Kwiet had three assists. Bakersfield beat Idaho 2-1 at home and Las Vegas knocked off Ontario by the same score. Alaska won in a shootout 3-2 over Stockton and in the game of the night in terms of offense, Victoria got a hat trick from Wes Goldie, two from Dirk SOuthern and a goal and four apples from Matt Siddall as Victoria just destroyed Utah 9-2.

 

 

NOTES:

* Last Saturday’s crowd of 12,044 was the largest in the entire ECHL this season

* The Checkers are 16-3-1 in their last 20 home games and are 12-1-0 in their last 13 overall

* Ryan Munce is 10-1-0 in his last 11 starts and leads the ECHL with a .913 save percentage

* Andrew Carroll leads the ECHL with six shootout-winning goals and leads the Checkers with 29 goals

 

LINES:

Roche – Leveille © – Doig
Stefanishion – Taylor – Slattengren
Schepke – Bradford – Carroll
Marshall

Reynolds – Schaeffer
Urquhart – Hendrikx
Berube – Ward

Munce
Zemlak

 

(Assistant Captains Bold and Italicized) 

 

SCRATCHES:

Daniel Tkaczuk – Healthy Scratch
Tysen Dowzak – Healthy Scratch
Jean-Philipp Chabot – Healthy Scratch
Randy Rowe – Recall in Lake Erie
Matt Ford – Recall in Lake Erie
Julien Brouillette – Recall in Hartford
Ethan Graham – Recall in Texas
Chris Snavely – Wrist Surgery – Season over
Trevor Glass – Back Surgery – Season over
Codey Burki – Undisclosed – Season over
Chris Chappell – Shoulder Surgery – Season over

 

THREE STARS

1. CHR – A. Slattengren
2. CHR – M. Stefanishion
3. FLA – M. Pistilli

ON-ICE OFFICALS:

Referee:
Tim Mayer (11)

Linesmen:
Jay Jacobs (54)
James Johnstone (61)

 

NEXT GAME:

It’s the last game of the regular season and the Checkers are the Number one seed with a win against Florida on the road. Jason Shaya will be on the air at 7:30pm Saturday night.

For live in-game coverage from your cell phone or computer, we’ll have the action for you at www.twitter.com/howlingstoday.

You can always buy tickets for any Checkers game home or away at Ticketmaster.com.

Should you want to watch this very exciting team from the comfort of your computer chair, all Checkers games are available on B2Live. 

 

SCORE-SHEET:

Charlotte Checkers 3 At Florida Everblades 1 – Status: Final

Apr 2, 2010 – Germain Arena

Charlotte 0 3 0 – 3

Florida 0 1 0 – 1

1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Hendrikx Chr (fighting – major), 2:37; Olson Fla (fighting – major), 2:37; Berube Chr (high-sticking), 4:25; Roche Chr (hooking), 17:59; Olson Fla (cross-checking), 20:00.

2nd Period-1, Charlotte, Slattengren 17 (Stefanishion, Reynolds), 7:41 (sh). 2, Florida, Pistilli 2 (Lang, Nicholson), 8:04. 3, Charlotte, Stefanishion 21 (Slattengren, Taylor), 10:08. 4, Charlotte, Hendrikx 8 (Leveille, Bradford), 12:56 (pp). Penalties-Schepke Chr (holding), 5:46; Olson Fla (hooking), 12:00; Urquhart Chr (fighting – major), 18:31; Baker Fla (cross-checking, fighting – major), 18:31.

3rd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Carroll Chr (hooking), 2:34; Stefanishion Chr (roughing), 12:52; Reynolds Chr (cross-checking), 19:42.

Shots on Goal-Charlotte 12-13-2-27. Florida 7-11-8-26.

Power Play Opportunities-Charlotte 1 of 3; Florida 0 of 6.

Goalies-Charlotte, Munce 26-14-2-1 (26 shots-25 saves). Florida, Lemay 1-1-0-0 (27 shots-24 saves).

A-7,151

OVER TIME THE CHECKERS FIND WINNING WAY

      VERSUS         

CHECKERS DOWN GWINNETT, 2-1, IN HISTORIC GAME

Carroll Ends Game Again With Overtime Winner; Munce Stops 30 For 10th Win In 11 Starts

The Charlotte Checkers forced overtime with a third period goal then scored in the extra frame to down Gwinnett, 2-1, in the last ever ECHL regular season game at Time Warner Cable Arena on Tuesday.

With the win, the Checkers take the season series against Gwinnett with a 12-4-2 record over 18 head-to-head matches and grab a three-point lead over South Carolina and Kalamazoo for first place in the American Conference. Charlotte has won 11 of its last 12 games overall.

Andrew Carroll scored the overtime winner, his sixth game-winning goal of the season. Carroll now leads the ECHL with 12 combined shootout and overtime winners and leads the Checkers with 29 goals.

Ryan Munce stopped 30 of 31 shots for his 10th win in 11 starts. Munce now ranks second in the ECHL with 25 wins and leads the league with a .912 save percentage. His 10 wins in March make him a shoe-in candidate for ECHL goaltender of the month.

The Checkers carried the play for the better half of the first period but Gwinnett goaltender David Brown turned everything aside keeping it a scoreless game heading into the second.

Gwinnett opened the scoring seven minutes into the second period on a goal by forward Matt Caruana. Tom Zanoski carried the puck down low and slid a pass through the legs of a Checkers defender which was one-timed by Caruana along the ice and past Munce.

With less than two minutes to play in the period, Devin DiDiomete was assessed a misconduct penalty and the Checkers were forced to kill a four-minute Gladiators power play. Charlotte’s defenders blocked several good scoring chances and Munce shut the door as the game remained 1-0 in Gwinnett’s favor.

Early in the third period, Matt Stefanishion broke in the zone and fired a shot at Brown that was stopped and redirected to Berube at the point. Berube faked a shot to step around a Gwinnett defender and let a wrist shot go that beat the Gwinnett goaltender on the short side.

Later in the period, the Gladiators applied pressure and hit Munce with several shots but the Charlotte netminder stopped them all, including an acrobatic, diving pad save.

The Checkers failed to convert on a late power play and the two teams prepared for an overtime period.

In the extra frame, Gwinnett forward Pat Galivan fed a pass over to Zanoski but Munce slid across the crease and denied the Gladiators the win with an impressive split save.

A short time later, Tyler Doig carried the puck into the Gwinnett zone and skated around a tumbling defender. Doig then took the puck down low and dished it in front to Carroll who banged it home for the win.

The Checkers (42-21-7) will travel to Florida this weekend for two games before returning next week to host a pair of playoff games. Playoff dates will be announced shortly and ticket information can be obtained by calling 704-342-4-ICE or visiting www.gocheckers.com. Season tickets for the inaugural 2010-11 AHL season are now on sale and 40-game packages start as low as $200.

GAME SUMMARY and OFFICIAL SCORERS SHEET

  

STANDINGS:

TEAM	GP	W	L	OTL	SOL	PTS	GF	GA	STK	P 10	PIM
1. x-Charlotte Checkers	70	42	21	4	3	91	247	218	3-0-0-0	9-1-0-0	1493
2. x-South Carolina Sting Rays	69	38	19	6	6	88	236	212	0-2-0-0	3-4-2-1	926
3. x- Florida Everblades	70	37	24	4	5	83	229	215	1-0-0-0	5-5-0-0	1266
4. Gwinnett Gladiators	69	31	30	5	3	70	239	265	0-1-1-0	4-4-1-1	1102

x= Teams who have clinched a playoff spot.

 

SCOREBOARD:

The Checkers were the only East Coast action. Later it’s Stockton and Bakersfield and then Idaho and Alaska (That one doesn’t start till 11:15pm eastern time)

 

NOTES:

* Saturday’s crowd of 12,044 was the largest in the entire ECHL this season. The Checkers are 4th in the ECHL in attendance averaging 5529 per game.

* The Checkers are 16-3-1 in their last 20 home games and are 11-1-0 in their last 12 overall

* Ryan Munce is 10-1-0 in his last 11 starts and leads the ECHL with a .912 save percentage

* Kenny Roche is currently on a six-game point streak (3g, 7a)

* Andrew Carroll leads the ECHL with six shootout-winning goals and leads the Checkers with 29 goals

* The Checkers are 25-8-2-1 and 17-13-2-2 on the road

* This team is very hard to come back on. They are 18-1-2-1 when leading after one period and 25-0-3-2 when leading after two. When tied after one they are 14-6-2-1 and 4-17-1-0 when trailing after 2.

