Checkers vs. Storm: 2/22/07

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STORM 5, CHECKERS 2
Checkers can't stop Storm's barrage in 2nd (http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/sports/hockey/echl/charlotte_checkers/16763977.htm)
Charlotte loses another game in which it fails to rally in 3rd period

CLIFF MEHRTENS
cmehrtens@charlotteobserver.com

The Charlotte Checkers made the ECHL's worst road team look good.

The Checkers blew a lead for the third time in four games, and lost 5-2 to the Toledo Storm at Bobcats Arena on Thursday.

Toledo's three goals in the second period erased Charlotte's 2-1 lead. The Storm was 6-16-1 on the road entering the game, and had been outscored 83-50.

"Our lack of intensity in the second period killed us," Checkers coach Derek Wilkinson said. "I liked the first period and the third, but as a group, we weren't very good in the second. Every time they shot the puck, it had a chance of going in."

History said the Checkers weren't good at third-period rallies. The Checkers were 0-17-1 when trailing after two periods. Toledo was 15-0-0 when leading after two.

History was right.

Charlotte's meltdown was reminiscent of its frustrating weekend, in which it blew a 4-2 lead at Augusta, and a 3-1 lead at South Carolina.

The Checkers are battling through a barrage of injuries and call-ups. Wilkinson said certain players aren't contributing enough, and now's the time to step up.

"We have to get the fire going," he said. "It's a fine line at this point in the season."

Daymen Rycroft's rebound goal gave Charlotte a 1-0 lead midway through the first. Blake Bellefeuille zipped in a forehand on a sweet feed from Mark Lee for a 2-1 lead.

Charlotte (27-20-3) didn't score in the remaining 42 minutes. Toledo (26-21-1) got sloppy in the third period, with seven minor penalties. Didn't matter.

"It's frustrating," Wilkinson said. "If you look at our stats the past 10 games, some guys have significant minuses. We need more from everybody, but some are really letting us down."


Toledo 1 3 1 -- 5
Charlotte 2 0 0 -- 2


First period-1, Char., Rycroft 18 (Gillies, Graham), 10:07. 2, Tol., Burke 5 (Walsh), 11:13. 3, Char., Bellefeuille 17 (Lee, Murphy), 17:14. Penalties-Nightingale, C (interference), 2:27; Kenny Smith, C (cross-checking), 14:04; Attard, T (goalie interference), 18:09.

Second period-4, Tol., Blight 13 (Martin, Burke), 4:53 (pp). 5, Tol., Blight 14 (Mulherin), 12:40. 6, Tol., Songin 2 (Mulherin, Blight), 16:22. Penalties-Kenton Smith, C (tripping), 4:29; Burke, T (delay game), 10:37; Attard, T (holding), 13:59.

Third period-7, Tol., Walsh 11 (Attard), 18:35. Penalties-Mulherin, T (slashing), 2:47; Maleyko, T (roughing), 4:38; Nightingale, C (slashing), 4:38; Songin, T (tripping), 6:30; Rodney, C (hooking), 8:30; Maleyko, T (tripping), 9:29; Bellefeuille, C (hooking, high-sticking), 14:13; Parillo, T (roughing), 14:13; Watson, T (tripping), 14:40.

Shots: Toledo 11-10-6-28; Charlotte 12-10-9-31.

Goalies: Tol., Vicari (10-11-0) 31 shots, 29 saves; Charlotte, Holt (16-15-2), 28-23; Att-4,466.


www.charlotte.com (http://www.charlotte.com/)

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CHECKERS PRESS RELEASE

RAIN SHOWERS FALL ON CHARLOTTE - TOLEDO STORM TOPS CHECKERS 5-2

http://www.prosportsmedia.com/checkers/news_images/GilliesShotSm.jpg
This past Sunday the short-handed Charlotte Checkers were able to scrap together an impressive 3-2 victory at Gwinnett. Thursday the Checkers were even more short-handed, and this time the result was different. After leading 2-1 after one period, the Toledo Storm scored four unanswered goals en route to a 5-2 win Thursday night at Charlotte Bobcats Arena.

The loss was the Checkers third in a row at home, and stymied their efforts to gain points on their Southern division rivals, most of which were idle Thursday. Chris Blight had two goals and an assist for Toledo (26-21-0-1 for 53 points), but the big hero was Storm goalie Dominic Vicari who was a wall most of the night. His 29 saves frustrated the Checkers, especially in the final two periods as he won his third straight in net for Toledo.

Daymen Rycroft and Blake Bellefeuille tallied the Charlotte goals, with goalie Chris Holt suffering his 15th loss of the season making 24 saves.

Tuesday’s game was the lone meeting between the two teams this season. Both the Checkers and the Storm had key players out of the lineup due to injuries and callups. Wednesday Hugh Jessiman was reassigned to the Harford Wolf Pack from the New York Rangers, and Lee Falardeau was unable to go for a second straight game. Charlotte captain, Jan Vodrazka, was also an injury scratch for the Checkers Thursday night.

Toledo’s three-goal second period put Charlotte (27-20-1-2 for 57 points) in a hole they could not dig out of. The loss dropped the Checkers record to 0-18-1 when trailing after two periods, while Toledo improved to 16-0-0 when leading after two periods.

