Game Night: Checkers vs. Nailers - 10/20/06

[Ice cheX]

Posted on Sat, Oct. 21, 2006

CHECKERS 10, NAILERS 3

A perfect 10? Checkers nail Wheeling early (http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/sports/hockey/echl/charlotte_checkers/15813422.htm)

Season opens with a bang as Charlotte scores 5 first-period goals

KEITH CANNON
Special Correspondent
The offensive punch was obvious in the Charlotte Checkers' 10-3 season-opening victory over the Wheeling Nailers on Friday night.

Five goals in the first period. Eight power play goals. Seven different players on the scoreboard, led by Dusty Jamieson's hat trick and two goals from Bruce Graham.

But also give an assist to the Checkers' defense, Charlotte coach Derek Wilkinson said.

"We didn't spend much time in our own end," he said. "They were the ones who had to hook and grab and take penalties."

The Nailers took lots of them, enough for 18 Charlotte power plays and the result was one of the Checkers' top scoring nights ever in front of a crowd of 9,245 at Charlotte Bobcats Arena.

Charlotte trailed 2-1 after Wheeling's Jordan Cameron scored on a power play 11 minutes and 13 seconds into the game.

But the Checkers scored four straight goals, three on the power play, in the last 4:16 of the period to take a 5-2 lead, and they were never seriously threatened after that. Five different Checkers -- Rycroft, Graham, Ryan Constant, Blake Bellefeuille and Zdenek Bahensky -- scored before the first intermission.

"We've got 10 forwards that can play," Wilkinson said. "We came out pretty excited in the first five or 10 minutes with a big crowd on opening night, and that energy set the tone. I hope we can come out the same way in our second game tomorrow."

The five first period goals knocked Wheeling starting goaltender Andy Franck out of the game, but backup Kevin Schieve didn't fare much better, thanks in part to Jamieson's hat trick in the second period.

NOTES: The Checkers and the Nailers play again at 7:30 tonight at Charlotte Bobcats Arena. ... Chris Holt stopped a penalty shot by Wheeling's Kurtis McLean at 15:31 of the second period.


Wheeling 2 1 0 -- 3
Checkers 5 3 2 -- 10


FIRST PERIOD--1. Wheeling, Wallace 1 (Brooks, Foster) 4:00. 2. Charlotte, Graham 1 (Constant, Lee) 7:43 (pp). 3. Wheeling, Cameron 1 (McLean, Bissonnette) 11:13 (pp). 4. Charlotte, Constant 1 (Jamieson, Petruzalek) 15:44 (pp). 5. Charlotte, Bellefeuille 1 (DeWaele, Petruzalek) 18:10 (pp). 6. Charlotte, Bahensky 1, 19:03. 7. Charlotte, Rycroft 1 (Lee) 19:27 (pp). Penalties--Brooks W (hooking) 6:32); Moren W (hooking) 8:01; Potter C (holding) 9:48; Rycroft C (tripping) 10:06; Cheesman W (hooking) 12:16; Moren W (hooking) 14:38; McNeill W (roughing) 15:02; McNeill W (fighting major) 15:02; Gillies C (fighting major) 15:02; Moren W (hooking) 17:09; Patrick W (roughing) 18:10; Holt C (participating in play beyond blue line) 18:10; Bissonnette W (fighting major) 18:24; Vodrazka C (fighting major) 18:24; Brooks W (hooking) 19:16

SECOND PERIOD--8. Charlotte, Jamieson 1 (Lee, Petruzalek) 2:44 (pp). 9. Charlotte, Jamieson 2, 8:03. 10. Wheeling, Guenther 1 (Cheesman, McLean) 11:14. 11. Charlotte, Jamieson 3 (Smith, Petruzalek) 19:48 (pp). Penalties--Cameron W (holding) 2:31; McNeill W (fighting major) 8:06; Vodrazka C (fighting major) 8:06; Gillies C (tripping) 8:06; Collins W (hooking) 12:22; Goody W (spearing major) 16:24; Goody W (game misconduct) 16:24.

THIRD PERIOD--12. Charlotte, Kozak 1 (Rycroft, Constant) 1:20 (pp). 13. Charlotte, Graham 2 (Smith, Lee) 14:37 (pp). Penalties--Sonnenberg W (holding) 2:24; Smith C (tripping) 3:27; Gillies C (diving) 3:55; Wallace W (hooking) 7:01; Sonnenberg W (hooking) 10:10; Patrick W (interference) 12:09; Smith C (hooking) 12:33; Brooks W (tripping) 14:07; Foster W (slashing) 17:33.

Shots on goal--Wheeling 10-7-6--23; Charlotte 13-16-13--42; Goaltenders--Wheeling, Franck 0-1-0 (20 shots-15 saves); Schieve (22-17, 20:00 of 2nd); Charlotte, Holt 1-0-0 (23-20). Att.--9, 245 (at Charlotte).

[SD12]

(With comments from Coach Derek WIlkinson and Dusty Jamieson)

Checkers Press Release

CHECKERS DEFEAT NAILERS 10-3 IN HOME OPENER

CHARLOTTE, NC - The Charlotte Checkers defeated the Wheeling Nailers
10-3 Friday night in the season opener in front of 9,245 fans at St.
Lawrence Homes Home Ice at Charlotte Bobcats Arena. Dusty Jamieson led the team in scoring with a hat trick and one assist while Bruce Graham chipped in scoring with two goals.

"We've always stressed in training camp is that what you can do the first shift, you can do the last shift, whether you're winning or losing" commented Checkers Head Coach Derek Wilkinson. "OUr guys did it. They won all three periods tonight, and had a good time in front of a big crowd."

