Checkers Drop First Preseason Game 4-3
October 9, 2003 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Charlotte Checkers News Release
Charleston, SC - Thursday, October 9, 2003) - The Charlotte Checkers played a tight game but came up a bit short in their first preseason tilt of the 2003-04 campaign in a 4-3 defeat Thursday night to the South Carolina Stingrays. Curtis Huppe, Kevin Spiewak and Andy Powers each had a goal and an assist for South Carolina, while Dustin Kingston, Allan Egeland and Steve MacIntyre tallied for Charlotte. David St.Germain went the distance in goal for the Checkers making 29 saves.
Charlotte suffered a notable early-season injury to one of its top players when center Konrad McKay was kneed in his knee by Stingrays left wing Oleksandr Vasko. McKay will be out 2-4 weeks, and Vasko was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct on the play.
"We were inconsistent as you might expect in your first preseason game," remarked Checkers Head Coach Don MacAdam. "David St. Germain was solid in goal, but our defense needs to play better as a group. We know they will in time."
South Carolina led 1-0 at the end of one period on the strength of a Huppe goal at 12:38. The Checkers responded just 38 seconds into the second period on a power play goal by Kingston with assists going to Egeland and Dan Preston. At 11:58 Powers gave South Carolina the lead back at 2-1, before the Checkers MacIntyre scored off feeds from Andrew Ianiero and Blaz Emersic tie the score at 2-2. With 2:47 left in the period, Marty Clapton gave the Stingrays the lead for good, while Spiewak's goal off a Huppe rebound with 1:08 left gave South Carolina a 4-2 lead after two periods. Charlotte got to within one in the third period on a power play goal by Egeland, with Jeff State and Emersic notching the assists. Charlotte could not get the equalizer and the Stingrays hung on for the 4-3 final. South Carolina outshot the Checkers 33-31.
CHECKERS FRIDAY NIGHT PRACTICE AT CRICKET ARENA: The Checkers will hold a Friday evening practice at Cricket Arena from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The practice is open to the public, and fans are invited to come and peruse available seat locations for season tickets and mini-plans. Checkers ticket representatives will be available to assist fans and answer ticket questions and inquiries.
NEXT PRESEASON GAME: The Checkers will continue their preseason schedule Saturday when they'll participate in "Hockey Day" at the Bi-Lo Center in Greenville, SC. Charlotte will play two, 4 v 4 scrimmage games, with the first at 10:00 a.m. against the Greenville Grrrowl. The Checkers will close out Saturday's preseason action with a final scrimmage against the Greensboro Generals. at 1:00 p.m.
HOME PRESEASON GAME: All tickets for the Checkers / Columbia Inferno home preseason game at Cricket Arena on Monday, October 13 at 7:00 p.m. are reserved and priced at $5.00. Checkers full season ticket holders will receive their tickets for free. Parking for the preseason game at Cricket Arena will be FREE for ALL fans on October 13.
TRAINING CAMP SCHEDULE DAY DATE TIME LOCATION
Friday October 10 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon / 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Cricket Arena
Sunday October 12 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon Cricket Arena
Monday October 13 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Cricket Arena
*** Times subject to change
CHECKERS TICKETS: All regular season individual game tickets and preseason game tickets are on sale. Tickets 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. Season tickets start as low as $245.00. Further information can be obtained by calling the Checkers office at (704) 342-4423.
The Checkers will begin their 11th season in the ECHL with the regular season and home opener Saturday, October 18 at 7:30 p.m. hosting the Gwinnett (GA) Gladiators at Cricket Arena.
American Hockey League Stories from October 9, 2003
- Checkers Drop First Preseason Game 4-3 - Charlotte Checkers
- Mighty Ducks Name Hankinson Captain - Cincinnati RailRaiders
- Thomas Assigned to P-Bruins, Wilde Signed - Providence Bruins
- Sound Tigers To Open Third Season This Weekend - Bridgeport Islanders
- Pirates' Roster Bolstered On Eve of Regular Season - Portland Pirates
- Wolves Pay Tribute to Former Center Dan Snyder - Chicago Wolves
- Checkers Get Three More From Hartford - Ianiero Signs - Charlotte Checkers
- Crunch Assign Nate Kiser To Dayton - Syracuse Crunch
- Bears Barking for Charity - Hershey Bears
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.
