Charlotte falls behind 1-0 in series after 2-1 OT loss to Gwinnett
April 24, 2005 - ECHL (ECHL)
Charlotte Checkers News Release
(Duluth, GA â Sunday, April 24, 2005) The Charlotte Checkers gave the Gwinnett Gladiators all they could handle in Game One of their ECHL, American Conference semi-final series Sunday afternoon, before finally succumbing 2-1 in sudden-death overtime. Joe Bourne's goal with just 3:39 left in the first, sudden-death overtime session proved to be the game-winner as the Gladiators took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series.
Gwinnett's Kris Goodjohn and Charlotte's Eddie Pershin scored the game's only goals prior to the overtime. The Gladiators outshot the Checkers 62-34 for the contest. The 62 shots by an opponent and the 60 saves by Checkers goaltender Alex Westlund were both new Charlotte playoff records. Westlund also tied Nick Vitucci for most saves in a period with his 24 stops in the third.
"We went out today and did a lot of things we wanted to, I just wish we would have had better results," remarked Checkers Coach Derek Wilkinson. "Alex (Westlund) was solid once again gave us a chance to win. We just didn't bury our chances when we had them."
The Gladiators grabbed a 1-0 lead at 7 minutes, 14 seconds of the first period as Goodjohn chopped home his own rebound from in close in front of Westlund. Gwinnett has been regularly outshooting their opponents at home all season, and did it to Charlotte in the first period with a 17-7 advantage.
The Checkers finally got on the board at 12:07 when Pershin walked into the Gladiators zone, stick-handled through the Gwinnett defense and got a backhander on goal. His shot was stopped by Gladiators goaltender Adam Berkhoel, but he followed in his own shot in the middle of a goal-mouth scramble and the puck squirted over the line.
Gwinnett complained that the puck may have been kicked or batted in, but after referee David Banfield consulted with his linesmen, the goal was allowed to stand. Charlotte picked up the pace in the second period with 13 shots on goal compared to only seven in period one.
In the third period the Gladiators pulled out all the stops with a whopping 24 shots on goal. Charlotte weathered the storm with some heady defense and some solid stops by Westlund. The Checkers had only seven shots on net and very few good scoring chances in the final stanza.
Charlotte did have one good chance near the end of the period as Dwight Helminen and Lee Falardeau broke into the Gladiators zone on a two-on-one break. Helminen carried the puck into the zone and elected to take the shot, but fired wide right.
In sudden-death overtime, the two teams battled late into the session before Bourne took a drop pass from Mike Vigilante and blasted a 35 footer by Westlund for the game-winner. Game two of the series is Monday night in Duluth, Georgia at 7:05 p.m.
"Alex was unbelievable," said Checkers winger Dusty Jamieson. "We were down 3-1 to Columbia in game five and he kept us in there just like tonight. We'll hopefully get some more shots and some more goals tomorrow."
NOTES: Eddie Pershin left the game late in the second period with an injury and did not return......Playoff tickets for all Checkers home games are now on sale and can be purchased at the Cricket Arena box office, Charlotte Coliseum box office, all Ticketmaster locations, by phone by calling (704) 522-6500, and online at www.ticketmaster.com.
CHECKERS UPCOMING PLAYOFF GAME SCHEDULE:
CHARLOTTE PLAYS GWINNETT IN AMERICAN CONFERENCE (BEST-OF-FIVE) SEMI-FINALS
Game 1 - Sunday, April 24 Charlotte 1 @ Gwinnett 2 OT
Game 2 - Monday, April 25 @ Gwinnett at 7:00 p.m.
Game 3 - Wednesday, April 27 @ CHARLOTTE at 7:00 p.m.
Game 4 - Thursday, April 28 @ CHARLOTTE at 7:00 p.m. (If necessary)
Game 5 - Saturday, April 30 @ Gwinnett at 7:30 p.m. (If necessary)
Gwinnett leads the series 1-0.
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