 

LINES:

Roche – Leveille © – Slattengren
Doig – Carroll – Marshall
Schepke – Taylor – Bradford
Stefanishion – DiDiomete

Urquhart – Schaeffer
Berube – Hendrikx
Ward

Munce
Zemlak

(Assistant Captains Bold and Italicized) 

 

SCRATCHES:

Daniel Tkaczuk – Healthy Scratch
Ryan Crane – Healthy Scratch
Randy Rowe – Recall in Lake Erie
Matt Ford – Recall in Lake Erie
Julien Brouillette – Recall in Hartford
Ethan Graham – Recall in Texas
T.J. Reynolds – Lower Body – 2-3 weeks
Chris Snavely – Wrist Surgery – Season over
Trevor Glass – Back Surgery – Season over
Codey Burki – Undisclosed – Season over
Chris Chappell – Shoulder Surgery – Season over

 

THREE STARS

1. CHR – R. Munce
2. CHR – M. Berube
3. CHR – A. Carroll

 

ON-ICE OFFICALS:

Referee:
Joe Sullivan (4)

Linesmen:
Mathieu Chenier (71)
Paul Reid (97)

 

NEXT GAME:

The Checkers will finish the regular season with two games on the road in Florida. Jason Shaya will be on the air at 7:30pm Friday and Saturday night as the Checkers look to finish the season as the American Conference’s #1 seed.

For live in-game coverage from your cell phone or computer, we’ll have the action for you at www.twitter.com/howlingstoday.

You can always buy tickets for any Checkers game home or away at Ticketmaster.com.

Should you want to watch this very exciting team from the comfort of your computer chair, all Checkers games are available on B2Live. 

 

SCORE-SHEET:

Gwinnett Gladiators 1 At Charlotte Checkers 2 (OT) – Status: Final OT

Mar 30, 2010 – Time Warner Cable Arena

Gwinnett 0 1 0 0 – 1

Charlotte 0 0 1 1 – 2

1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Forney Gwt (slashing , slashing ), 9:32; DiDiomete Chr (roughing), 9:32; Stefanishion Chr (unsportsmanlike conduct), 9:32.

2nd Period-1, Gwinnett, Caruana 13 (Galivan, Zanoski), 7:09. Penalties-DiDiomete Chr (roughing, unsportsmanlike conduct – disputing decision, misconduct, game misconduct – abuse of officials), 18:34.

3rd Period-2, Charlotte, Berube 3 (Roche, Stefanishion), 2:44. Penalties-Galivan Gwt (interference on the goalkeeper), 8:23; Doig Chr (slashing ), 13:58; Roberts Gwt (holding), 18:42.

OT Period-3, Charlotte, Carroll 29 (Ward, Doig), 4:32. Penalties-No Penalties

Shots on Goal-Gwinnett 8-14-7-2-31. Charlotte 9-10-12-5-36.

Power Play Opportunities-Gwinnett 0 of 3; Charlotte 0 of 2.

Goalies-Gwinnett, Brown 10-16-3-0 (36 shots-34 saves). Charlotte, Munce 25-14-2-1 (31 shots-30 saves).

A-5,133

CHARLOTTE PUTS “CHECKERS” IN BOX FOR PLAYOFFS

      VERSUS     

CHECKERS EARN PLAYOFF BERTH WITH SEVENTH STRAIGHT WIN

Stefanishion Nets Two Including Game Winner; Munce Wins Sixth Straight Start

The Charlotte Checkers scored a late power-play goal and held on for the win as they downed the Trenton Devils, 4-3, on Friday evening.

With the win, their seventh in a row, the Checkers clinch a playoff berth with seven games to play in the regular season.

Matt Stefanishion scored twice, including the game-winning goal, while Ryan Munce stopped 33 of 36 shots for his sixth straight victory. Andrew Carroll notched a goal and an assist while Michel Leveille chipped in with two assists.

The Checkers opened the scoring six minutes into the game on a power-play goal by Aaron Slattengren. Carroll dumped the puck into the Trenton end and it bounced off the boards and onto the stick of Slattengren. Slattengren then beat Devils goaltender Dave Caruso low blocker side for his 15th of the season.

Trenton would even the score just 36 seconds later when Jack Combs took the puck at the side of the crease, skated around the net and stuffed it home.

With less than four minutes to play in the period, Charlotte took their second lead of the game when Carroll buried the rebound off of a Trevor Hendrikx point shot for his team-leading 25th of the season.

The Checkers then took a two-goal lead midway through the second period on a great individual effort by Stefanishion. Trenton attempted to clear the zone however Stefanishion stripped the lone defender of the puck and skated in alone on Caruso. The Checkers forward then deked and flipped the puck into the top corner for his first of two on the night.

The Devils cut Charlotte’s lead in half with six minutes to play in the period as they skated in on a 3-on-1. Slavomir Tomko took a drop pass in the slot and fed Chris Poli who fired it home from the side of the net past a sprawling Munce.

Midway through the third, Trenton would tie the game when Dan Eves beat Munce through traffic with a wrist shot from the high slot.

Just two minutes later, the Devils were assessed back-to-back penalties and the Checkers went to work on a 5-on-3 power play. Michel Leveille and Stefanishion played keep-away at the blue line before Stefanishion one-timed a heavy slap shot into the top corner for the go-ahead goal.

Trenton would pull its goaltender for the extra attacker with time winding down, but Munce was there to shut the door and pick up his sixth win in a row, clinching a playoff berth for Charlotte.

The Checkers (38-20-7) will host Florida on Tuesday and Thursday. The puck drops at 7 p.m. and ticket information can be obtained by calling 704-342-4-ICE or visiting www.gocheckers.com. Season tickets for the inaugural 2010-11 AHL season are now on sale and 40-game packages start as low as $200

GAME SUMMARY and OFFICIAL SCORERS SHEET

STANDINGS:

TEAM	GP	W	L	OTL	SOL	PTS	GF	GA	STK	P 10	PIM
1. x-South Carolina Sting Rays	67	38	17	6	6	88	231	203	1-0-0-0	5-2-2-1	886
2. x-Charlotte Checkers	65	38	20	4	3	83	230	208	8-0-1-0	8-1-1-0	1374
3. Florida Everblades	65	34	22	4	5	77	210	197	0-1-0-0	7-3-0-0	1168
4. Gwinnett Gladiators	63	28	28	4	3	63	219	243	0-2-0-1	3-5-1-1	1025

x= Teams who have clinched a playoff spot.

 

 

SCOREBOARD:

In South Division action, South Carolina broke the game open in the final frame scoring three times to gain two points on third place Florida with a 5-3 win. Keith Johnson had two goals for the Stingrays.

In other ECHL action, at the Lucas County Arena, Toledo beat Cincinnati 3-1. Kalamazoo saw five different Wings put the puck in the net and beat Wheeling 5-2. Reading got three point nights, two goals and an assist apiece, from Stefano Giliati and Andrew Sarauer as the Royals trounced Elmira 6-2. Victoria went into the Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield and just slammed their hosts 5-1. Alex Bourret continues to light it up for Las Vegas with a goal and an assist bringing his year to date numbers to an impressive 15g, 26a for 41 points in 29 games. However, it wasn’t enough as the Wranglers dropped a 3-2 decision to Alaska. Tony Voce netted a pair and Greg Hogeboom and had a goal and two helpers while Geoff Walker had one of each as Ontario got a home win over Idaho 7-4. Last but not least, Ryan Kinasewich netted a pair and Tom May had a goal and a helper as the Utah Grizzlies, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers farm team, knocked off Stockton 6-2.

 

NOTES:

* The Checkers have won seven in a row, are 8-0-1 in their last nine games and 12-2-1 in their last 15 at home

* Ryan Munce has won six straight games, is 7-0-1 in his last eight starts and ranks third in the ECHL with 22 wins

* Matt Schepke leads the team with a +19 rating

* Andrew Carroll leads the ECHL with five shootout-winning goals and leads the Checkers with 25 goals

 

LINES:

Carroll – Leveille © – Slattengren
Doig – Tkaczuk – Stefanishion
Crane – Chabot – Schepke

Urquhart – Schaeffer
Berube – Hendrikx
Dowzak – Ward

Munce
Zemlak

(Assistant Captains Bold and Italicized)

 

SCRATCHES:

Mike Taylor – Sick – Day-to-Day
Randy Rowe – Recall in Lake Erie
Matt Ford – Recall in Lake Erie
Julien Brouillette – Recall in Hartford
Ethan Graham – Recall in Texas
Kenny Roche – Recall in Providence
T.J. Reynolds – Lower Body – Day-to-Day
Devin DiDiomete – Lower Body – 2-3 weeks
Chris Snavely – Upper Body – 2-3 weeks
Trevor Glass – Back Surgery – Season over
Codey Burki – Undisclosed – Season over
Chris Chappell – Shoulder Surgery – Season over

 

THREE STARS

1. CHR – M. Stefanishion
2. CHR – A. Carroll
3. CHR – M. Leveille

 

ON-ICE OFFICALS:

Referee:
Jason Rollins (13)

Linesmen:
Mark Hamlett (81)
Terry Wicklum (98)

 

NEXT GAME:

The Checkers have a couple of days off now as they play their next five games at home. Florida comes in to the Time Warner Cable Arena for Tuesday and Thursday night games. Reading comes in for a pair on the Weekend and then the last regular season home game is Tuesday the 30th against Gwinnett. The Checkers finish the season with two on the road in Florida. Jason Shaya will be on the air both Tuesday and Thursday night at 7pm.

