Checkers clinch playoff berth
March 28, 2005 - ECHL (ECHL)
Charlotte Checkers News Release
CHARLOTTE, NC â This week, the Charlotte Checkers (37-24-6; 80 PTS; T2ND East Div) secured a playoff spot and continued their five game road trip in South Carolina, playing division rivals the Columbia Inferno Friday night and the South Carolina Stingrays on Saturday night. In recent weeks, both teams have closely followed Charlotte in the rankings for first place. The Checkers were shut-out by the Columbia Inferno Friday night 2-0. On Saturday night, Charlotte faced South Carolina, who bested them 5-2. The Checkers are now tied with the Stingrays for 2nd place in the East division. This Friday, the Checkers travel to Greenville to face the Grrrowl. On Saturday, they finish up their five game away stretch against the Gwinnett Gladiators.
LAST WEEK
Friday, March 25, at Columbia, L 0-2
Chanse Fitzpatrick and Matt Ulwelling both scored in the second period for the Inferno, and Columbia goalie Mike Minard made 20 saves to earn the shutout. The Checkers offense struggled most of the night, especially in the first two periods when they could only muster ten shots. The Checkers are now 1-3-2 in their last six games with six more regular-season games remaining. After a scoreless first period, the Inferno put a pair of goals on the board in the second. Just one minute, 22 seconds into the middle frame, Fitzpatrick walked in front of the Charlotte net and beat Checkers goalie Kelly Guard from in close for a 1-0 Columbia lead. The Inferno made it 2-0 at 9:57 as Ulwelling found himself alone right in front of Guard and knocked in his 15th goal of the season. The Checkers only mustered six shots in the second period and only ten through two periods. While Charlotte applied more pressure in the third period with ten shots, Columbia's defense and Minard held fast for the 2-0 victory.
Friday, March 16, at South Carolina, L 5-2
Three minutes and 58 seconds into the first period, South Carolina beat Checkers goalie Alex Westlund on a breakaway for the 1-0 advantage. The Stingrays made it 2-0 at 10:51 on the power play. A fluke goal gave South Carolina a 3-0 lead when the Stingrays shot a puck into the Charlotte goal on the short side. In the second period the Stingrays increased their lead to 4-0 at 10:33. The Checkers finally stopped a five-plus period scoring drought at 11:51 of the second period when Juris Stals stick-handled to the front of the net, decked a defender and stuck a backhander past South Carolina's goalie to trim the Stingrays lead to 4-1. In the third period Charlotte sliced the Stingrays lead to two goals at 2:15 as Stals' puck found its way to the back of the net. Despite several good scoring opportunities, the Checkers were unable to muster another third period goal. South Carolina closed out the scoring with an empty-net goal in the game's last minute for the 5-2 final.
THIS WEEK
Friday, April 1, at Greenville, 7:05 p.m.
Saturday, April 2, at Gwinnett, 7:35 p.m.
CHECKERS NEWS
· The Checkers are currently tied for second in the East Division with 80 points. They are tied for fourth in the American conference, and are tied for eleventh in the league overall.
· Team points leader, Eddie Pershin is tied for ninth among the league's leading scorers with 25 goals and 38 assists for 63 points. He is tied for first in the league for shorthanded assists (4).
· Bogdan Rudenko is the second leading scorer in the last ten games with a total of eight points (4g-4a).
· Juris Stals leads the team in points over the last five games with 5 goals and 1 assist for 6 points.
· Alex Westlund is third in the league in both minutes played (2747) and saves (1297).
· Defenseman Thomas Bellemare is fourth in the league for major penalties with 18 on the season.
CHECKERS LEADERS
Goals: Dusty Jamieson (29)
Assists: Eddie Pershin (38)
Points: Eddie Pershin (63)
Plus/Minus: Dusty Jamieson (+13)
PIM: Regan Darby (220)
Wins: Alex Westlund (25)
GAA: Alex Westlund (2.75)
Save Pct.: Alex Westlund (.911)
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