Checkers @ Stingrays: 3/25/07

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Checkers Press Release

CHECKERS PICK TWO BIG POINTS WITH 4-3 OVERTIME WIN SUNDAY AT SOUTH CAROLINA

The Charlotte Checkers and South Carolina Stingrays played what amounted to an early playoff game Sunday afternoon at the North Charleston Coliseum. With both teams fighting for one of the final playoff berths in the ECHL's South division, the Checkers prevailed after the smoke cleared with a 4-3 overtime win.

Steve Slonina scored his second goal of the game with just 37 seconds left in the five-minute, sudden death overtime period, giving the Checkers two much needed points. Charlotte (36-25-1-2) was dominant in the overtime with numerous scoring opportunities while outshooting the Stingrays 10-2. For the game Charlotte outshot South Carolina 45-33.

Blake Bellefeuille and Jan Vodrazka scored the other Charlotte goals while goalie Alex Westlund made 30 saves in notching his fourth victory in his last six starts since returning from the American Hockey League. The Checkers finished the eleven-game season series against the Stingrays (34-24-4-5) with an 8-3 record, including a perfect 5-0 mark at the North Charleston Coliseum.

Charlotte now trails both Augusta and South Carolina by only two points. The Lynx and the Stingrays are tied for fourth place with 77 points. The Checkers, with 75 points, have three games in hand on South Carolina and hold two games on Augusta. (For current ECHL standings click here http://echl.leaguestat.com/stats/statdisplay.php?type=standings )

The Stingrays scorers Sunday included Matt Reid, Chris Chaput and Brendan Bernakevitch. South Carolina goalie Darren Machesney was solid in goal as he faced 45 shots and was credited with 41 saves.

"It was a playoff-type atmosphere today," said Charlotte Coach Derek Wilkinson. "Both teams seemed nervous at the start, realizing the importance of the game today. We played great in the overtime and we've been good playing four-on-four all season."

The Checkers drew first blood at 2 minutes, 57 seconds of the opening period. With the face-off in the Stingrays zone, Mike Ouellette drew the puck back to Vodrazka at the point. Vodrazka's shot was partially stopped by Machesney, but the puck trickled in behind him and over the line and the Checkers led 1- 0.

Both teams had good chances the rest of the period, but both goalies came up with big saves. Late in the first with Charlotte on the power play, South Carolina tied the game on Reid's short-handed breakaway at 18:40.

The teams traded goals in the second period and were tied 2-2 after two frames. Slonina rammed home a rebound of a Ryan Constant shot from the point at 7:07 of the stanza to give Charlotte its second lead of the game at 2-1. But Chaput struck back for the Stingrays with five minutes to go in the period to tie the contest again at 2-2.

In the final period South Carolina took its first lead of the game at 7:41, as Bernakevitch finished off a solo effort with an unassisted goal for a 3-2 Stingrays lead. But this time it was the Checkers who would rally, as Bellefeuille scored after taking Mark Lee's pass at 13:25 to knot the contest at 3-3. Slonina's goal late in the overtime ended the game as the Checkers prevailed 4-3.

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

ON RECALL TO (AHL) HARTFORD: Chris Holt, and Hannu Pikkarainen

FOR BOX SCORE CLICK: http://echl.leaguestat.com/stats/game-summary.php?game_id=1719

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CHECKERS 4, STINGRAYS 3 (OT)
Slonina's OT goal sinks S. Carolina (http://www.charlotte.com/323/story/63447.html)
Observer News Services

NORTH CHARLESTON --If not for playing at the North Charleston Coliseum, who knows where the Charlotte Checkers would sit in the ECHL today.

The Checkers won their fifth game without a loss on South Carolina's home ice, capturing a 4-3 overtime decision Sunday. It was their fourth one-goal win, including three in overtime, at South Carolina.

Stephen Slonina's second goal of the game, with 4 minutes, 23 seconds gone in the five-minute overtime, was the winner. He was acquired March 7 in a deal that sent Bryan Rodney to Stockton.

Daren Machesney blocked Kirk DeWaele's blast from the point, but Slonina was there for the rebound.

Blake Bellefeuille's power-play goal at 13:25 of the third had gotten Charlotte even.

The Checkers (36-25-1-2) trail the Stingrays (34-24-4-5) and Augusta by two points for the fourth and fifth spots in the South Division. The top five teams will make the playoffs.

Charlotte will open a four-game homestand at 7 Tuesday night against Pensacola.


