ECHL Charlotte Checkers

Checkers Get Third Straight Win With 6-2 Triumph In Long Beach

December 8, 2003 - ECHL (ECHL)
Charlotte Checkers News Release


(Long Beach, CA - Sunday, December 7, 2003) - The Charlotte Checkers have quickly shown their liking to the west coast, as Don MacAdam's club won their third game in a row on their season-long, seven-game road trip. Sunday night the Checkers earned a dominant 6-2 win over the Long Beach Ice Dogs. Center Benoit Dusablon scored a hat trick while left wing Dave Inman added a goal and two assists in the victory. Defenseman Nick Bilotto also had a three-point night with three assists and goalie David St. Germain won his second straight game making 20 saves. After winning three straight games on their west coast trip, the Checkers are about as popular in California as former Governor Gray Davis. The win also saw Charlotte's road record improve to 7-3-2 for 16 points.

"With our fourth game this week, we just wanted to hang in there until we could our legs," commented Checkers Head Coach, Don MacAdam. "The Dusablon, Inman, Cullen line was excellent tonight, and our other lines were solid. Nick Bilotto had his best game of the season tonight, and was the dominant defenseman we've been used to. So far on the trip we've been getting contributions from everybody, and the whole team is playing with a lot of confidence right now."

The Checkers grabbed a 1-0 lead at the 13:44 when Brandon Cullen scored his fourth goal of the season off an Ice Dogs turnover in the Long Beach zone. The goal extended Cullen's point streak to six games. The second-year Checker has also scored goals in four of his last five games. The Ice Dogs tied the game at 1-1 on a power play at 16:48, with Kevin McDonald getting credit for the goal. The first period ended with the two teams tied at 1-1, with Long Beach outshooting the Checkers 12-7.

In the second period the Checkers scored a pair of goals to take a 3-1 lead after 40 minutes. Blaz Emersic scored on a power play just three minutes into the period on assists from Bilotto and Allan Egeland. At 10:46 Dusablon notched his fourth goal of the season off an Inman assist, and the Checkers took a 3-1 lead into the locker room after two periods.

Charlotte salted the game away in the third period with three straight goals. Inman scored his second short-handed goal of the road trip and third overall for a 4-1 lead at 9:57 of the period. Dusablon scored next just a minute and a half later on a power play for a 5-1 advantage. The Charlotte center finally notched his hat trick at 15:18 for a 6-1 Checkers lead. John McNabb tallied for Long Beach with just 27 seconds left in the game for the 6-2 final.

The win saw their Checkers record rise to 8-9-3 for 19 points, while the Ice Dogs fell to 6-12-2 for eight points. Game # 4 of the Checkers season-high, seven-game road trip continues Tuesday night in Bakersfield with a 10:00 p.m. ET / 7:00 p.m. PT faceoff against the Condors. The game can be heard over the Internet beginning at 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time by logging on to the Checkers web site at www.gocheckers.com.

Following the seven-game road trip, the Checkers will finally return to Cricket Arena on Saturday, December 20 to host the Gwinnett Gladiators at 7:30 p.m.

NOTES: Brandon Cullen also extended his point streak to six games at 4g, 2a = 6 pts with an with a goal. Cullen's goal Sunday night was his fourth goal in his last five games. Dave Inman's three points extended his point streak to eight games with 4g,9a = 13 pts in that span.

CHECKERS TICKETS: All regular season individual game tickets are on sale, and may be purchased at the Cricket Arena Box Office, the Charlotte Coliseum Box Office, and all Ticketmaster locations. Tickets may also be purchased by phone by using a credit card and calling Ticketmaster at (704) 922-6500, and through the Internet at www.ticketmaster.com.

Individual game tickets for the 2003-04 season are priced at $7.00 for balcony seats, $10.00 for end mezzanine seats, $12.00 for side mezzanine seats, $15.00 for circle seats, and $20.00 for box seats.

Season Tickets, mini plans and group tickets remain on sale through the Checkers office. Further information can be obtained by calling the Checkers office at (704) 342-4423.

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