For live in-game coverage from your cell phone or computer, we’ll have the action for you at www.twitter.com/howlingstoday.

You can always buy tickets for any Checkers game home or away at Ticketmaster.com.

Should you want to watch this very exciting team from the comfort of your computer chair, all Checkers games are available on B2Live.

SCORE-SHEET:

Trenton Devils 3 At Charlotte Checkers 4 – Status: Final

Mar 19, 2010 – Time Warner Cable Arena

Trenton 1 1 1 – 3

Charlotte 2 1 1 – 4

1st Period-1, Charlotte, Slattengren 15 (Carroll), 6:02 (pp). 2, Trenton, Combs 22 (Vokes), 6:38. 3, Charlotte, Carroll 25 (Hendrikx, Leveille), 16:39. Penalties-Kell Tre (roughing), 4:59; Zancanaro Tre (hooking), 7:15; Eves Tre (tripping), 10:51; Coutu Tre (boarding), 14:37; Berube Chr (holding), 17:16.

2nd Period-4, Charlotte, Stefanishion 18   7:17. 5, Trenton, Poli 11 (Tomko, Charleston), 14:10. Penalties-Thomas Tre (roughing), 11:46; Murray Tre (roughing, fighting – major), 12:18; Hendrikx Chr (instigating, fighting – major), 12:18; Coutu Tre (double – roughing), 20:00; Berube Chr (roughing), 20:00.

3rd Period-6, Trenton, Eves 17 (Charleston, Poli), 11:02. 7, Charlotte, Stefanishion 19 (Leveille, Tkaczuk), 13:07 (pp). Penalties-Schepke Chr (interference on the goalkeeper), 5:05; Urquhart Chr (elbowing), 6:19; Charleston Tre (tripping), 11:30; Vokes Tre (high-sticking – double), 12:32; Kunes Tre (elbowing), 18:55.

Shots on Goal-Trenton 9-12-15-36. Charlotte 15-7-10-32.

Power Play Opportunities-Trenton 0 of 3; Charlotte 2 of 10.

Goalies-Trenton, Caruso 17-18-1-1 (32 shots-28 saves). Charlotte, Munce 22-13-2-1 (36 shots-33 saves).

A-6,898

ONE DOWN, TWO TO GO!

     VERSUS     

CHECKERS BATTLE BACK FOR DRAMATIC SHOOTOUT WIN

 

Marshall Nets Hat Trick; Carroll Scores League-Leading Fourth Shootout Winner

 

The Charlotte Checkers battled back from a two-goal third-period deficit to force overtime and win, 5-4, in a shootout over the Gwinnett Gladiators on Thursday evening.

David Marshall recorded his first career hat trick and Andrew Carroll scored his league-leading fourth shootout-winning goal of the season. Ryan Munce stopped 36 shots for his third win in four tries while Gladiators goaltender Danny Taylor stopped 33 of 37 in a losing effort.

The Checkers opened the scoring midway through the first period on a goal by Matt Stefanishion. David Urquhart, who was assigned by Hartford (AHL) earlier in the day, fired a shot off the post and Stefanishion was there to one-time the rebound home for his 17th of the season.

Gwinnett would even the score seven minutes later on an unlucky play for Charlotte. Matt Caruana let a shot go from the right side wall that deflected off of teammate Michael Forney and past Munce.

Early in the second period, Gwinnett forward Adam Berti was awarded a penalty shot when he was hauled down on a breakaway, however Munce was there to shut the door and keep the game tied at 1-1.

Charlotte took its second lead of the game just minutes later while working with the man advantage. Stefanishion one-timed a pass by Steve Ward toward the net and Marshall tipped it between his legs and past Taylor for the 2-1 lead.

With time winding down in the period, the Gladiators scored two quick goals, 45 seconds apart, to take a 3-2 lead. Forward Tim Miller beat Munce with a low slap shot before Scott Mifsud banged home a rebound from a scrum in the crease.

Gwinnett would add another, midway through the third, before the Checkers scored to cut the deficit in half. Tyler Doig fed a saucer pass to Marshall in the slot who then broke in alone on Taylor. Marshall faked a shot and backhanded the puck into the top corner to make it a 4-3 game.

Charlotte trailed with less than a minute to play in the game and pulled Munce for the extra attacker. Stefanishion carried the puck into the Gladiators’ zone and, with two defenders on him, made a great pass to Marshall in the slot to keep the play alive. Marshall made no mistake as he skated in, faked and this time put a forehand shot into the top corner for the hat trick and game-tying goal.

Both goalies were solid in the overtime frame, stopping the flurry of scoring chances from either side and setting the stage for a shootout.

In the shootout, Aaron Slattengren potted his signature low-blocker wrist shot before Mifsud evened the score. The remaining shooters were unable to score and it came down to the last shooter for Charlotte, Carroll, who skated in and beat Taylor high blocker side for the dramatic win.

The Checkers (33-20-7) will next host Gwinnett on Saturday for “Pink in the Rink”. The puck drops at 7 p.m. and ticket information can be obtained by calling 704-342-4-ICE or visiting www.gocheckers.com. Season tickets for the inaugural 2010-11 AHL season are now on sale and 40-game packages start as low as $200.

GAME SUMMARY and OFFICIAL SCORERS SHEET

 

STANDINGS: 

TEAM	GP	W	L	OTL	SOL	PTS	GF	GA	STK	P 10	PIM
1. South Carolina Sting Rays	63	36	16	5	6	83	221	195	1-0-0-0	5-3-1-1	858
2. Charlotte Checkers	60	33	20	4	3	73	212	197	3-0-1-0	5-4-1-0	1279
3. Florida Everblades	61	32	20	4	5	73	202	187	0-1-0-0	7-2-1-0	1136
4. Gwinnett Gladiators	61	28	26	4	3	63	215	235	2-0-0-1	3-5-1-1	985

 

 

SCOREBOARD:
The Checkers were literally the ONLY game in town as the rest of the league had the night off.

 

NOTES:
* This is the first of three against the last place Gladiators. Not only has it turned out that these are the games in hand on Florida and South Carolina, it’s against a last place team which are games they NEED to win. The addition of Dave Urquhart will help the back line that much more.

* The Checkers are 9-2-1 in their last 12 home games

* David Marshall has four goals in the last two games

* Matt Schepke leads the team with a +18 rating

* Michelle Leveille has nine points (2g, 7a) in his last six games

* Andrew Carroll leads the team with 24 goals and leads the ECHL with four shootout-winning goals

 

LINES:

Carroll – Taylor - Schepke 
DiDiomete – Tkaczuk – Stefanishion
Doig – Leveille © – Slattengren
Marshall

Dowzak – Schaeffer
Berube – Urquhart
Ward – Crane

Munce
Kreutzer

 (Assistant Captains Bold and Italicized)

 

SCRATCHES:

Randy Rowe – Recall in Lake Erie
Matt Ford – Recall in Lake Erie
Julien Brouillette – Recall in Hartford
Ethan Graham – Recall in Texas
Kenny Roche – Recall in Providence
T.J. Reynolds – Undisclosed Injury – 2-3 weeks
Chris Snavely – Upper Body – 2-3 weeks
Trevor Glass – Back Surgery – Season over
Codey Burki – Undisclosed – Season over
Chris Chappell – Shoulder Surgery – Season over

 

THREE STARS:

1. GWT – P. Galivan
2. GWT – P. Youngclaus
3. GWT – M. Francis

 

ON ICE OFFICIALS:

Referee:
Jarrod Ragusin (28)

Linesmen:
Mathieu Chenier (71)
Paul Reid (97)

 

NEXT GAME:

The Checkers have a rare Friday night off before the back–to-back with Gwinnett. Game time Friday night for the soon to be Carolina Hurricane affiliate is 7pm. Jason Shaya will have all the action.

For live in-game coverage from your cell phone or computer, we’ll have the action for you at www.twitter.com/howlingstoday.

You can always buy tickets for any Checkers game home or away at Ticketmaster.com.

Should you want to watch this very exciting team from the comfort of your computer chair, all Checkers games are available on B2Live.