The scoring started at 4:00 in the first period by Tim Wallace from Wheeling, and both Jon Foster and Chris Brooks assisted to make the score 1-0. The Checkers began the scoring with a goal from Graham at 7:43 which was assisted by Ryan Constant and Mark Lee to tie the game at 1-1. Wheeling posted its second goal at 11:43 which was from Jordan Cameron and assisted by Paul Bissonnette and Kurtis McLean.

The Checkers then scored their second goal at 15:49 in the period from Lee who was helped by Jakub Petruzalek and Jamieson. At 18:10 in the period Blake Bellefeuille scored a power play goal for the Checkers, and less than a minute later at 19:03 in the period Zdenek Bahensky scored an unassisted goal for the Checkers to make the score 4-2. With less than a minute left in the period, Daymen Rycroft scored on the power play with help from Lee which ended the period with the Checkers leading 5-2.

The second period action started at 2:55 with a goal from Jamieson giving him his first goal of the evening. Later in the second, at 8:03 Jamieson scored his second goal in his hat trick which was assisted by Petruzalek and Lee. Wheeling scored their third and final goal at 11:14 from Joe Guenther who was helped by McLean and Bo Cheesman. With the second period coming to a close, and 12 seconds left, Dusty Jamieson completed the hat trick with a power play goal with help from Petruzalek and Kenny Smith. The second period ended with the Checkers up 8-3.

Jamieson couldn't describe how it happened, but he's happy it did. "Sometimes the puck just seems to go in. My linemates made some great passes to me and I was just in the right spot. It was a good for a first game, and our team played really well together. We showed what kind of a team we're going to be."

The third period began 1:20 into the period with a Checkers goal from Rick Kozak with assistance from Rycroft and Constant. The final goal of the evening was scored by Graham giving him his second goal for the evening. Chris Holt was in goal for the Checkers stopping 20 of 23 shots but did receive a game misconduct in the first period for leaving the crease during an altercation.

The three stars of the game were Petruzalek with 4 assists, Lee with 1 goal and 3 assists, and Jamieson with a hat trick and one assist.

"Right now, we've got all ten forwards that can play," continued Wilkinson. "And almost all of them can play any position, which makes it pretty easy with the compliment we have right now. Overall, things are good right now for us, but it'll be how we come back out tomorrow and how these kids play their second game."

The Checkers next home game is Saturday, Oct. 21 against the Wheeling Nailers at 7:30 p.m. at Charlotte Bobcats Arena. For ticket information call the Checkers at 704-342-4-ICE or purchase and print your tickets at www.gocheckers.com (http://www.gocheckers.com).

Box Score (http://echl.leaguestat.com/stats/game-summary.php?game_id=903)

[SD12]

From nailershockey.com

Nailers Trounced in Season Opener, with 10-3 Loss to Checkers

The Wheeling Nailers opened the 2006-07 season, with a disastrous 10-3 loss to the hands of the Charlotte Checkers, tonight at the Charlotte Bobcats Arena, in downtown Charlotte, NC.

The Nailers did draw first blood in this game, as Tim Wallace knocked home a rebound by Checkers goalie, Chris Holt, just four minutes into the game. The Checkers tied the game with a goal by Bruce Graham on the power play at 7:43, has is shot just got by Andy Franck.

Wheeling then re-gained their lead with a power play goal of their own, at 11:13, as Jordan Cameron lit the lamp. The ECHL implemented a new standard of enforcing rules, and the Nailers became victims of this tonight, as the Checkers then opened up the flood gates for four straight goals and three on the power play.

Charlotte got the rout started with a Mark Lee power play goal at 15:49. Blake Bellefeuille, put the Checkers up 3-2, at 18:10 with a power play goal of his own. Zdenek Bahensky scored at 19:03, for Charlotte, and that goal proved to be the game winner. The Checkers added a second goal in the final minute of play, this one on the power play and off the stick of Daymen Rycroft. The Nailers, who had leads of 1-0 and 2-1, left the first period down 5-2.

The second period, the Checkers were still putting power play goals into the net, but it was Kevin Schieve who was now in goal for the Nailers, as Andy Franck was pulled after the first period. Dusty Jamieson gave Charlotte a 6-2 lead with a power play goal at 2:55. Jamieson stuck again for the Checkers at 8:03, this time at even strength. The Nailers finally got a goal back as Joe Guenther netted his first goal of the year, at 11:14, but Wheeling was still in a huge 7-3 hole. Charlotte just kept throwing the dirt on, as Dusty Jamieson completed the hat trick with a power play goal at 19:48. The Nailers went back to the locker room down 8-3 after forty minutes of play.

The final frame saw two more power play goals for Charlotte, who finished 8/18, on the night. Rick Kozak, scored 1:20 into the third period, to make it 9-3 Charlotte. Bruce Graham closed out the scoring at 14:37 with the Checkers eight power play goal of the night. The Nailers were defeated 10-3, and trail the season series 0-1.

The Nailers next game is Saturday, October 21st, 2006, at 7:30, as they one again take on the Charlotte Checkers in the back end of two games at Charlotte Bobcats Arena. You can hear the Nailers, on their new radio station, The Mix WK97.3 and ESPN Radio 1250 AM, the pre-game show starts 20 minutes before the puck drops.

[SD12]

ECHL Scores: (Click to see box scores (http://echl.leaguestat.com/stats/schedule.php?date=2006-10-20))

Wheeling - 3
Charlotte - 10

Columbia - 7
Augusta - 3

Dayton - 0
Toledo - 2

Idaho - 2
Long Beach - 1

Las Vegas - 2
Fresno - 3

Pensacola - 1
Cincinnati - 3

Reading - 3
Trenton - 2

South Carolina - 2
Gwinnett - 4

Stockton - 6
Bakersfield - 1

Texas - 5
Florida - 2

Utah - 2
Phoenix - 3

Victoria - 3
Alaska - 5