ECHL Charlotte Checkers

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December 13, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL)
Charlotte Checkers News Release


CHARLOTTE, NC - The Charlotte Checkers (13-6-2; 28 PTS; 2nd East Div) went into the week trying to break a four-game winless skid. Mission accomplished. At home on Wednesday night, they sent Louisiana packing with alligator luggage. Next up was Gwinnett on Friday night who the Checkers had beaten on Nov 19. Gwinnett had got their revenge, winning 2-5. That didn't stop the Checkers as they bested the Augusta Lynx on Saturday in Charlotte's second of 8 road games. This week, the Checkers travel to face South Carolina on Tuesday, Pensacola on Friday, then mess with Texas on back-to-back nights (Friday and Saturday).

LAST WEEK

Wednesday, December 8 vs. Louisiana, W 3-2

Both teams came out on the attack, looking for chances against Checkers goalie Alex Westlund and Louisiana's Nathan Marsters. Westlund finished with 33 saves and the win. Checkers center Juris Stals and defenseman (for the night) Ryan Lang helped Westlund's cause with a textbook give-and-go, as Stals wristed one past Louisiana goalie Nathan Marsters 7:49 into the period. Lang, normally a center, looked right at home adjusting to his role, and tallied another assist in the second period. At the end of the period, Jason Dawe rocketed a shot from the wing that slipped just between Marsters' stick hand and body. The IceGators staged a comeback with a goal early in the second making it 2-1, but the Checkers quickly answered. At 11:32 into the second, Lang fired a beautiful pass to Brandon Cullen for the score and the game winner. The IceGators snuck a late goal past Westlund 18:38 into the third period but the Checkers held on for the victory.

Friday, December 10 @ Gwinnett, L 2-5

The Checkers took a 1-0 lead just two minutes and fifty three seconds into the game as Brandon Cullen tipped in newcomer Curtis Menzul's shot from the point for his second goal of the season. Charlotte played even with Gwinnett through the middle of the period before the Gladiators began a big surge. Gwinnett dominated by scoring four unanswered goals, three in a 54 second span, to take a 4-1 lead to the locker room after 20 minutes. The Checkers got back into the game early in the second period as Lee Falardeau knocked home his own rebound at 2:30 to cut the Gladiators lead to 4-2. Ryan Cuthbert notched the lone assist. Still Charlotte could only muster five shots on goal in the period and trailed 4-2 after forty minutes. In the third period the Gladiators got an insurance goal at 8:03 to win 5-2. The Gladiators outshot the Checkers 44-26 for the game, and Checkers goalie Alex Westlund had 39 saves on the night.

Saturday, December 11 @ Augusta, W 4-3

Victory was back on the menu as the Charlotte Checkers built a two-goal, second-period lead and held on to edge the Augusta Lynx 4-3 Saturday night in Georgia. Charlotte grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first period as Ryan Lang fired Rory Rawlyk's centering pass into the net at the thirteen minute, fifty one second mark. The Checkers dominated the period with three power-play chances and a 15-7 shot advantage. In the second period, the Lynx finally broke a three-game scoring drought as they scored a power-play goal at 5:32 of the period to tie the game at 1-1. The Checkers struck back quickly to regain the lead at 2-1 just 41 seconds later as Lang converted on a two-on-one rush for his fourth goal of the season. Augusta again tied the game at 2-2, this time on a short-handed goal. Off an assist by Ryan Glenn, Charlotte quickly regained the lead as Lang tallied his first professional hat trick at 15:21 for a 3-2 Checkers advantage. Mike Harder made it 4-2 with just 1:46 left in the period, after taking a picture-perfect pass from Mike Wirll and notching his team-leading ninth goal of the season. With the Checkers leading 4-2 entering the final period, the Lynx made it interesting by cutting the Charlotte's advantage to one goal. Late in the game Augusta tried to pull its goalie for an extra attacker, but instead received a minor penalty for too many men on the ice. The Checkers kept the Lynx in check and hung on for the 4-3 victory. Checkers goalie Kelly Guard, who struggled in his last start last Saturday in Charlotte against Columbia, rebounded for a 32 save effort in notching his eighth win of the season.

THIS WEEK

Tuesday, December 14 @ South Carolina Stingrays, 7:05 p.m.

Friday, December 17 @ Pensacola Ice Pilots, 7:05 p.m.

Saturday, December 18 @ Texas Wildcatters, 7:05 p.m.

Sunday, December 19 @ Texas Wildcatters, 5:05 p.m.

PRACTICE SCHEDULE

Tuesday, December 14 - Practice @ Cricket Arena -- 10:00 a.m.

Wednesday, December 15 - Practice @ Cricket Arena -- 10:00 a.m.

*The team leaves for the remainder of their road trip on Thursday, December 16.

CHECKERS NEWS

· The Checkers are currently second in the East Division with a .667 win percentage. They are tied for second in the American Conference and tied with 3 other teams for fourth in the ECHL overall with 28 points. The Checkers are also ranked fourth in the league averaging 3.24 goals per game.

· After 21 games, the Checkers were 9-9-3 last year. This year, they are 13-6-2.

· Ryan Lang leads the Checkers with five points (3g-2a) in his last five games. He was one of only two players to tally a hat trick last week vs. Augusta on December 11.

· Mike Harder is currently ranked third in the league with 25 points.

· Dusty Jamieson has the third highest shooting percentage in the league at 0.250. Out of 20 shots taken, he has scored 5 goals.

· Rookie goalie Kelly Guard is tied for first in the league with a perfect shootout percentage (1.000) and overtime wins (2).

· Kenton Smith is tied for first among goals scored by a defenseman. Smith is also ranked fourth in the league among fellow defensemen with a 0.132 shot percentage.

· Dan Preston is tied for sixth with 12 total points by defensemen.

· On the road, the Checkers have the eighth best power play record in the league. They also have the ninth best road penalty killing record (87.2 pct). They are seventh in scoring short-handed goals, and eighteenth in short-handed goals allowed.

CHECKERS LEADERS

Goals: Mike Harder (9)

Assists: Mike Harder (16)

Points: Mike Harder (25)

Plus/Minus: Rory Rawlyk (+9)

PIM: Steve MacIntyre (70)

Wins: Kelly Guard (8)

GAA: Kelly Guard (2.70)

Save Pct.: Kelly Guard (0.908)

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. On the web or on the phone, listen as the voice of the Checkers, Tim Donelli, brings you all of the away Checkers action.

Check out the Charlotte Checkers Statistics



ECHL Stories from December 13, 2004


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