 

SCORE-SHEET:

Gwinnett Gladiators 4 At Charlotte Checkers 5 (SO) – Status: Final SO

Mar 11, 2010 – Time Warner Cable Arena

Gwinnett 1 2 1 0 – 4

Charlotte 1 1 2 0 – 5

1st Period-1, Charlotte, Stefanishion 17 (Tkaczuk, Urquhart), 10:08. 2, Gwinnett, Forney 11 (Caruana, Francis), 16:50. Penalties-Roberts Gwt (tripping), 17:11; Taylor Chr (roughing), 19:20.

2nd Period-3, Charlotte, Marshall 17 (Stefanishion, Ward), 5:37 (pp). 4, Gwinnett, Mifsud 17 (McLean, Galivan), 18:04. 5, Gwinnett, Mifsud 18 (Youngclaus, Galivan), 18:49. Penalties-served by Gwt (head-butting (attempt) – double), 0:00; Francis Gwt (delay of game), 4:41; Francis Gwt (tripping), 7:57; Fritsch Gwt (closing hand on puck), 11:44; Filangieri Gwt (high-sticking), 19:42.

3rd Period-6, Gwinnett, Roberts 10   9:19 (pp). 7, Charlotte, Marshall 18 (Doig), 14:04. 8, Charlotte, Marshall 19 (Doig, Stefanishion), 19:37. Penalties-Paris Gwt (holding), 3:10; Leveille Chr (high-sticking, high-sticking), 7:35.

OT Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Forney Gwt (fighting – major), 0:05; Berube Chr (fighting – major), 0:05; Munce Chr (interference), 4:21.

Shootout – Gwinnett 1 (Zanoski NG, Galivan NG, Mifsud G, Francis NG, Paris NG), Charlotte 2 (Slattengren G, Marshall NG, Leveille NG, Stefanishion NG, Carroll G).

Shots on Goal-Gwinnett 12-14-10-4-0-40. Charlotte 9-12-12-4-1-38.

Power Play Opportunities-Gwinnett 1 of 4; Charlotte 1 of 6.

Goalies-Gwinnett, Taylor 17-12-2-2 (37 shots-33 saves). Charlotte, Munce 17-13-2-1 (40 shots-36 saves).

A-5,080

“ONE STEP FORWARD, TWO STEPS BACK…”

     VERSUS    

Frustration, Head Coach Ken Gernander agreed, would be the best word to describe how he feels after watching his troops play a hard fought game but come up short for the 33rd time in 59 games (26-26-3-4) as the Bridgeport Sound Tigers beat the Hartford Wolf Pack for the second time in three days 2-1 in front of 7,985 at the Arena at Harbor Yard Sunday afternoon.

“Last night (against first place Worcester, a 4-2 win) was a good game, a good effort,” Gernander said. “Tonight (Sunday) poor decisions, poor judgment. We can’t keep going up one step forward, two steps back. We gotta start making some progress and winning some games.”

The poor decision and poor judgment Gernander is likely referring too came on the game winner by NHL veteran Brendan Witt with just 8:07 remaining in the third.

Dale Weise, who was the first star of the game in Saturday night’s contest was the goat in this one.

“We’ve been stressing since day one that we want to enter the zone wide , challenge to the outside, don’t bring pucks to the middle of the ice.” Gernander said.

Weise did just that. On a break out during a four-on-four situation, Weise tried to come up the middle of the neutral zone only to see it go very wrong.

“You could see it develop in the neutral zone.” Witt said. “We had their guys caught and had a three-on-two. I just took the puck off Weise and ‘Flooder’ (Mark Flood) stepped up to give it to Mauldie (Greg Mauldin) and we transitioned real well.” The veteran of 14 NHL seasons said. “We had a good odd-man rush. I just jumped in the play and Greg (Mauldin) made a great pass to me and I just finished it. It’s always good to be able to contribute.”

Matt Zaba (28 saves, 6-8-1) was between the pipes for the New York Rangers top farm team. “It went over my pad and under my glove.” He said of the winning shot. “I thought I had it with my pad, but I should have just caught it I think. (Witt) made a good shot. It was a three-on-two odd-man rush so it was a good play by them. We got kind of caught, but that’s four-on-four hockey.”

“The ‘D’ always scores the big goals.” Sound Tigers head coach Jack Capuano, a former defenseman joked.

For the Pack, this one was no laughing matter. Once again, it came down to the Pack just taking too many penalties that changed the nature of their game.

“Discipline was a big issue,” Gernander said. “You can’t generate (offense) when your short handed. “I’m disappointed to only get two points (out of five games in the last seven days).”

“I thought some of the calls were bad.” Pack captain Dane Byers said. “I’m not going to make excuses and blame everything on the penalties, but a lot of the times it changes the momentum of the game.” He said. “We just took too many bad penalties.”

As you might imagine, Capuano didn’t see it quite the same way. “Some of the penalties that we got, we deserved them; same on the other side. You just concentrate and tell (The players) to stay disciplined and keep the shifts short you can stay disciplined in all areas of your game.”

As the first period came to a close the Pack began to bury themselves in a sea of bad penalties.

First Nigel Williams went off for a hooking call at 18:15. 1:32 later, Byers was sent to join Williams in the sin bin and gave the Tigers a 28 second five-on-three to close the period.

The Pack kept the Tigers off the score board as the first expired, but they were outshot 9-3 and did not look sharp.

As they came out to start the second period, the Pack still had 14 seconds to kill of a two-man disadvantage, but at 44 ticks of the clock in, Jordan Owens got called for a High Stick and put the Pack behind the eight-ball for 1:03 of being two-players down.

This time they wouldn’t get so lucky.

“(Matt) Martin was standing in front of me.” Zaba said. “I saw (Mauldin) shoot it but I didn’t see where the puck went after that so I just went down and tried to be big. (Mauldin) made a good shot. it was a good five-on-three goal for them. They made a good play.”

“You can’t give any team in this league that many five-on-three opportunities, especially after you just killed one off and you then you go right again after.” The Pack’s netminder added. “It’s taxing on our penalty killers. It definitely affects you for the rest of the game. We did a good job killing them off. That should have given us some momentum. I thought in the third period we really came out and took it to them. They got the one break that they needed and they capitalized on it.”

The Pack scored their only goal of the game with just 1:41 remaining on the clock in the second period.

Martin went to the penalty box to serve two minutes for a slashing call. It created a short four-on-four that bore no fruit for either squad, but when the Pack got on the ice for their fourth power play of the game, they would finally light the lamp behind the glass.

Bobby Sanguinetti, playing in just his third game after missing a month with a high ankle sprain, heeded the call of his co point man, Williams. The defenseman then blasted a shot/pass the missed the net wide left from the left point position. The angle caused a perfect bounce of the back boards that came to Locke on the right doorstep. Locke collected the puck and fired a backhanded shot over Lawson who tried to get back to cover the open side, but it was too late.

In order to try and generate some offense, Gernander switched up his lines to start the third period. It didn’t help.

“For four games in five nights I thought both teams played extremely well,” Capuano said. “It was a hard fought game; a lot of special teams; a lot of top guys from both teams played a lot of minutes because of the special teams situations so, I thought they were a little bit tired there at the end with their power play because they were playing so many minutes, but I thought it was a good hockey game.”

“We’ve got 21 games left till the start of the playoffs so we gotta get on a roll,” Byers said and then summed it up perfectly for his team. “Every game now obviously, everyone knows its a huge game. Every game now till the end of the year has to be the biggest game of the year so it’s like the playoffs right now for us. We gotta flight and claw for every point.”

Bob Crawford called it and then wrote it up at Hartfordwolfpack.com. Gerry Cantelon has his version at Eurohockey.net.  Not only a great guy, but a great writer, Mike Fornabaio has the Bridgeport perspective at CTPost.com 

 

GAME SUMMARY and OFFICIAL SCORERS SHEET 

 

STANDINGS

TEAM	GP	W	L	OTL	SOL	PTS	GF	GA	STK	P 10	PIM
1. Sharks	56	35	17	2	2	74	191	169	0-1-0-0	6-3-1-0	911
2. Pirates	56	32	16	5	3	72	175	150	11-0-0-1	9-0-0-1	963
3. Monarchs	59	32	20	2	5	71	158	143	0-1-0-0	4-6-0-0	867
4. Devils	59	30	22	4	3	67	175	158	0-1-0-0	2-5-1-2	1101
5. Sound Tigers	60	27	24	3	6	63	145	161	1-0-0-0	5-3-1-1	1401
6. Bruins	58	28	27	3	0	59	156	157	0-2-0-0	6-4-0-0	955
7. WOLF PACK	59	26	26	3	4	59	162	183	0-1-0-0	3-6-1-0	1209
8. Falcons	61	18	31	9	3	48	147	221	0-2-0-1	2-6-1-1	1307

  

SCOREBOARD:

Hamilton got two goals from ex-Pack Tommy Pyatt en route to destroying Adirondack 5-0. W-B/Scranton doubled up Manchester 4-2 who got both of their goals from Justin Azevedo, Two ex-Ranger organization players, Jeff Taffe and Mike York had goals for the Rochester Americans as they won in a shootout ending Portland’s 11 game winning streak.  Defenseman Paul Postma had a hat trick as Chicago beat San Antonio 7-4. Grand Rapids knocked off Texas 5-4 while Abbotsford easily handled Providence 5-2. Hershey continues to just run over the rest of the AHL beating Albany 5-3 and Milwaukee and Houston both won 4-1 over Rockford and Peoria respectively.

