Checkers Drop Second Straight
January 17, 2003 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Charlotte Checkers News Release
Columbia, SC â January 17, 2003: The Charlotte Checkers dropped their second straight game in a 3-0 shutout loss Friday night to the Columbia Inferno in South Carolina. Two fluke goals did the Checkers in for what was an otherwise even game. The Inferno's Patrick Couture made 27 saves in earning his second consecutive shutout, as Columbia won its' fifth straight.
"We gave them two gift goals, and between their excellent goaltending and our unlucky play around the net, that was the game," remarked Checkers Head Coach Don MacAdam. "I thought Dave Inman and Takahito Suzuki would score for sure the way they played tonight. We also caught Columbia at a time when they're really playing well"
A Checkers mistake gave the Inferno a 1-0 lead at 7:28 of the first period. With the Checker on a power play, Charlotte goalie Jeff Salajko misplayed the puck behind his net. The puck squirted out in front where Justin Morrison passed to Rejean Stringer for an easy tap in. The two teams played even until the third period when another fluke goal gave the Inferno a 2-0 advantage. The puck was cleared around the boards in Charlotte territory and appeared to be heading in behind the Checkers net. Salajko went in behind the goal only to have the puck take a crazy bounce off the left rear boards and pop out in front. This time it was Columbia's Robin Carruthers who was wide open in front of the Charlotte cage for another easy tap in. The Inferno closed out the scoring in the final minute of the game on a Chris Pittman empty-net goal after the Checkers had pulled Salajko in the final 1:45 for! a sixth attacker. The final 3-0 Columbia win marked the first time the Checkers have been shut out this season.
Charlotte fell back to the .500 mark with Friday's loss at 18-18-2 for 38 points. The Inferno improved to 25-15-1 for 51 points. The Checkers continue their three-games in three-days weekend by hosting the Augusta Lynx Saturday night at Cricket Arena with the face-off time set for 7:35 p.m.
NOTES: Allan Egeland's nine-game point scoring streak and Chad Wilchynski's six-game point scoring streak were snapped Friday night's loss........Dusty Jamieson, Kenton Smith and Dan Preston remain out with injuries.
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