AHL Charlotte Checkers

Checkers Beat Stingrays 3-2

November 8, 2003 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Charlotte Checkers News Release


(Charleston, SC - Saturday, November 8, 2003) - The Charlotte Checkers continued their fine road play Saturday night, coming from behind to beat the South Carolina Stingrays 3-2 at the North Charleston Coliseum. Doug Christiansen knocked home a Ryan Cuthbert rebound at the 14:12 mark of the third period in what proved to be the winning goal. The Checkers trailed 2-0 after the first period before mounting the comeback, and improved their road record to 3-1-1. Cuthbert and Benoit Dusablon also scored for Charlotte.

"The guys really stuck to the game plan tonight," commented Checkers Head Coach Don MacAdam. "I was really impressed the way they didn't get rattled when we were down 2-0. We've got some guys with speed and we saw what they can do tonight. I was also impressed with Frances Belanger. He had a nice debut game for us."

In the first period South Carolina took a 1-0 lead just 2:19 into the game on Ed Courtenay's third goal of the season. The Stingrays struck again late in the period with just 38 seconds left as Brent Henley's shot from the point eluded Checkers starting goalie Scott Meyer for a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes.

The Checkers finally got on the board at 15:06 of the second period on a power play, as Dave Inman fed the puck to Cuthbert 15 feet in front of the Stingrays' net. The rookie center rammed it home to cut the South Carolina lead to 2-1. At that point the Checkers began to dominate the game but the Stingrays held their 2-1 lead after two periods. Charlotte tied the game at 2-2 just 1:51 into the third period, again on a power play, as Rory Rawlyk's shot from the point was tipped in by Dusablon. Meyer collided with the Stingrays' Jeff Boulanger at the 6:05 mark, and was forced to leave the game with an undisclosed injury. David St. Germain took over in goal for the Checkers and blanked the Stingrays the rest of the way. At 14:12 Charlotte took the lead for good as Cuthbert took a pass from Dustin Kingston at center ice, raced around a Stingrays forward and fired a shot on goal. South ! Carolina goalie Kurk Daubenspeck stopped Cuthbert's shot but Christiansen was on the doorstep to ram the rebound home for a 3-2 Checkers lead. The win improved Charlotte's record to 3-4-2 for eight points, while the Stingrays fell to 5-4-0 for ten points. The Checkers will continue their three-game road trip next Friday and Saturday in Fort Myers, Florida for two games with the Everblades. Charlotte's next home game in Wednesday, November 19 when they'll host the Gwinnett Gladiators at Cricket Arena at 7:00 p.m. Both games can be accessed through the Internet and on the telephone through TEAMLINE. Fans can get connection information by logging on to the Checkers web site at www.gocheckers.com.

NOTES: The Checkers signed left wing Francis Belanger Saturday. Belanger has American Hockey League and National Hockey League experience, and was playing in the Quebec Senior League before joining the Checkers......Center Allan Egeland was put on the injured reserve list Saturday........left wing Dusty Jamieson remains on recall to the Hartford Wolf Pack.......The Checkers are expected to activate center Konrad McKay from the injured list this week.

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) 922-6500, 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 b! e obtained by calling the Checkers office at (704) 342-4423.

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American Hockey League Stories from November 8, 2003


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