 

NOTES:

* If you have yet to sign up for our new service to our readers on Twitter, you’re really missing out on the most extensive coverage of the Wolf Pack and Checkers you’ll find anywhere. In addition to keeping you posted here on all major news stories, visit www.twitter.com/howlingstoday for in-game coverage of both Wolf Pack and Checkers games. Please “Follow” us on Twitter.

* P.A. Parenteau should be in the lineup next Friday night Springfield at home in the XL Center. Don’t be surprised if Mathieu Dandenault and Andres Ambϋhl are back in the lineup. If, as expected those players return to the lineup, it’s likely that Dave Urquhart will go to the press box, while Devin DiDiomete and either Justin Soryal or Derek Couture (the more likely candidate) head to Charlotte. Once the Rangers return to play the goaltender shuffle is likely to happen again. Steven Valiquette has a pretty bad hand injury so he is going to be sent back…on paper..from the Rangers. Miika Wiikman is likely to stay as the backup to Zaba and Chad Johnson who will do the back-and-forth in New York to back-up Henrik Lundqvist.

* Brendan Witt’s goal was his first in the AHL in 13 years.

* This time it wasn’t the penalty kill that doomed the team in red, white & blue. The penalty killers stopped Bridgeport seven-of-eight times in this one. No, this time the game was lost by the powerless power play that went one-for-six. Over the four games in five nights stench, stretch they played this week, the power play was an embarrassing 2 for 23 or 8.6%. The Pack have gone from a dominating team with the man advantage (which they lead the AHL with for nearly two full months) and dropped to 17th of 30 overall at 17.2%. For the record, the penalty killers are answering the bell at a 79.5% clip which is still last in the American League. On the bright side though, they still lead the league in shorthanded tallies with 15. Hershey is second with 12.

 

LINES:

Soryal – Dupont – Weise
Grachev – Locke – Owens
Byers © – Crowder – Roche
Brashear – Garlock – Couture

Williams – Nightingale
Urquhart – Potter
Heikkinen – Sanguinetti 

Zaba
Johnson

 

(Assistant Captains Bold and Italicized)

 

SCRATCHES:

Miika Wiikman – Healthy Scratch
Devin DiDiomete – Healthy Scratch
Andres Ambϋhl – Reassigned to Swiss National Team – Two weeks
Steven Valiquette – Hand Injury – Day-to-Day (Technically on recall with the NY Rangers)
Mathieu Dandenault – Lower Body – Day-to-Day
P.A. Parenteau – Concussion – Day-to-Day
Michael Sauer – Shoulder Surgery – Season over
Brent Henley – Knee  – Season over
Mike Hoffman – Shoulder – Season over

 

THREE STARS:

1. BRI – G. Mauldin

2. BRI – B. Witt

3. HFD – M. Zaba

 

ON ICE OFFICIALS:

Referee:

Shaun Davis (31)

Linesmen:

Derek Wahl (46)

Paul Simeon (66)

 

NEXT GAME:

After a big win, the Pack will look to build on that and take it right to Bridgeport for a battle with the Sound Tigers. Bob Crawford is on the air with the pre-game show at 2:30.

To watch the game live, you can purchased it for $6.99 at AHL-live.

If you can attend the home games, they cost is as little as $10 a ticket, why not just go? For Ticket information call (860) 548-2000.

Too far away or can’t make it? Listen live at WTIC.com.

 

SCORE-SHEET:

Hartford Wolf Pack 1 At Bridgeport Sound Tigers 2 – Status: Final

Feb 21, 2010 – Arena at Harbor Yard

Hartford 0 1 0 – 1

Bridgeport 0 1 1 – 2

1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Nightingale Hfd (fighting), 0:43; Reich Bri (fighting), 0:43; Williams Hfd (roughing), 4:53; Joensuu Bri (roughing), 4:53; Dupont Hfd (tripping), 6:03; served by Figren Bri (bench minor – too many men), 9:26; Haley Bri (roughing), 13:13; Williams Hfd (hooking), 18:15; Byers Hfd (roughing), 19:46.

2nd Period-1, Bridgeport, Mauldin 20 (Flood, Moore), 1:23 (pp). 2, Hartford, Locke 24 (Williams, Sanguinetti), 18:19 (pp). Penalties-Owens Hfd (high-sticking), 0:44; Williams Hfd (delay of game), 3:31; DiBenedetto Bri (hooking), 3:56; Couture Hfd (roughing, fighting), 7:06; Martin Bri (roughing, fighting), 7:06; Soryal Hfd (fighting), 8:27; Haley Bri (fighting), 8:27; Dupont Hfd (holding), 13:58; Byers Hfd (goaltender interference), 15:18; Martin Bri (slashing), 16:45.

3rd Period-3, Bridgeport, Witt 1 (Mauldin, Flood), 11:53. Penalties-Soryal Hfd (misconduct), 3:29; Morency Bri (misconduct), 3:29; Reich Bri (hooking), 11:27; Byers Hfd (tripping), 11:35; Bentivoglio Bri (holding), 16:03.

Shots on Goal-Hartford 3-10-9-22. Bridgeport 9-11-10-30.

Power Play Opportunities-Hartford 1 of 6; Bridgeport 1 of 8.

Goalies-Hartford, Zaba 6-9-1 (30 shots-28 saves). Bridgeport, Lawson 11-11-3 (22 shots-21 saves).

A-7,985

MEANWHILE DOWN IN CHARLOTTE

 

     VERSUS         

CHECKERS AVENGE FRIDAY’S LOSS WITH BLOWOUT OF THEIR OWN 

Schepke Records Second Hat Trick In 7-2 Triumph Over Gwinnett

The Charlotte Checkers followed up Friday’s lopsided loss to Toledo with a 7-2 blowout of their own over the Gwinnett Gladiators on Sunday afternoon.

Matt Schepke led the charge with his second hat trick of the season while Matt Stefanishion recorded four assists. Ryan Munce stopped 19 of 21 shots for some redemption after allowing seven goals to Toledo on Friday morning. Munce is now 6-3-1 since Miika Wiikman, the other half of the Checkers’ goaltending tandem, was called up to Hartford in late January.

With the win, the Checkers opened up a nine-point lead over the Gladiators in the South Division standings and pulled within one point of second-place Florida.

Kevin Schaeffer, who was returned to the team from Hartford (AHL) earlier in the day, opened the scoring for the Checkers with a one-timer in the slot off a pass from Stefanishion. The goal was Schaeffer’s second of the season and came at the 7:19 mark of the first period.

Shortly after the opening tally Munce made several key saves to keep the one-goal lead, including a beautiful kick save on a wraparound attempt by Gwinnett forward Tim Miller.

Charlotte would then take a two-goal lead, five minutes later, when Andrew Carroll, who was also returned from the Wolf Pack today, scored on a 2-on-1 with Michel Leveille. Leveille fed a pass through the Gwinnett defender and Carroll made no mistake, burying his team-leading 22nd of the season.

Early in the second frame, Schepke scored his first of three to give the Checkers a 3-0 advantage. On the odd-man rush, Stefanishion dished a pass to Schepke who beat Gwinnett goaltender David Brown low on the blocker side.

Charlotte then went ahead by four, just two and a half minutes later, when Tyler Doig beat Brown from the left point on the power play. Leveille and Julien Brouillette picked up assists on the goal.

Gwinnett forward Mike McLean was assessed a high-sticking penalty a minute after the goal by Doig and the Checkers went to the work on the power play once again. Doig took a pass from Brouillette and put a shot on net which was redirected by Carroll between the post and the arm of Brown for the 5-0 lead.

With less than five minutes to play in the period, Jean-Philipp Chabot centered a pass to Schepke who converted for his second of the game to put the Checkers up by six goals.

The Gladiators got on the board early in the third on the power play before Schepke completed the hat trick when he redirected a pass from Steve Ward to regain the six-goal lead.

Gwinnett scored a late goal but it wasn’t enough as the Checkers triumphed, 7-2, to get back in the win column and maintain sole possession of fifth place in the American Conference.

The Checkers (29-17-6) will embark on a three-game northern road trip before returning on Wednesday, Mar. 3. Puck drops at 7 p.m. and ticket information can be obtained by calling 704-342-4-ICE or visiting www.gocheckers.com.