“The lack of intensity in the second period really killed us tonight and we haven’t had that in a long time,” remarked Charlotte Coach Derek Wilkinson. ”We played well in the first and third periods but in the second period we just didn’t play well as a group. When you give up five goals you’re not going to win, and somehow they’ve got to get the fire going where they can keep it for 60 minutes.”

The Checkers had a lot of jump in the first 20 minutes of the contest when they took a 2-1 first period advantage. Rycroft put in a rebound of a Nathan Gillies shot at 10 minutes, seven seconds of the first. Toledo’s Gerry Burke tied the game a minute later at 1-1 with his 5th goal of the campaign. The Checkers regained the lead at 2-1 late in the first at 17:14 when Bellefeuille took a pretty pass from Mark Lee and rifled the puck past Vicari.

In the second period the Storm racked up three tallies while keeping Charlotte off the board. Blight scored his first of two goals on the night as he tipped in P.J. Martin’s shot from the point at 4:53 to tie the game at 2-2. At 12:40 Blight took a pass from Bruce Mulherin and beat Holt on a breakaway for the Storm’s first lead of the night at 3-2. Three minutes later Tim Songin was open in the slot, scoring his 2nd goal of the season for a 4-2 Toledo advantage after two periods.

With a two-goal lead, the Toledo defense tightened enough in the final period to thwart a Charlotte comeback. The Storm sealed the win with a goal with a minute and a half left by Mike Walsh for the 5-2 final.

CHECKERS THURSDAY NIGHTSCRATCHES: Dusty Jamieson, Rick Kozak, Lee Falardeau and Jan Vodrazka.

ON RECALL TO (AHL) HARTFORD: Alex Westlund, Corey Potter, and Zdenek Bahensky

REASSIGNED FROM CHARLOTTE TO HARTFORD BY NEW YORK: Hugh Jessiman

FOR BOX SCORE CLICK: http://echl.leaguestat.com/stats/game-summary.php?game_id=1534

The Checkers go back on the road for three straight games beginning Friday, when they'll travel to Charleston, South Carolina to face the Stingrays at 7:00 p.m. The Checkers next home game is Sunday, March 4 at 4:00 p.m. when the Florida Everblades come to Charlotte Bobcats Arena. The March 4 Checkers home game is "Pucks for Patrick" day, where the Checkers and their fans will help raise funds for "A Second Breath Foundation."

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Charlotte falls at home to Toledo 5-2

Checkers look to rebound Friday night at South Carolina

11:35 AM EST on Friday, February 23, 2007

Associated Press

This past Sunday the short-handed Charlotte Checkers were able to scrap together an impressive 3-2 victory at Gwinnett. Thursday the Checkers were even more short-handed, and this time the result was different. After leading 2-1 after one period, the Toledo Storm scored four unanswered goals en route to a 5-2 win Thursday night at Charlotte Bobcats Arena.

The loss was the Checkers third in a row at home, and stymied their efforts to gain points on their Southern division rivals, most of which were idle Thursday. Chris Blight had two goals and an assist for Toledo (26-21-0-1 for 53 points), but the big hero was Storm goalie Dominic Vicari who was a wall most of the night. His 29 saves frustrated the Checkers, especially in the final two periods as he won his third straight in net for Toledo.

Daymen Rycroft and Blake Bellefeuille tallied the Charlotte goals, with goalie Chris Holt suffering his 15th loss of the season making 24 saves.

Tuesday’s game was the lone meeting between the two teams this season. Both the Checkers and the Storm had key players out of the lineup due to injuries and callups. Wednesday Hugh Jessiman was reassigned to the Hartford Wolf Pack from the New York Rangers, and Lee Falardeau was unable to go for a second straight game. Charlotte captain, Jan Vodrazka, was also an injury scratch for the Checkers Thursday night.

Toledo’s three-goal second period put Charlotte (27-20-1-2 for 57 points) in a hole they could not dig out of. The loss dropped the Checkers record to 0-18-1 when trailing after two periods, while Toledo improved to 16-0-0 when leading after two periods.

“The lack of intensity in the second period really killed us tonight and we haven’t had that in a long time,” remarked Charlotte Coach Derek Wilkinson. ”We played well in the first and third periods but in the second period we just didn’t play well as a group. When you give up five goals you’re not going to win, and somehow they've got to get the fire going where they can keep it for 60 minutes.”

The Checkers had a lot of jump in the first 20 minutes of the contest when they took a 2-1 first period advantage. Rycroft put in a rebound of a Nathan Gillies shot at 10 minutes, seven seconds of the first. Toledo’s Gerry Burke tied the game a minute later at 1-1 with his 5th goal of the campaign. The Checkers regained the lead at 2-1 late in the first at 17:14 when Bellefeuille took a pretty pass from Mark Lee and rifled the puck past Vicari.

In the second period the Storm racked up three tallies while keeping Charlotte off the board. Blight scored his first of two goals on the night as he tipped in P.J. Martin’s shot from the point at 4:53 to tie the game at 2-2. At 12:40 Blight took a pass from Bruce Mulherin and beat Holt on a breakaway for the Storm’s first lead of the night at 3-2. Three minutes later Tim Songin was open in the slot, scoring his 2nd goal of the season for a 4-2 Toledo advantage after two periods.

With a two-goal lead, the Toledo defense tightened enough in the final period to thwart a Charlotte comeback. The Storm sealed the win with a goal with a minute and a half left by Mike Walsh for the 5-2 final.


www.wcnc.com