Checkers vs. South Carolina: 3/8/07

[Tiny44]

Click on the link below to hear the Coaches comments on tonights game



http://www.prosportsmedia.com/admin/../checkers/mm/video/clip/3-8-07-01.wmv

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CHECKERS PRESS RELEASE

CHECKERS STUNG AT HOME BY STINGRAYS 6-2

The South Carolina Stingrays came into Charlotte Bobcats Arena Thursday night, desperate for a win so they could keep their playoff hopes alive. With only one win in their last ten games, the Stingrays fought off two, one-goal deficits and scored five-unanswered goals to beat the Charlotte Checkers 6-2.

Chris Chaput had a pair of goals for South Carolina (28-23-3-4), and Peter Szabo added three assists in the victory. After yielding two first-period goals, Stingrays goalie, Davis Parley, slammed the door on the Checkers in the final two periods by holding them scoreless while making 29 saves. Parley finished the game with 36 saves overall.

Blake Bellefeuille scored both Charlotte goals, and Chris Holt took the loss with 23 saves. The loss snapped a five-game Checkers winning streak over South Carolina, but Charlotte still leads the 11-game season series seven games to three.

The win pulled the Stingrays to within two points of fifth place Charlotte (31-22-1-2) in the ECHL's South Division. The Checkers still hold two game in hand on South Carolina. The top five teams in the division qualify for the post season.

“We gave up some bad goals as there were three or four goals Holty (Chris Holt) would like to have had back,” remarked Charlotte Coach Derek Wilkinson. “On the other end Parley made some great saves and we couldn’t capitalize on a couple of our chances, and that was the end of the hockey game. It was the first tough night for Holty in a long time. I thought we out-chanced them but they out-scored us.”

The Checkers got on the board first as Bellefeuille's power-play goal from the right circle off a pretty helper from Mark Lee at 6 minutes, 27 seconds of the first period gave Charlotte a 1-0 advantage. Less than a minute later the Stingrays tied the game on Chaput's tip in right in front of Holt.

Bellefeuille got his second goal of the night at 8:33, once gain from with a nice assist from Lee as Charlotte regained the lead 2-1. Once again the Stingrays tied it up as Chaput struck again at 16:06. The two teams went to the locker room after the first period tied at 2-2, with the shots even at 11.

The Stingrays scored three goals in the second period, starting with T.J. McElroys’ strike five minutes into the frame. McElroy’s shot at the five hole got by Holt for a 3-2 Stingrays advantage. Two more goals by South Carolina in the period, including a lamp-lighter credited to Nate Kaiser on an unlucky bounce for the Checkers, gave the Stingrays a 5-2 lead through 40 minutes.

In the final period the Checkers couldn’t muster any goals, as Parley stopped all ten Charlotte shots. The Stingrays netted an insurance goal by Cam McCaffrey five minutes into the period, and South Carolina cruised to the 6-2 final. To their credit, the Checkers were unlucky hitting three posts on the night.

This Sunday, March 11 the Checkers will host the Gwinnett Gladiators at Bobcats Arena at 4:00 p.m. as Charlotte's five-game homestand continues. This Sunday's game will be the Checkers annual "Salute to Heroes Game." Join the Checkers and the CFD, MEDIC 911, MCSO and CMPD in this exciting salute. The game will feature: special opening ceremonies, Hero's Game and Jersey Auction and Post-Game Skate with Hero's and Checkers players. Team Posters for the first 2,000 fans courtesy of Colonial Grand at Beverly Crest and North Carolina Zoo. Family Four Packs w/ 4 tickets, 4 hot dogs, 4 sodas for $49. Post-Game Autograph Session & Post-Game Skate.

CHECKERS THURSDAY NIGHT SCRATCHES: Dusty Jamieson, Rick Kozak, Lee Falardeau, and Adam Nightingale.

ON RECALL TO (AHL) HARTFORD: Alex Westlund, Corey Potter, Bruce Graham and Ryan Constant.

