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ECHL Charlotte Checkers

Checkers end regular season with 3-2 loss

April 9, 2006 - ECHL (ECHL)
Charlotte Checkers News Release


(Greenville, South Carolina - Saturday, April 8, 2006) The Charlotte Checkers dropped their final regular-season game to the Greenville Grrrowl 3-2 Saturday at the Bi-Lo Center in Greenville, South Carolina. The game had little meaning to either team as the ECHL's playoff match ups were already set.

The Grrrowl got goals from Brock Radunske, Brad Bonello and Adam Nightingale, with Greenville goalie Cam Ellsworth notching the victory with 33 saves.

The Checkers got a solid effort in goal from backup Trevor Cunning, who hadn't seen action since March 10. Cunning made several spectacular saves on numerous quality chances by the Grrrowl, finishing with 29 stops. Daniel Sparre and Rick Kozak had the Checkers goals.

"We played hard tonight and I think we feel good about ourselves heading into playoffs," remarked Checkers coach Derek Wilkinson. Trevor Cunning (Checkers goalie) played great in only his second game in almost a month. We didn't sustain any injuries tonight so we're also healthy heading into the playoffs."

Greenville took a 1-0 first-period lead as Colin Pepperall put a perfect pass on the stick of Radunske who fired in his 38th goal of the season at 15:30.

Charlotte woke up in the second period, taking the play to the Grrrowl and scoring the tying goal. Sparre got loose on a breakaway and was gently able to slide the puck past Ellsworth to knot the score at 1-1. The Checkers outshot the Grrrowl 20-8 in the period.

In the third period Greenville scored a pair of goals to assume a 3-1 advantage. But the Checkers fought back and pulled within one with the aid of an extra-attacker. With Cunning pulled for a sixth skater, Kozak cleaned up a rebound to slice the Grrrowl lead to 3-2. But in the final minute of the contest Charlotte was unable to equalize and Greenville hung on for the 3-2 victory.

Charlotte finished the season at 33-34-5 for 71 points and a fifth place finish in ECHL's Southern Division. Greenville closed out its regular season with a record of 45-24-3 for 93 points and a third place finish in the division.

The Checkers now begin preparations for their Southern Division quarter-finals' match up against the South Carolina Stingrays. Game one of the best-of-three series will begin Monday, April 10 in Charleston at 7:00 p.m. Game two is back in Charlotte at Charlotte Bobcats Arena Tuesday, April 11 at 7:00 p.m. Game three, if necessary, will be back in Charleston Wednesday, April 12 with face-off set for 7:00 p.m.

PLAYOFF TICKETS: Individual-game playoff tickets and total-game playoff packages are now on sale. Individual-game playoff tickets range in price from $12.00 to $27.00, a two-dollar per-ticket increase over regular-season prices. Fans purchasing total-game playoff packages will pay regular-season prices.

Playoff tickets can be purchased at the Charlotte Bobcats Arena box office and online at www.charlottebobcatsarena.com. Fans may also purchase playoff tickets by phone, using their credit card and calling the Charlotte Bobcats Arena box office at 1-800-495-2295. Special playoff ticket requests, group playoff ticket information and 2006-07 season ticket information can be obtained by calling Checkers office at 704-342-4423. Additional ticket information can be obtained by visiting the Checkers web site at www.gocheckers.com.

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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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