Checkers at Royals: 01/20/07

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CHECKERS PRESS RELEASE (http://www.gocheckers.com/fullstory.php?id=567)

CHECKERS WINNING STREAK CONTINUES WITH 3-2 SHOOTOUT WIN AT READING

Reading, Pa - The Charlotte Checkers dominated Saturday night's game with the Reading Royals, but had to go to a shootout to pull out a 3-2 victory.

After outshooting Reading 41-18 in regulation and four to two in overtime, the Checkers (22-14-3 for 47 points) got shootout goals from Dan Murphy and Adam Nightingale to edge the Royals for the win. Charlotte goalie Chris Holt stopped seven of eight Royals' shooters in the shootout to snare the win and raise his personal record to 12-10-2.

Bruce Graham and Zdenek Bahensky scored the Charlotte goals in regulation, with Malcolm MacMillan and Dany Roussin tallying for the Royals. Reading goalie Jeff Pietrasiak was spectacular with 39 saves, and continually frustrated numerous Charlotte scoring opportunities.

The victory was the Checkers fifth straight, and extended their unbeaten streak to seven games at (5-0-2). The win also allowed Charlotte to climb to within a point of third place Florida in the Southern Division of the ECHL's American Conference.

"Even though we were down 2-0 we stuck to the game plan, waited for our breaks and finally got on the board," remarked Murphy. "I was a little nervous being selected to take the first shot in the shootout, but at the same time I was confident. I told myself that this was my opportunity to help the team get a "W" and it felt good to come through."

The Royals (17-18-5 for 39 points) scored first when Macmillan knocked home a rebound that Holt could not control at 4 minutes, 28 seconds of the first period for a 1-0 advantage. Charlotte had the best of the play in the first stanza, outshooting Reading 12-6.

The Royals converted a two-on-one break early in the second period to assume a 2-0 lead. The Checkers finally got on the board with a pair of goals in a two-minute span. Graham's power-play goal with Charlotte on a two-man advantage at 6:21 brought the Checkers to within a goal at 2-1.

Two minutes later Charlotte's hard work along the boards eventually led to the tying goal. Bahensky took Mike Ouellette's pass and beat Pietrasiak from in close to tie the game at 2-2.

In the final period the Checkers outshot the Royals 13 to five, but could not get the go-ahead goal as the two teams headed to the five-minute, sudden-death overtime session. After a scoreless overtime, the Checkers prevailed in an eight-round shootout.

Charlotte will return to Reading next Friday night for their lone game of week when they'll once again meet the Royals at 7:05 p.m. at the Sovereign Center. The Checkers next home game is Friday, February 2 when they'll host the Florida Everblades at Charlotte Bobcats Arena at 7:30 p.m. The first 2,000 fans entering the arena on February 2 will receive a free Checkers T-Shirt compliments of Corporate Xposure.

BOX SCORE (http://echl.leaguestat.com/stats/game-summary.php?game_id=1362)

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CHARLOTTE OBSERVER (http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/sports/hockey/echl/charlotte_checkers/16510960.htm)

CHARLOTTE CHECKERS CHALK UP ROAD WIN
Nightingale difference in extended shoot-out

OBSERVER NEWS SERVICES

READING, PA - It's amazing what a difference a month can make.

Chris Holt turned aside seven of eight shot attempts during a shoot-out Saturday night and the Charlotte Checkers escaped the Sovereign Center with a 3-2 ECHL victory against the Reading Royals.

Holt outdueled Jeff Pietrasiak, who had blanked Charlotte 3-0 on Dec. 21 and was coming off a 3-0 victory Friday night against Trenton.

Adam Nightingale provided the difference in the shoot-out, beating Pietrasiak with the Checkers' eighth attempt.

To get there, though, Charlotte had to fight through fatigue from a nine-hour bus ride overnight.

"We seemed to feed off their big crowd here tonight so it was great," Checkers coach Derek Wilkinson said.

Bruce Graham and Zdenek Bahensky had second-period goals 2 minutes, 9 seconds apart to wipe out Charlotte's deficit.

"We were cycling down low in the corner and tired them out pretty good," Wilkinson said in describing Bahensky's tying effort. "We just beat 'em one-on-one."

The victory is the Checkers' fifth straight overall and the first in three tries in a shoot-out.

Note

• Charlotte's Nathan Gillies left the game midway through and didn't return.

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READING ROYALS PRESS RELEASE (http://www.royalshockey.com/news/news.asp?story_id=195)

ROYALS SALVAGE A POINT DESPITE CHARLOTTE ONSLAUGHT, 3-2
Checkers Outshoot Reading 45-20 But Royals Get To The Shootout Before Losing

READING, PA - The Reading Royals (17–18–5=39; 4th North Division) were pounded by a spirited 45 shot attack from the Charlotte Checkers, but survived to the shootout where the Royals lost in eight rounds, 3-2. Reading scored first and held a two goal lead early in the second period, before Charlotte solved Royals’ goaltender Jeff Pietrasiak (9–11–1; 43-45; 6-8 in shootout). But the Checkers bagged back-to-back goals 2:09 apart mid-way into the second to tie things up. Despite a relentless Checker attack down the stretch, the Royals’ defense and Pietrasiak held strong enough to get to the shootout, where the team lost for the fifth time in six tries this season.

Reading scored 4:28 into the game when Taylor Christie kept left point and fired a shot through traffic on Charlotte goaltender, Chris Holt (12–10–0; 18-20; 7-8 in shootout). Holt made the stop but the rebound fell to the top of the crease where Malcolm MacMillan was able to slip it in for his sixth of the season. The Royals are now 10–2–3 when scoring the game’s first goal.