Charlotte 1 1 1 1 -- 4
S. Carolina 1 1 1 0 -- 3

First Period: 1, Charlotte, Vodrazka 5 (Ouellette), 2:57. 2, South Carolina, Reid 27 (McElroy), 18:40 (sh). Penalties: Rycroft, C (hooking), 4:28; Ouellette, C (hooking), 5:44; Graham, C (roughing), 11:06; Haley, SC (roughing), 11:06;p McElroy, SC (boarding), 11:06; Bahensky, C (tripping), 15:07; Haley, SC (roughing), 17:18.

Second Period: 3, Charlotte, Slonina 12 (Bahensky, Ouellette), 7:07. 4, South Carolina, Chaput 23 (Konkle, Donnelly), 15:00. Penalties: Graham, C (roughing), 8:48; Rycroft, C (hooking), 8:48; Stefanishion, SC (roughing), 8:48; DeWaele, C (cross-checking), 10:01; McElroy, SC (tripping), 12:03; Kenton Smith, C (holding), 16:40; Grover, SC (interference), 17:29.

Third Period: 5, South Carolina, Bernakevitch 18, 7:41. 6, Charlotte, Bellefeuille 25 (Lee, Murphy), 13:25 (pp). Penalties: Stefanishion, SC (elbowing), 2:05; Bahensky, C (roughing), 7:27; Szabo, SC (roughing), 7:27; Slonina, C (tripping), 9:14; Dovgan, SC (roughing), 11:41; McElroy, SC (goaltender interference), 14:13.

Overtime: 7, Charlotte, Slonina 13 (DeWaele, Gillies), 4:23. Penalties: Lang, C (fighting major), 1:15; Kiser, SC (fighting major), 1:15.

Shots on goal: Charlotte 13-15-7-10--45; S. Carolina 10-14-7-2--33. Goaltenders: Charlotte, Westlund 15-7-1-0 (33 shots-30 saves); South Carolina, Machesney 4-7-1-1 (45-41). Att.: 4,731 (at North Charleston

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Stingrays Press Release


Checkers Edge Stingrays 4-3 In Overtime (http://www.stingrayshockey.com/news/index.html?article_id=291)


03/25/2007 4:10 PM
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. – Stephen Slonina notched two goals including the overtime game-winner with 37 seconds left to give the Charlotte Checkers a sudden 4-3 victory over the South Carolina Stingrays before 4,731 fans at the North Charleston Coliseum.

With the overtime loss, the Stingrays pull even with idle Augusta for fourth place in the ECHL’s South Division, two points ahead of sixth place Charlotte. The top five teams make the Kelly Cup Playoffs.

“It’s frustrating to lose again to a team that is trying to catch us in the standings,” South Carolina coach Jason Fitzsimmons said. “We played intense, but they had better puck possession. The loss leaves us no choice now. We must have success in Georgia over the next three games.”

Charlotte (36-25-3, 75 points) hit stride at 2:57 of the first period. Jan Vodrazka unleashed with a shot from the left point that found its way through goaltender Daren Machesney for his sixth goal of the year. Mike Ouellette picked up the lone assist.

South Carolina (34-24-9, 77 points) tied the score at 1-1 on the penalty kill. T.J. McElroy fed Matt W. Reid with a breakaway pass and Reid tucked the past puck netminder Alex Westlund for his team-leading 26th goal of the campaign.

In the second, Slonina netted his first of the night and 12th of the season at the 7:07 mark. Helpers went Zdenek Bahensky and Ouellette.

Chris Chaput got South Carolina back on even terms at 15:00, depositing his 23rd of the year from Jarrett Konkle and former Checkers defenseman John Donnelly.

Stingrays went up for the first time in the game at 7:41 of the third. Brendan Bernakevitch sent a wrist shot into the back of the net for his 18th of the season to make it 3-2 for South Carolina.

Blake Bellefeuille knotted the score at 3-3 on the power play at 13:25 from Mark Lee and Dan Murphy.

In overtime, Slonina ended it at 4:23 with his second of the night assisted by Kirk DeWaele and Nathan Gillies.

South Carolina finished 0-for-7 on the power play, while Charlotte went 1-for-7. Checkers outshot the Stingrays 45-33.

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Checkers top Rays in overtime (http://www.charleston.net/assets/webPages/departmental/news/Stories.aspx?section=sports&tableId=136268&pubDate=3/26/2007)
Checkers 4, Stingrays 3 (OT)

By ANDREW MILLER
The Post and Courier

Matt Reid is normally a man of many words.

But after watching South Carolina lose to Charlotte, 4-3, in overtime on Sunday, the normally chatty Stingrays left winger was left nearly speechless.

Reid didn't remain silent for long.

Stephen Slonina scored the game winner with just 37 seconds left in overtime as the Checkers rallied to beat the Stingrays before a crowd of 4,731 at the North Charleston Coliseum.

With less than two weeks left in the regular season, the Stingrays, who are 34-24-9 (77 points), are clinging to their playoff lives.