REASSIGNED FROM CHARLOTTE TO (AHL) HARTFORD BY (NHL) NEW YORK: Hugh Jessiman

ON LOAN FROM CHARLOTTE TO (AHL) PROVIDENCE: Ryan Glenn

FOR BOX SCORE CLICK: http://echl.leaguestat.com/stats/game-summary.php?game_id=1706

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CHARLOTTE OBSERVER

Night full of folly dooms Checkers (http://www.charlotteobserver.com/323/story/45096.html)

Race for the South's 5th playoff spot tightens

KEITH CANNON
Special Correspondent

File the Checkers' 6-2 loss Thursday night to the Stingrays under "just one of those nights."

So much went wrong that a Checkers win probably wasn't meant to be. But the setback couldn't have come against a team the Checkers needed to beat more.

The Stingrays broke a 2-2 tie with a three-goal second period and gave Charlotte goaltender Chris Holt one of his toughest outings of the season. The result tightens up the race between the teams for the fifth and final playoff spot in the ECHL South Division.

The Checkers (31-22-1-2) are still holding on to it, but South Carolina (28-23-3-4) narrowed its deficit to two points. They beat the Checkers for the third time in 10 games this season.

"It gives them some spark, which we definitely didn't want to do," Charlotte coach Derek Wilkinson said. "We needed to win, but we gave them the two points. Now we just have to bounce back."

The Checkers, who had won four of their previous five games, got both of their goals in the first period from center Blake Bellefeuille. But they were matched by a pair from Stingrays center Chris Chaput.

South Carolina scored three times in the second period. T.J. McElroy scored out of a scrum in front of the net five minutes into the period, as Holt couldn't get a handle on the wildly bouncing puck. Brendan Bernakevitch scored on a 5-on-3 power play with eight minutes left in the period and Nate Kiser beat Holt from the slot on the power play at 15:31.

Notes

• The Checkers' next game is at 4 p.m. Sunday against Gwinnett in Charlotte.

• The Checkers traded defenseman Bryan Rodney to the Stockton Thunder on Wednesday for forward Steve Slonina and defenseman Jeff Lang. Both played in Thursday night's game.


S. Carolina 2 3 1 -- 6
Charlotte 2 0 0 -- 2

First Period: 1, Char, Bellefeuille 19 (Lee, Pikkarainen) 6:27 (pp); 2, SC, Chaput (18) (McCaffrey, Szabo), 7:13; 3, Char, Bellefeuille (20) (Smith, Lee), 8:33; 4, SC, Chaput (19) (Bernakevitch, Szabo), 16:06 (pp) Penalties: McCaffrey, SC (tripping), 5:19; Anderson, SC (hooking), 11:45; McCaffrey, SC (roughing, fighting), 14:56; Bahensky Chr (cross-checking, fighting), 14:56; Lee, Chr (kneeing), 15:27; Pikkarainen, Chr (high-sticking), 16:59

Second Period: 5, SC, McElroy 7, 4:57; 6, SC, Bernakevitch 15 (Chaput, Busenburg), 11:51 (pp); 7, SC, Kiser 4 (Stefanishion), 15:31. Penalties: Pokulok, SC (hooking), 1:41; Lee Chr (tripping), 10:00; Smith Chr (slashing), 11:38; Stefanishion, SC (slashing), 13:13.

Third Period: 8, SC, McCaffrey 11 (Szabo), 5:14; Penalties: Konkle, SC (hooking), 1:30; Pikkarainen Chr (tripping), 2:19; Tuomi, Chr (holding), 7:44; Schwabe SC (slashing), 13:27.

Shots on goal: SC 9-17-3-29. Chr9-19-10-38

Goaltenders: SC, Parley 26-16-3-3 (38 shots, 36 saves); Chr, Holt 20-17-0-2 (29 shots, 23 saves). Att.: 4,570

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