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ECHL Charlotte Checkers

Checkers edge Stingrays twice last week

February 26, 2007 - ECHL (ECHL)
Charlotte Checkers News Release


CHARLOTTE, NC - The Charlotte Checkers rebounded from a 5-2 loss to Toledo at home on Thursday with two wins at South Carolina over the weekend. The Checkers edged out South Carolina 5-4 in overtime Friday and followed it up with a 3-1 win on Sunday. The four points earned in the wins give Charlotte 61 points - two ahead of South Carolina.

Charlotte has 20 games remaining while South Carolina has 18. The teams will meet two more times this season - once in Charlotte (3/8) and once in North Charleston (3/25). Augusta sits in fourth place of the South Division with 63 points. The Checkers will face the Lynx four more times this season (two home, two away). With only five teams making the playoffs from the eight-team South Division, the playoff race with Augusta, Charlotte and South Carolina should remain tight throughout March and the first week of April.

CHECKERS THIS SEASON

29-20-3, 61 pts

LAST WEEK

2-1-0, 4 pts

Thursday, February 22, 2007 vs. Toledo, L, 2-5

This past Sunday the short-handed Charlotte Checkers were able to scrap together an impressive 3-2 victory at Gwinnett. Thursday the Checkers were even more short-handed, and this time the result was different. After leading 2-1 after one period, the Toledo Storm scored four unanswered goals en route to a 5-2 win Thursday night at Charlotte Bobcats Arena.

The loss was the Checkers third in a row at home, and stymied their efforts to gain points on their Southern division rivals, most of which were idle Thursday. Chris Blight had two goals and an assist for Toledo (26-21-0-1 for 53 points), but the big hero was Storm goalie Dominic Vicari who was a wall most of the night. His 29 saves frustrated the Checkers, especially in the final two periods as he won his third straight in net for Toledo.

Daymen Rycroft and Blake Bellefeuille tallied the Charlotte goals, with goalie Chris Holt suffering his 15th loss of the season making 24 saves.

Friday, February 23, 2007 @ South Carolina, W, 5-4

In the Checkers previous 50 games this season, they played with more players than they played with Friday night. Starting the game with only 16 players, Charlotte finished the game with 15 bodies and still managed to pull off a 5-4 overtime victory against the South Carolina Stingrays Friday night at the North Charleston Coliseum.

Blake Bellefeuille scored the winning goal with just 44 seconds left in the five-minute sudden-death overtime session off a beautiful helper from Bryan Rodney. The victory was Charlotte's second overtime win over the Stingrays (26-19-3-4 for 58 points) in a week, and improved the Checkers record over South Carolina to 6-2 in the eleven-game season-series. Nathan Gillies had a pair of goals for the Checkers, (28-20-1-2 for 59 points) with Mark Lee scoring once. John Donnelly also scored his first goal as a member of the Checkers. Charlotte goalie, Chris Holt, saw a lot of rubber, facing 41 shots while stopping 37. Holt also had a solid third period and overtime, with 17 saves in that 24 minute span.

Sunday, February 25, 2007, W, @ South Carolina, 3-1

The Checkers dominance over the South Carolina Stingrays continues. A 3-1 victory Sunday afternoon at the North Charleston Coliseum was the Checkers' fifth straight overall against the Stingrays, and gave Charlotte a perfect 4-0 mark against South Carolina in Charleston this season. The Checkers also now lead the eleven-game season-series 7-2.

Nathan Gillies, Mark Lee and Bruce Graham scored for Charlotte (29-20-1-2 for 61 points), and were backed by a 34-save effort by goalie Chris Holt. Securing his 18th victory of the campaign, Holt was solid for a second straight game while making a 10th consecutive start. Marc Busenburg had the lone Stingrays goal, as South Carolina (26-21-3-4 for 59 points) extended its' winless streak to seven games (0-3-3-1).

The 3-1 victory enabled the Checkers to climb into sole possession of fifth place, the final playoff spot, in the ECHL's Southern Division. Charlotte also pulled within two points of fourth place Augusta.

GAMES THIS WEEK

Saturday, March 3, 2007 @ Augusta, 7:30 pm ET

Sunday, March 4, 2007 vs. Florida, 4:00 pm ET

CHECKERS NEWS

- The Checkers play 19 of their 20 remaining games against South Division teams.

- Bruce Graham is ranked 7th in the ECHL with 29 goals.

- Mark Lee ranks 20th in the ECHL with 18 power play assists.

- Mike Ouellette is tied for 10th in the league amongst rookies with 35 points 10g, 25a).

CHECKERS LEADERS

Goals: Graham, Bruce (29)

Assists: Lee, Mark (32)

Points: Lee, Mark (47)

Plus/Minus: Two players tied(+10): Ouellette, Mike; Smith, Kenton

PIM: Vodrazka, Jan (131)

Wins: Holt, Chris (18)

GAA: Holt, Chris (3.15)

Save Pct.: Holt, Chris (.898)

CHECKERS BROADCAST INFO

Tune into all Charlotte Checkers away games as they broadcast on TEAMLINE. Fans can click the TEAMLINE logo on the Checkers website, www.gocheckers.com, or listen on the phone at 800-846-4700, code 2820. Fans can also watch several games this season on the B2 Network. Click the B2 Network logo on the Checkers website to view a list of available games as well as watch the game live. On the web or on the phone, listen as the voice of the Checkers, Tim Donelli, brings you all of the Checkers action.

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ECHL Stories from February 26, 2007


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.

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