GAME SUMMARY and OFFICIAL SCORERS SHEET 

STANDINGS:

TEAM	GP	W	L	OTL	SOL	PTS	GF	GA	STK	P 10	PIM
1. South Carolina Sting Rays	59	35	15	4	5	79	207	181	3-0-0-0	5-4-0-1	819
2. Florida Everblades	56	28	19	4	5	65	180	169	2-0-1-0	5-2-2-1	1017
3. Charlotte Checkers	52	29	17	3	3	64	188	169	1-0-0-0	6-3-0-1	1082
4. Gwinnett Gladiators	53	25	23	3	2	55	183	291	0-2-0-0	6-4-0-0	852

 

NOTES:

* Charlotte is 8-1-1 in its last 10 home games…

* Matt Schepke has the Checkers’ only two hat tricks this season…

* Andrew Carroll leads the team with 23 goals and ranks tied for third among all ECHL rookies…

* T.J. Reynolds leads the ECHL with 213 penalty minutes and is second in overall plus-minus with a +23 rating…

* Derek Couture and Kenny Roche remain with Hartford (AHL), Ethan Graham is with Texas (AHL) while Matt Ford and Randy Rowe are with Lake Erie (AHL)…

* Trevor Glass, Chris Snavely and Chris Chappell are on the 21-day injured reserve

 

LINES:

Doig – Leveille © – Carroll
Stefanishion – Tkaczuk – Schepke
Slattengren – Taylor – Marshall
Chabot

Brouillette – Schaeffer
Dowzak – Reynolds
Crane

Munce
Willerding

 

(Assistant Captains Bold and Italicized)

 

SCRATCHES:

Mike Berube – Healthy Scratch
Trevor Glass – Lower Body – Early March
Chris Snavely – Upper Body – 2-3 weeks
Chris Chappell – Shoulder Surgery – Season Over

 

THREE STARS:

1. CHR – M. Schepke

2. CHR – M. Stefanishion

3. GWT – M. Francis

 

ON ICE OFFICIALS:

Referee:

JM McNulty (21)

Linesmen:

Mathieu Chenier (71)

Ben Shiley (92)

 

NEXT GAME:

Another long respite for the Checkers. They are off until Friday night when they travel to Cincinnati to take on the Cyclones. They then will play back-back games in Kalamazoo again the Wings on Saturday and Sunday.

You’ll find in live in-game coverage at www.twitter.com/howlingstoday.

You can always buy tickets for any Checkers game home or away at Ticketmaster.com.

Should you want to watch this very exciting team from the comfort of your computer chair, all Checkers games are available on B2Live.

 

SCORE-SHEET:

Charlotte Checkers 7 At Gwinnett Gladiators 2 – Status: Final

Feb 21, 2010 – The Arena at Gwinnett Center

Charlotte 2 4 1 – 7

Gwinnett 0 0 2 – 2

1st Period-1, Charlotte, Schaeffer 1 (Stefanishion), 7:19. 2, Charlotte, Carroll 1 (Leveille), 12:28. Penalties-Roberts Gwt (boarding), 3:46.

2nd Period-3, Charlotte, Schepke 17 (Stefanishion), 4:55. 4, Charlotte, Doig 15 (Brouillette, Leveille), 7:33 (pp). 5, Charlotte, Carroll 2 (Doig, Brouillette), 9:52 (pp). 6, Charlotte, Schepke 18 (Chabot, Stefanishion), 15:47. Penalties-Reynolds Chr (tripping), 1:27; Filangieri Gwt (slashing ), 7:02; McLean Gwt (high-sticking), 9:35.

3rd Period-7, Gwinnett, Francis 7 (Lawrence, Denny), 2:25 (pp). 8, Charlotte, Schepke 19 (Ward, Stefanishion), 6:57. 9, Gwinnett, Francis 8 (Denny, McLean), 14:08 (pp). Penalties-Reynolds Chr (slashing ), 2:20; Slattengren Chr (tripping), 11:38; Crane Chr (high-sticking), 13:23.

Shots on Goal-Charlotte 9-9-3-21. Gwinnett 9-5-12-26.

Power Play Opportunities-Charlotte 2 of 3; Gwinnett 2 of 4.

Goalies-Charlotte, Munce 14-11-1-1 (26 shots-24 saves). Gwinnett, Brown 8-11-2-0 (18 shots-12 saves); Taylor 14-11-1-2 (3 shots-2 saves).

A-4,571

CHECKING UP

     VERSUS     

CHECKERS WITH HISTORIC VICTORY, DUMP STINGRAYS 3-1
Stefanishion Pots Winner In Last Ever Regular Season Meeting Between Division Rivals

The Charlotte Checkers fell behind by one and battled back with three straight goals for a 3-1 victory over the league-leading South Carolina Stingrays on Wednesday evening at Time Warner Cable Arena.

The game was the last ever regular season meeting between the two division rivals as it was announced earlier in the day that the Checkers will begin play in the American Hockey League in 2010-11. Charlotte will finish with a 6-3-2 record over 11 games versus the Stingray this season.

Matt Stefanishion, who was acquired in a trade with Alaska last week, netted the game-winning goal in his first game as a Checker while Michel Leveille added two assists. Tyler Doig and Jean-Philipp Chabot rounded out the scoring for Charlotte while Ryan Munce stopped 33 of 34 shots for his 12th win of the season.

Leveille had the game’s first real scoring chance when he broke in alone on Stingrays goaltender Shane Connelly. Leveille faked to the backhand and let a shot go that was stopped by the blocker of Connelly to keep the score knotted at 0-0.

With only 15 seconds to play in the first period, South Carolina would open the scoring while shorthanded when Trent Campbell poked the puck past a Charlotte defender and broke in alone on Munce. Campbell made no mistake and beat Munce low on the glove side for his 13th of the season.

The Checkers were assessed two penalties early in the second period and the Stingrays went to work on a 5-on-3 power play. Munce made several key saves to keep it a one-goal game and momentum shifted Charlotte’s way.

Shortly after the penalty kill, Tyler Doig laid a big hit on Stingrays defenseman Nick Klaren to which Dylan Yeo took exception. Yeo attempted to engage Doig, who realized his services would be best used on the ice in a one-goal game.

The decision paid off for the Checkers’ leading scorer as he would tie the game on the next shift. Leveille entered the zone and dropped a pass to Doig who then dragged the puck around a Stingrays defender and through the legs of Connelly.

Midway through the third period, the Stingrays were assessed a hooking penalty setting up a Charlotte power play. On the ensuing faceoff, South Carolina defenseman Zach Tarkir slashed Stefanishion on the foot and was handed a costly penalty, giving the Checkers a 5-on-3 man advantage. Less than a minute later, Stefanishion delivered some payback as he one-timed a pass in the slot from Leveille past Connelly for his first as a Checker.

Charlotte would add some insurance just under two minutes later when Mike Taylor took the puck behind the Stingrays’ net and slid a pass between the defenders and goaltender onto the stick of Chabot in the slot. Chabot made no mistake and tapped it in for his eighth of the season, lifting the Checkers to a 3-1 victory and keeping a two-point lead over third-place Florida in the South Division.

Charlotte (27-15-6) will travel to Gwinnett this weekend for two important games before returning home to host the Toledo Walleye on Thursday for the ‘Midnight Game’. Puck drops at 11:59 p.m. and ticket information can be obtained by calling 704-342-4-ICE or visiting www.gocheckers.com

GAME SUMMARY and OFFICIAL SCORERS SHEET  

 

STANDINGS:

TEAM	GP	W	L	OTL	SOL	PTS	GF	GA	STK	P 10	PIM
1. South Carolina Sting Rays	54	31	14	4	5	71	185	174	0-1-0-1	3-5-1-1	777
2. Charlotte Checkers	48	27	15	3	3	60	175	157	4-0-0-1	7-2-0-1	1030
3. Florida Everblades	50	25	18	3	4	57	159	148	1-0-1-0	6-3-1-0	938
4. Gwinnett Gladiators	48	23	20	3	2	51	172	181	0-1-0-0	5-5-0-0	811

 

NOTES:

* Charlotte is 8-0-1 in its last nine home games…

* Mike Taylor is currently riding a four-game point streak (1g, 4a)…

* Aaron Slattengren has eight goals in his last nine home games…

* Goaltender Ryan Munce has earned points in five straight games (4-0-1)…

* Julien Brouillette ranks fourth among all ECHL defensemen with 29 points (12g, 17a)…

* Tyler Doig (14g, 41a) and Michel Leveille (14g, 34a) rank fourth and 10th, respectively, among all ECHL players…

* T.J. Reynolds leads the ECHL with 197 penalty minutes and is second in overall plus-minus with a +20 rating…

* Derek Couture, Kenny Roche and Kevin Schaeffer remain with Hartford (AHL) while Matt Ford and Randy Rowe are with Lake Erie (AHL)…

* Trevor Glass, Chris Snavely and Chris Chappell are on the 21-day injured reserve.

