Checkers 2003-04 season ends
April 7, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL)
Charlotte Checkers News Release
(Charlotte, NC - Wednesday, April 7) The Charlotte Checkers season ended last Saturday as it did for 14 other ECHL clubs who did not make the Kelly Cup playoffs. While the Checkers slumped during the month of March and were officially eliminated from playoff contention a week before the season ended, the team was very competitive the last four games of the season. In the final four games, the Checkers suffered two one-goal losses to Florence and Columbia, (the latter in overtime) while the other two defeats to Roanoke and Columbia were two-goal defeats.
OVERALL: 31-32-9 = 71 POINTS
HOME: 13-18-5 = 31 POINTS
ROAD: 18-14-4 = 40 POINTS
SEASON ENDING STREAK: 0-7-2
LAST 10: 1-7-2
FINAL STANDINGS: SIXTH PLACE IN THE SOUTHERN DIVISION OF THE EASTERN
CONFERENCE
LAST WEEK:
Friday April 2, 2004 AWAY Roanoke L 2-4
Saturday April 3, 2004 AWAY Columbia L 3-4 OT
TEAM LEADERS -FINAL STATS
POINTSALLAN EGELAND, DUSTY JAMIESON(46)
GOALSDUSTY JAMIESON(24)
ASSISTSKONRAD MCKAY(32)
PLUS/MINUSDAVE INMAN(+14)
PENALTY MINUTESSTEVE MACINTYRE(217)
CHECKERS NOTES:
· Checkers went 0-1-1 last week.
· Left wing Dusty Jamieson scored three goals in the last two games.
· The Checkers went 1-11-2 in their last 14 games.
· Charlotte was 1-7-2 in its last 10 games.
· Checkers goalie David St. Germain finished third in the ECHL in shootout percentage at .795.
· The Checkers power play finished the season ranked 22nd in the ECHL at 15.2%, while the penalty kill finished in 3rd in the league at 87.2%.
· Charlotte finished the season drawing 162,618 fans for an average of 4,517, 11th in the ECHL.
· The Checkers finished the season tied with Pensacola, Columbia and Trenton in short-handed goals with 14.
· Charlotte was officially eliminated from the playoffs after a Friday, March 26 loss to the Florence Pride. It is the second straight season the Checkers have missed post-season play, and four of the last six.
KELLY CUP PLAYOFFS: Fans can get schedules and scores of all ECHL playoff games by logging on the Checkers web site at http://www.gocheckers.com.
STILL PLAYING: Despite the Checkers season being over, four Charlotte players will continue to play hockey with other teams. After Charlotte's final game last Saturday, the Hartford Wolf Pack recalled left wing / defenseman Steve MacIntyre and right wing Mike Wirll and assigned them to Jacksonville of WHA2 to participate in the Barracudas' playoffs. Jacksonville is playing the Miami Manatees this week in the opening round of the WHA2 playoffs.
Two Checkers players will continue to play hockey overseas. Defenseman Kengo Ito and right wing Blaz Emersic will play for their respective National Team clubs at the World Championships in April. Emersic departed to Poland on March 29 where his Slovenian National Team will play in the "B" Pool of the World Championships in early April. Meanwhile Ito left following the Checkers season to join the Japanese National Team as they play in the "A" pool of the World Championships in late April in Prague, Czech Republic. Fans can log on to the Checkers web site at http://www.gocheckers.com during April to see how Blaz and Kengo are faring with their respective National Teams.
NEXT SEASON: The Checkers organization will now look forward to next season and the task of bringing the team back to the playoffs after a two-season absence. Head Coach and General Manager Derek Wilkinson has already started the recruiting process, and offered his first contract for next season to rookie defenseman Clay Plume. The 21 year-old Native American joined the Checkers on March 19 after finishing his junior career with Prince George of the Western Hockey League. The rookie defenseman finished the season with two assists and a 0 plus/minus in eight games, and was impressive in his brief sting with the Checkers.
Wilkinson and President Jeff Longo will also be traveling to Connecticut during the upcoming Hartford Wolf Pack playoff run. They'll be meeting with New York Rangers President & General Manager Glen Sather and Hartford General Manager Jim Schoenfeld to discuss the Checkers affiliation with the Rangers and Wolf Pack for next season.
HARTFORD WOLF PACK IN THE PLAYOFFS: The Checkers American Hockey League affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, has qualified for the playoffs and even have a chance for the AHL's best regular season record. Former Checkers Layne Ulmer, Matt Kinch, Jason Labarbera, Craig Weller, Brandon Cullen, Ryan Cuthbert, Benoit Dusablon, Lucas Lawson and Rory Rawlyk are now playing in Hartford, although not all of them are on the Wolf Pack's playoff roster. Fans can log on to the Checkers web site at http://www.gocheckers.com for complete coverage of the Wolf Pack's quest for the 2004 Calder Cup.
SEASON TICKET HOLDER RENEWALS: Checkers season tickets can now be purchased and renewed for next season. Fans can renew their Checkers season tickets with a $25.00 deposit and receive a special Checkers "Season Ticket Holder Only" jersey. This offer applies to purchases of plans of 12-Game plans or higher. Fans will receive one jersey for each seat purchased! For current season ticket holders, your deposit will guarantee your seat locations for next season. For new season ticket holders, your deposit will give you priority for any available seat location.
CHECKERS 2ND ANNUAL CHARITY GOLF CLASSIC: The Checkers 2nd Annual Charity Golf Classic was held on Tuesday, March 30th at Pine Lake Country Club. Twenty eight, six-man teams braved the cool and damp weather to play eighteen holes of golf with all the proceeds benefiting Checkmate Charities. To say it in a few words.....A GOOD TIME WAS HAD BY ALL! It was a wonderful day of golf, great food and great socializing. The Checkers would like to thank the tournament organizers, former Charlotte Checkers players Barry Simpson and Jim Lane, Checkers' front office liaison for the tournament Pete Paule, the Checkers Booster Club and the Checkers interns for all of their hard work in pulling together the numerous details to make the tournament happen. Several thousand dollars was raised for Checkmate Charities which will be distributed to deserving local charities. A special thanks to all the golfers who participated, and the Checkers organization will look forward to the Third Annual Checkers Charity Golf Classic next season.
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