Checkers End Exhibition Season With Win Over Mississippi And Spirited Instra-Squad Scrimmage
October 11, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Charlotte Checkers News Release
Indian Trail, N.C. - The Charlotte Checkers completed a short exhibition season with a 9-1 victory over the Mississippi Sea Wolves on Friday night followed by a up tempo intra-squad scrimmage the following day.
During the first period of the pre-season game against the Sea Wolves, the Checkers scored four goals in the first period with Jeff Kyrzakos starting off the scoring during a delayed penalty at 8:49 as he redirected a point shot from Michael Busto past Sea Wolves goaltender Ryan Munce. Checkers forward Mike Bayrack netted a goal at 10:10 of the first period while Mississippi's Justin Coutu was off off a high-sticking minor. The Checkers extended their lead to three goals when Dan McGoff took a cross-ice feed from Julien Brouillete and fired it past Munce at 13:07. The Sea Wolves surrendered a fourth goal at the 14:15 mark when Peter James Corsi poked the loose rebound of a shot from Ryan Hillier into the net after it trickled through Munce's pads.
Sea Wolves forward Mike Wirll, got the Sea Wolves on the board just 1:27 into the second period, as he stole a loose puck in the neutral zone, carried it past two Charlotte defenders, made a move to fool Charlotte goaltender Jeff Jakaitis and deposited the puck in the net, sliding it through the five-hole.
Maxime Boisclair restored Charlotte's four-goal lead when he took a back-door pass from Kyrzakos and roofed it over Munce's left pad at 5:35 of the second.
Munce yielded the net to rookie goaltender Justin Mrazek midway through the second period, after allowing five goals on 22 shots in 29:11 of work, while Jakaitis was replaced by Maxime Daigneault.
Checkers forward Corsi tipped a shot from defenseman Kenny Smith past Mrazek for Charlotte's sixth goal and his second of the contest at the 19:23 scoring his second of the contest.
Ryan Murphy and Matthew Ford chipped in goals just 20 seconds apart, at the 1:24 and the 1:44 mark respectively and Kyrzakos notched his second of the game at 4:51 to cap the scoring.
The following morning was back to work for the Checkers as they held a spirited intra-squad session in an effort to continue the momentum built from the previous night as they move closer to the season opener on Oct. 17 at Florida.
The Checkers are getting ready for their 16th season of play as a member of the ECHL. Opening night will take place on Halloween against the Augusta Lynx at a special 8 p.m. start. In the team's 15-year history, the Checkers have made the playoffs 11 times including four consecutive playoff appearances to date. The Checkers are entering their fourth season of play at Time Warner Cable Arena. Season tickets are on sale now with full-season packages starting at just $396. For season ticket information, please call 704-342-4-ICE or visit www.gocheckers.com.
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