 

LINES:

Stefanishion -Leveille © – Doig
Slattengren – Tkaczuk – Schepke
Taylor – Chabot – Marshall
Carroll

Graham – Ward
Berube – Reynolds
Brouillette – Dowzak

Munce

(Assistant Captains Bold and Italicized)

 

SCRATCHES:

Cedric Lalonde-McNicoll – Recalled to Lake Erie
Trevor Glass – Close to returning
Chris Snavely – 21-day IR
Chris Chappell – Season ending injury

 

THREE STARS:

1. CHR – M. Stefanishion
2. CHR – R. Munce
3. CHR – M. Leveille

 

ON ICE OFFICIALS:

Referee:
Jarrod Ragusin (28)

Linesmen:
Mathieu Chenier (71)
Paul Reid (97)

 

NEXT GAME:

The Checkers won’t have a lot of time to sit around and dwell on this win. They get tomorrow off and then it’s back to back games with Gwinnett before they do the most unique thing we’ve ever seen in professional sports…a midnight game with the Toledo Walleye Be sure to check out www.twitter.com/howlingstoday for coverage.

You can buy tickets for any Checkers game home or away at Ticketmaster.com.

Should you want to watch this very exciting team from the comfort of your computer chair, all Checkers games are available on B2Live.

 

SCORE-SHEET:

South Carolina Stingrays 1 At Charlotte Checkers 3 – Status: Final

Feb 10, 2010 – Time Warner Cable Arena

South Carolina 1 0 0 – 1

Charlotte 0 1 2 – 3

1st Period-1, South Carolina, Campbell 13   19:45 (sh). Penalties-Cascalenda Sc (interference), 15:01; Bruess Sc (hooking), 18:22.

2nd Period-2, Charlotte, Doig 14 (Leveille), 18:12. Penalties-Reynolds Chr (cross-checking), 1:20; Graham Chr (delay of game), 2:29; Yeo Sc (tripping), 7:39; Chabot Chr (boarding), 10:57.

3rd Period-3, Charlotte, Stefanishion 15 (Graham, Leveille), 9:17 (pp). 4, Charlotte, Chabot 8 (Taylor, Carroll), 10:53. Penalties-Johnson Sc (hooking), 8:24; Tarkir Sc (slashing ), 8:24; Reynolds Chr (slashing ), 14:51; Yeo Sc (roughing, misconduct, game misconduct – abuse of officials), 16:29; Chabot Chr (tripping), 19:59.

Shots on Goal-South Carolina 9-14-11-34. Charlotte 12-12-14-38.

Power Play Opportunities-South Carolina 0 of 5; Charlotte 1 of 6.

Goalies-South Carolina, Connelly 10-10-4-2 (38 shots-35 saves). Charlotte, Munce 12-9-1-1 (34 shots-33 saves).

A-3,823

BRODIE DUPONT, DEVILS EXORCIST

     VERSUS     

Brodie Dupont scored his second goal of the game with just 19.9 seconds remaining in overtime giving the Wolf Pack their eighth overtime win of the season 3-2 over the Lowell Devils.

In their second visit of the season to the Prudential Center in New Jersey where the Devils parent club resides, the winning goal came off a three-on-two odd man rush. Jordan Owens came up the right wing side and fed Brodie Dupont in the slot. Dupont uncorked a blast that hit Devils starting netminder Mike McKenna (25 saves, 16-9-1) in his glove. McKenna didn’t get all of the shot and the force of the it carried the puck past the Devils netminder for the game winner.

Referee Mark Lemelin made his presence felt and had a say in the way the game was played. He was unable to remove the whistle from his mouth all night, not a good sign for the Pack. Lowell entered the game with the AHL’s best power play capitalizing 22.6% of the time while the Pack have been mired near the bottom all season on the penalty kill. The Pack entered the game 23rd overall on the penalty kill at 80.7% and it cost them early in the game.

At 15:32 of the first period, Pack defenseman Nigel Williams went off for hooking. The call negated a Pack power play and and created a four-on-four for 43 seconds. After Nathan Perkovich escaped his solitary confinement, the Devils had the man up and it only took them five seconds to put the puck past Pack starter Matt Zaba. Nick Palmieri took a loose puck in his own zone and sprung Tim Sestito up the left wing side. The bang-bang play created issues for the Pack as their forwards were caught behind the play. Sestito fired from the left wing circle and put it perfectly over Zaba’s right shoulder and into the top corner of the cage for the 1-0 lead.

It stayed that way until  4:14 of the second period when the Pack were able to get the donut off the board.

Devin DiDiomete, who continues to try and make the most of the limited minutes he’s been seeing, made a solid outlet pass to Owens. Owens advanced the puck into the right wing corner and saw linemate Derek Couture driving hard to the net ahead of Brad Snetsinger. Owens made a fantastic feed that hit Couture’s stick perfectly and the Checkers call-up slid it right under McKenna for his sixth of the year.

In the second, despite being outshot 12-5 by Lowell, the Pack played very solid defensively especially Jared Nightingale who had perhaps his best game in a Pack sweater.

The third period saw the Pack come out with a different attitude and they just took the game right to their hosts and their hosts’ net.

Six minutes into the period the Pack almost scored when Nightingale’s shot from in front got behind McKenna, but the Devils’ netminder was able to get back and cover it.

After having stopped five of six Lowell power plays, and having failed on six of their own, the Pack finally cashed one in for the first time in their previous 14 tries.

Dane Byers fed Corey Locke on the right wing side. Locke looked across the ice and as has been the set play for a while now, Dupont crashed the net from the left side and got in front of Matthew Corrente. Locke saw it and put a pass right on the stick of Dupont who deflected it in past McKenna for his ninth of the season.

The Pack could feel their five game winless streak (0-4-1-0) coming to a close as they only had to keep third place Lowell off the board for 7:44, but that wouldn’t happen.

With McKenna pulled for an extra attacker and with just 1:07 remaining in regulation, Cory Murphy blasted a hard slap-shot from the left point that Perkovich, stationed in front of Zaba, deflected in sending the game to overtime.

The Pack left Newark…can you blame them…and headed south for a two-game battle with the Norfolk Admirals on Friday and Saturday nights.

Bob Crawford masterfully called the action and then wrote the summary at Hartfordwolfpack.com.  The Eagle Tribune has a brief recap from Lowell’s eyes.

GAME SUMMARY and OFFICIAL SCORERS SHEET

 

STANDINGS

TEAM	GP	W	L	OTL	SOL	PTS	GF	GA	STK	P 10	PIM
1. Monarchs	51	29	15	2	5	65	139	119	0-1-0-0	4-4-1-1	753
2. Sharks	48	30	14	2	2	64	160	148	6-0-1-0	7-1-2-0	750
3. Devils	51	29	17	4	1	63	162	134	2-0-1-0	6-2-1-1	969
4. Pirates	48	25	16	5	2	57	144	130	4-0-0-0	7-2-1-0	871
5.WOLF PACK	50	24	20	2	4	54	136	144	1-0-0-0	4-5-1-0	1017
6. Sound Tigers	51	22	21	2	6	52	121	134	0-2-0-3	1-4-1-4	1161
7. Bruins	49	23	23	3	0	49	125	129	2-0-0-0	4-4-2-0	791
8. Falcons	53	16	27	8	2	42	129	193	0-3-0-0	4-6-0-0	1136

 

NOTES:

* If you have yet to sign up for our new service to our readers on Twitter, you’re really missing out on the most extensive coverage of the Wolf Pack and Checkers you’ll find anywhere. In addition to keeping you posted here on all major news stories, visit www.twitter.com/howlingstoday for in-game coverage of both Wolf Pack and Checkers games. Please “Follow” us on Twitter.

* The overtime win gave the Pack the most wins in the extended frame than any other in the AHL.

* Dupont’s game winner was his second of the season. He also rang up a goal that was the difference on November 6th when the Pack beat Providence 5-3.

 

LINES:

Byers © – Locke – Weise
Grachev – Dupont – Roche
Soryal – Crowder – Ambϋhl
DiDiomete – Owens – Couture

Heikkinen – Brouillette
Williams – Schaeffer
Urquhart – Nightingale

Zaba
Wiikman

(Assistant Captains Bold and Italicized)

 

SCRATCHES:

Ryan Garlock – Undisclosed – Day-to-Day
Steven Valiquette – Hand Injury – Day-to-Day
Michael Sauer – Undisclosed – Day-to-Day
Bobby Sanguinetti – Lower Body – Day-to-Day
Corey Potter – Concussion – Indefinite
P.A. Parenteau – Concussion – Indefinite
Mathieu Dandenault – Lower Body – Indefinite
Chad Johnson – On recall with the NY Rangers
Brent Henley – Knee  – Season
Mike Hoffman – Shoulder – Season

 

THREE STARS:

1. HFD – B. Dupont
2. HFD – M. Zaba
3. LOW – N. Perkovich

 

ON ICE OFFICIALS:

Referee:
Mark Lemelin (84)

Linesmen:
Scott Adams (20)
Mike McDevitt (13)

 

NEXT GAME:
”On the Road Again…” The good guys are headed to Virginia for two games Friday and Saturday with the Norfolk Admirals. Bob Crawford will have the pre-game at 6:30 and then the call of the contest starting at 7:05
To watch the game live, you can purchased it for $6.99 at AHL-live.

