Checkers Drown Stingrays, 5-1
February 7, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Charlotte Checkers News Release
Charlotte, N.C. - Head coach and general manager of the Charlotte Checkers, Derek Wilkinson needed one more victory to have sole possession of second place in wins for a Checkers head coach-he would get that tonight as his team defeated the South Carolina Stingrays by a score of 5-1 giving Wilkinson his 147th win.
After killing off a Stingrays two-man advantage, the Checkers got on the board thanks to Mark Lee. After taking a nice pass from Mike Bayrack, Lee wristed a shot that beat Stingrays netminder, Josh Johnson top shelf at 8:25 putting Charlotte up 1-0.
In the middle stanza, Charlotte had a two-man advantage of their own and they didn't make a mistake extending their lead to 2-0. Mike Bayrack, stationed at the lip of the crease received a pass from Michael Busto and slammed the puck into a gaping net at 2:28. Charlotte would again find the back of the net on the power play and the damage was assessed once more by Bayrack. The forward found a rebound on a shot from Lee and blasted it home at 12:42 putting Charlotte up 3-0. Chris Capraro would extend the lead to 4-0 after picking up a rebound on a shot from Kaleb Betts and firing it past Johnson at 16:27. The Stingrays would finally get on the board after Chris Chaput made a nice move to beat Checkers goalie, Chris Holt at 19:21 bringing an end to the second period with the Checkers holding a 4-1 lead.
Charlotte forward Ryan Gibbons would add another goal for the Checkers blasting a shot from the slot behind Johnson at 8:01. This extended the lead to 5-1 for Charlotte and cemented the victory.
Notes: Holt was able to turn 40 of 41 shots aside while Johnson stopped 22 of 27...Charlotte tallied three power play goals on nine chances while South Carolina scored once on six attempts.
The Checkers are in their 15th season of play as a member of the ECHL. Their next home game takes place on Feb. 9 against the Pensacola Ice Pilots. In the team's 14-year history, the Checkers have made the playoffs 10 times including three consecutive playoff appearances to date. The Checkers are in their third season of play at St. Lawrence Homes Home Ice at Charlotte Bobcats Arena. Season tickets are on sale now with full-season packages starting at just $175. For season ticket information, please call 704-342-4-ICE or visit www.gocheckers.com.
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