ECHL Charlotte Checkers

Augusta's Late Goal Beats Checkers 2-1

Published on January 11, 2004 under ECHL (ECHL)
Charlotte Checkers News Release


(Augusta, Georgia – Sunday, January 11) For the second game in as many days, the Checkers were frustrated by the Augusta Lynx. After giving up two, two-goal leads and settling for a shootout loss on Saturday night at home, the Lynx scored a goal with just 1:02 left in regulation Sunday afternoon in Augusta for a 2-1 win over Charlotte. Jonathan Gagnon tipped in a shot from the point from Paul Elliot by Checkers goalie Scott Meyer for the game winner at 18:58 of the final period. The Checkers and Lynx were tied at 1-1 after the first five minutes of the first period, but both teams were blanked the rest of the way until Gagnon's game-winner. Defenseman Chad Wilchynski scored the lone goal for the Checkers. Charlotte missed an opportunity to move into a tie for third place in the Southern Division of the Eastern Conference.

"We were out-worked and out-smarted today," said a disappointed Checkers coach Don MacAdam. "We made some critical mistakes that cost us those goals. We also took some bad penalties for the second game in a row."

Wilchynski gave the Checkers a 1-0 lead just 2:33 into the contest. After Kevin Caulfield and Nick Bilotto worked to keep the puck in the zone, the disc squirted out to Wilchynski just inside the left point who then blasted the puck by Lynx goalkeeper Gregg Naumenko. Two minutes later Augusta tied the game at 1-1 as John Cronin scored inside the right circle on a shot that bounced off Meyer's shoulder and into the net.

After a scoreless second period that saw the Lynx outshoot the Checkers 19-4, Charlotte mustered most of the offensive chances in the third period prior to Gagnon's winning goal, outshooting Augusta 10-3 in the final frame. But one of the three Lynx shots in the final period proved to be the game-winner.

The loss dropped the Checkers record to 18-14-5 for 41 points while the Lynx improved to 16-16- 3 for 35 points. The Checkers will get some much-needed time off before heading up to the northeast and continuing their three-game road trip this Friday when they'll meet the Reading Royals at 7:05 p.m. Saturday the Checkers will conclude their three-game road trip with a 2:05 p.m. faceoff at Atlantic City. Charlotte's next home game is Friday, January 23 when the Checkers will entertain the Greensboro Generals at Cricket Arena at 7:30 p.m.

All road games can be heard over the Internet and on the telephone on TEAMLINE. Fans can log onto the Checkers web site at www.gocheckers.com for complete connection instructions.

CHECKERS TICKETS: All regular season individual game tickets are on sale, and may be purchased at the Cricket Arena Box Office, the Charlotte Coliseum Box Office, and all Ticketmaster locations. Tickets may also be purchased by phone by using a credit card and calling Ticketmaster at (704) 522-6500, and through the Internet at www.ticketmaster.com.

Individual game tickets for the 2003-04 season are priced at $7.00 for balcony seats, $10.00 for end mezzanine seats, $12.00 for side mezzanine seats, $15.00 for circle seats, and $20.00 for box seats.

Season Tickets, mini plans and group tickets remain on sale through the Checkers office. Further information can be obtained by calling the Checkers office at (704) 342-4423.

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ECHL Stories from January 11, 2004


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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