If you can attend the cost is as little as $10 a ticket, why not just go? For Ticket information call (860) 548-2000.

Too far away or can’t make it? Listen live at WTIC.com.

 

SCORE-SHEET:

Hartford Wolf Pack 3 (OT) At Lowell Devils 2 – Status: Final OT

Feb 3, 2010 – Prudential Center

Hartford 0 1 1 1 – 3

Lowell 1 0 1 0 – 2

1st Period-1, Lowell, Sestito 15 (Palmieri), 16:19 (pp). Penalties-DiDiomete Hfd (fighting), 3:19; Robitaille Low (fighting), 3:19; Taormina Low (holding the stick), 4:42; Couture Hfd (fighting), 7:26; Stoesz Low (fighting), 7:26; Williams Hfd (tripping), 9:36; Perkovich Low (interference), 14:14; Williams Hfd (hooking), 15:32; Thomas Low (hooking), 16:34; Swift Low (holding), 19:37.

2nd Period-2, Hartford, Couture 6 (Owens, DiDiomete), 4:14. Penalties-Brouillette Hfd (hooking), 4:50; Ambuhl Hfd (tripping), 7:02; Stoesz Low (cross-checking), 10:03; Owens Hfd (hooking), 12:33; Byers Hfd (hooking), 15:52.

3rd Period-3, Hartford, Dupont 9 (Locke, Byers), 12:16 (pp). 4, Lowell, Perkovich 12 (Murphy, Taormina), 18:53. Penalties-Davison Low (high-sticking), 0:22; Snetsinger Low (goaltender interference), 11:52.

OT Period-5, Hartford, Dupont 10 (Owens), 4:40. Penalties-No Penalties

Shots on Goal-Hartford 10-5-10-3-28. Lowell 13-12-13-1-39.

Power Play Opportunities-Hartford 1 of 7; Lowell 1 of 6.

Goalies-Hartford, Zaba 4-7-1 (39 shots-37 saves). Lowell, McKenna 16-9-1 (28 shots-25 saves).

A-5,458

 

MEANWHILE BACK IN CHARLOTTE

 Lots of News from Charlotte today. One concerns an old friend and the other, man’s best friend and the last concerns a new talented face for the lineup.

Matt Stefanishion has been acquired by the Charlotte Checkers. Stefanishion played 15 games back with the Wolf Pack in 2008-2009 and scored a goal and had 17 PIM. The team also announced the arrival of Cedric McNicoll from the Lake Erie Monsters. Meanwhile the Checkers also announced perhaps the most creative promotion that we’ve ever heard of. Read the official release below and then Stefanishion and McNicoll’s releases follow.

 

CHECKERS TO HOST INAUGURAL POOCH PARTY

Fans Encouraged To Bring Their Dogs To Mar. 14 Game

The Charlotte Checkers announced today that they have partnered with the Humane Society of Charlotte to present the inaugural “Pooch Party” at Time Warner Cable Arena on Sunday, Mar. 14 at 2 p.m. when they host the Gwinnett Gladiators.

Dog owners from throughout the Charlotte area are encouraged to bring their four-legged friends to the Checkers game to enjoy the excitement together and raise funds for a worthy cause.

“We are very excited to be able to offer an event that is dog-friendly,” said Checkers COO Tera Black. “It seems as if dog owners are continually seeking out new activities to do with their pets, and the Pooch Party has had substantial success in other, similar markets.  In partnering with the Humane Society, we also hope to bring a new level of awareness to the challenges that they face, and hopefully be able to garner the support of our fans in their initiatives.”

The Humane Society of Charlotte’s vision is to place all animals in safe and loving homes by providing care and compassion for all pets as well as education and information on the humane and responsible treatment of, and respect for, all animals. The not-for-profit organization is committed to treating all animals that enter their shelters with love, kindness, and dignity.

“The “Pooch Party” is a unique opportunity for families to bring their dog to a Checkers game while supporting the great work of the Humane Society of Charlotte,” added Donna Canzano, director of development for the Humane Society of Charlotte. “We are grateful to the Checkers for this opportunity to raise funds and awareness for our organization.”

Humane Society of Charlotte members and supporters can attend the game and support the cause in the process. As part of the partnership, the Checkers will donate $6 of each $15 fundraiser ticket back to the not-for-profit organization.

Non-pet-owners, or those who prefer to leave their companions at home, can still attend the game and raise funds for the Humane Society of Charlotte.

Owners and dogs will have a designated seating section to take in the “Pooch Party”, which will include promotional elements during the game and on the concourse as well as on-ice activities and much more.

Those interested in attending the game and supporting Humane Society of Charlotte, should contact the Checkers’ front office at 704.342-4423 or tickets@gocheckers.com.

Charlotte (24-15-5) will host two important games with potential playoff implications on Thursday, Feb. 4 and Friday, Feb 5 against the Florida Everblades. Ticket information can be obtained by calling 704-342-4-ICE or visiting www.gocheckers.com.

About the Humane Society of Charlotte: The mission of the Humane Society of Charlotte is to bring love and hope to all animals by ensuring the humane treatment of companion animals through adoption, spay/neuter and education. Our vision is to place all animals in safe and loving homes. The Humane Society of Charlotte provides low-cost spay and neuter surgeries for cats and dogs to reduce pet overpopulation throughout the Carolinas. The no-kill-of-adoptable-animals organization provides pets with the love and attention they need to live happy and healthy lives while awaiting a new home. The Humane Society of Charlotte is a non-profit organization that relies solely on private donations to achieve its mission

Here’s the Stefanishion release:

CHECKERS ACQUIRE STEFANISHION FROM ALASKA 

 Power Forward Brings Size, Scoring; Deal Completes Doyle Trade

The Charlotte Checkers have acquired forward Matt Stefanishion from the Alaska Aces, general manager and head coach Derek Wilkinson announced today. The deal completes the future considerations from the trade in early January that sent goaltender Frank Doyle to Alaska.

Stefanishion has 14 goals, six assists and 101 penalty minutes in 30 games this season for Alaska, including eight goals and three assists in his last 13 games. He helped the Aces reach game seven of last season’s Kelly Cup Finals with six goals and three assists in 16 playoff games.

The 26-year-old native of Daysland, Alberta has also skated for Fresno, Reading and South Carolina over four seasons. In 191 career ECHL games, he has 66 goals, 62 assists and 570 penalty minutes. Stefanishion has also appeared in 19 career American Hockey League games with the Hartford Wolf Pack, Hershey Bears and Peoria Rivermen.

Prior to joining the pro ranks, the 6-foot-3, 225-pound power forward played two seasons at Ferris State University where he scored 21 goals, 13 assists and added 125 penalty minutes in 57 games. Upon graduation, he signed a two-year entry level contract with the Washington Capitals.

It is expected Stefanishion will join the Checkers for Sunday’s home game against Toledo.

 

Here’s the McNicoll release:

 CHECKERS RECEIVE MCNICOLL FROM LAKE ERIE 

 Skilled Forward Led Team In Scoring, League In Plus-Minus In ‘08-09

The Charlotte Checkers have been assigned forward Cedric McNicoll from the American Hockey League’s Lake Erie Monsters head coach and general manager Derek Wilkinson announced today.

McNicoll, 21, has five goals and eight assists in 39 games for the Monsters this season, his first as a professional. He notched his first career goal on Oct. 30 against Peoria and collected seven points in seven games between Dec. 26 and Jan. 5.

The 5-foot-10, 180-pound center from Longueuil, Quebec enjoyed a successful four-year junior career with the Shawinigan Cataractes of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League where he tallied 110 goals and 154 assists in 249 games.

In 2008-09, McNicoll led the Cataractes in scoring with 104 points (38g, 66a) in 65 games and led the entire QMJHL with an impressive +61 rating. He helped Shawinigan to the QMJHL finals with 31 points in 21 games before losing in seven games to the Drummondville Voltigeurs.

He was twice named winner of the Frank J. Selke Award as the QMJHL’s most sportsmanlike player and participated in the 2009 QMJHL All-Star Game.

McNicoll attended training camp with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2008 and was signed by the Colorado Avalanche in 2009. He is expected to be in the lineup tonight when the Checkers host the Florida Everblades.