The Royals built a two-goal lead early in the second when Ned Lukacevic banked a puck off the left wing wall to Greg Hogeboom who received the pass on the fly and charged deep into the offensive zone on a two-on-one break with Dany Roussin. Hogeboom timed his centering pass brilliantly, hitting Roussin on the forehand; and he was able to bury the puck under the bar for his fourth of the season 2:50 into the period. A bit later in the second, the Royals’ Kevin Saurette was called for hooking; and while he was in the penalty box, Reading got caught on a bad change and were called for a bench minor for too many men on the ice. In the ensuing five-on-three power play, the Checkers got on the board when Hugh Jessiman carried into the offensive zone and found Bruce Graham in the left circle. Graham ripped a snap shot high to the short side on Pietrasiak for his twenty-second goal of the season at the 6:21 mark of the second. 2:09 later, after a sustained fore-check, Charlotte tied the game when Zdenek Bahensky took control of a loose puck at the right side of the net and fired a short-side snap shot above Pietrasiak.

The two teams played up and down hockey through the remainder of the second, into the third and through the overtime, as the Checkers continued to come in waves, while the Royals mixed in a couple of scoring chances of their own. But both goaltenders made the stops they needed to make to get it to the shootout—where the net minders continued to control the day; but Dan Murphy (shooting first) and Adam Nightingale (shooting eighth) scored for Charlotte, while on James Hiebert (shooting fifth) was the only Royal who was able to bag his chance.

Reading is back in action tomorrow afternoon (4:00 pm) against the Trenton Titans at the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton, New Jersey. Royals’ game night broadcasts can be heard live on ESPN Radio 1240 am (and on the internet through the Royals’ website, www.royalshockey.com (http://www.royalshockey.com)), beginning thirty minutes before the opening face-off. Streaming video is also available for $6.00 per game through the B2 Networks, which can be accessed through the Royals’ website.

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READING EAGLE (http://www.readingeagle.com/re/sports/1617563.asp)

LADY LUCK PAYS A VISIT, ROYALS SALVAGE A POINT
A usually cursed Reading team is mostly outplayed by Charlotte, but takes the game to overtime and then falls in a shootout

by DON STEWART (dstewart@readingeagle.com)

READING, PA - Through 40 games, lucky breaks have been as common as flying rhinos for the Reading Royals. They've had 10 one-goal losses, 13 defeats when outshooting their opponent and just about every other wacky misfortune imaginable.

Saturday night, despite being mostly outplayed, Reading forced a shootout with the Charlotte Checkers before falling 3-2. Apparently, the Royals finally built up enough karma to allow them to swipe a point out of a one-sided affair.

“We've lost lots of games that we feel we should've won,” Reading coach Karl Taylor said. “If we're not supposed to get a point tonight, maybe we're earning it back from those other games.”

The second-largest crowd at the Sovereign Center this season (6,912) saw the Checkers come back from a 2-0 deficit, outshoot the Royals 45-20, hit at least three goal pipes and eventually win the shootout 2-1 on Adam Nightingale's eighth-round goal.

“I think we played pretty well,” said goalie Jeff Pietrasiak, who made 43 saves to match his season high. “They were getting a lot of shots from the outside. We capitalized on the opportunities we had.

“It came down right to the end, to the shootout. We were lucky to get a point. We almost had two.”

Arena staff was handing out Malcolm MacMillan figurines before game time. That didn't jinx MacMillan, who tapped in a loose puck 4:28 into the game for Reading's first goal. It was the second straight night the Royals scored first.

The Checkers had plenty of chances in the first period, though.

A Kenton Smith shot from the left point clanged a pipe. Five minutes later, Dan Murphy took an open shot in the slot that slammed into the same pipe. With 5:35 remaining in the period, Pietrasiak made an alert glove save on Nathan Gillies' quick backhander from short range.

But the Royals (17-18-5) went ahead 2-0 three minutes into the second period as Greg Hogeboom rushed down the left wing and slid the puck across to Dany Roussin for an easy tap-in. It was one of just seven Reading shots in the period.

The Checkers (22-14-3) finally scored for the first time in five periods against the Royals this season, but they needed a lengthy 5-on-3 power play to do it. On the rush, a well-covered Hugh Jessiman got the puck out of the right circle for a wide-open Bruce Graham to make it 2-1.

At even strength 2:09 later, Zdenek Bahensky tied it when he sent a Nightingale rebound off the crossbar and into the net.

The two teams failed to convert any of their handful of chances from there. Graham hit the crossbar 7:25 into the third, and Pietrasiak stopped Murphy on an odd-man rush in overtime. In the final seconds of OT, Chris Holt came up with a big stop on a Hogeboom backdoor shot.

“I thought the first period, we played decent,” Taylor said. “Then the second, holy cow, did they ever push hard. They're a very quick team with lots of skill, very quick in transition. They gave us fits all night. There's no question they put a lot of pressure on us.

“The second, we didn't handle it very well. I thought in the third we responded much better and played a harder period. Looking at the second period, I'd say we were fortunate to get a point. In the third, I thought we recovered and played a lot better.”

Munce traded: The L.A. Kings sent goalie Ryan Munce to the Tampa Bay Lightning for a 2007 fourth-round draft pick Friday night. Munce, 21, was 5-6-5 with a 0.884 save percentage with the Royals. He was sent to the AHL's Manchester Monarchs on Jan. 12.