The Stingrays are tied for fourth place in the ECHL's South Division with Augusta, with Charlotte (36-25-3, 75 points) lurking just two points behind, but with three games in hand on the Stingrays.

The top five teams in the division will advance to the Kelly Cup playoffs.

The Stingrays held third-period leads over Augusta and Charlotte in their last 2 games, only to lose both games in overtime. On Thursday, the Stingrays were leading the Lynx, 5-2, headed into the third period, only to come away with a 6-5 shootout loss. And on Sunday, the Stingrays were leading Charlotte, 3-2, with 13 minutes left in regulation.

"I felt like I was watching the Augusta game all over again," Reid said. "I don't even know what to say. That's two in a row. You're fighting for your playoff lives and you give both games away in the final seconds. Two in a row like that at this point in the season is unacceptable.

"We're climbing uphill the rest of the way. We've got to win the rest of the games from here on out. We could have had it easy on ourselves if we had beared down for about five minutes in each of these last two games. But now we're battling to fight our way back in."

Defenseman Nate Kiser was equally dumbfounded by the loss.

"That was one of our playoff games right there," Kiser said. "That definitely hurts us. Augusta won last night again and we just gave (Charlotte) two points. Those are tough losses to make up this late in the season."

The Stingrays were forced to play most the final two periods without leading scorer Evan Schwabe, who was knocked out of the game in the first period when Checkers defenseman Kenny Smith checked him face first into the boards.

"That's a tough loss for us," Reid said. "Evan is a big part of this team and we missed him, but that's not why we lost."

Without Schwabe in the lineup, the Stingrays power play was shut out on seven chances, including two 5-on-3 opportunities. Team captain Cail MacLean, who leads the Stingrays with 16 power-play goals, also missed the game with a sore back.

"Without Evan and Cail, I mean that's a big part of our unit, it's been tough to score on the power play," Reid said. "Since the three of us have not been out there, I don't think our unit has had a power play goal in the last 10 games.

"We're going to have to get the power play going if we're going to have any chance of making the playoffs. The power play is going to have to step up because that's where you win games this time of the season."

With the score tied, 2-2, in the third period, Brendan Bernakevitch scored to give the Stingrays a 3-2 lead on a nice wrist shot from the high slot.

"I thought that goal was going to be enough for us," said Bernakevitch, who notched his 18th goal of the season. "We had our chances on the power play all game. We just couldn't put them away."

Blake Bellefeuille's power play goal tied the game at 3-3 with 6:35 left in regulation.

Slonina's rebound goal with 37 seconds left in overtime nullified a fine effort by Stingrays rookie goalie Darren MacChesney, who made 41 saves.

"I felt pretty good out there, but obviously, I don't feel good now," MacChesney said. "That's a tough loss for us."


First Period: 1. C, Vodrazka 5 (Oullette), 2:57. 2. SC, Reid 27 (McElroy), 18:40. Penalties: Rycroft, C (hooking), 4:28; Ouellette, C (hooking), 5:44; Graham, C (roughing), 11:06; Haley, SC (roughing), 11:06; McElroy, SC (boarding), 11:06; Bahensky, C (tripping), 15:07; Haley, SC (roughing), 17:18.

Second Period: 3. C, Solnina 12 (Behensky, Oluellette), 7:07. 4. SC, Chaput 23 (Konkle, Donnelly), 15:00. Penalties: Graham, C (roughing), 8:48; Rycroft, C (hooking), 8:48; Stefanishion, SC (roughing), 8:48; DeWaele, C (cross checking), 10:01; McElroy, SC (tripping), 12:03; Smith, C (holding), 16:40; Grover, SC (interference), 17:29.

Third Period: 5. SC, Bernakevitch 18 (unassisted), 7:41. 6. C, Beelefeuille 25 (Lee, Murphy), 13:25. Penalties: Stefanishion, SC (elbowing), 2:05; Behensky, C (roughing), 7:27; Szabo, SC (roughing), 7:27; Slonina, C (tripping), 9:14; Dovgan, SC (roughing), 11:41; McElroy, SC (goaltender interference), 14:13.

Overtime: 7. C, Slonina 13 (DeWaele, Gillies), 4:23. Penalties: Kiser, SC (fighting), 1:15; Lang, C (fighting), 1:15. South Carolina 10-14-7-2-33; Charlotte 13-15-7-10-45; Penalties: South Carolina 11-25; Charlotte 11-25; Power Play: South Carolina 0 for 7; Charlotte 1 for 7. Goalies: South Carolina - Darren MacChesney (4-7-2) 45 shots, 41 saves. Charlotte - Alex Westlund (15-7-1) 33 shots, 30 saves. Att: 4,731.