Checkers take four straight

by ECHL Press Release
Published on November 12, 2001 under ECHL (ECHL)

ECHL Press Release

Strong goaltending from Scott Meyer and offense from Benoit Dusablon and Brandon Dietrich helped Charlotte win three games in three nights to improve its winning streak to four games and its overall record to 6-6-1.

The Checkers opened the weekend with a 5-1 win over Trenton played before a season-high 8,093 fans at Cricket Arena as Dave Duerden scored two goals, Dusablon had three assists and Meyer made 20 saves. Charlotte picked up its first one-goal win of the season, improving to 1-5-1, on Saturday as Meyer earned his first career shutout with 25 saves and Dusablon scored the only goal in a 1-0 win at Reading. The Checkers closed out the weekend with a 7-3 win at Roanoke led by Dietrich, who scored a team season-high six points and the Checkers¹ first hat trick of the season, and Dusablon, who had two goals and an assist. Meyer made 22 saves and picked up his fourth straight win improving his record to 5-4-1. During the current winning streak, Meyer has lowered his goals against average from 2.31 to 1.89, second best in the East Coast Hockey League, while raising his save percentage from .896 to .919.

The Checkers put their season-high winning streak on the line Wednesday when they host Pee Dee, and then hit the road for the weekend visiting Richmond on Friday and Pee Dee on Saturday. Pee Dee has beaten Charlotte twice by one goal this season, 1-0 in the season opener at Pee Dee on October 12 and 4-3 at Charlotte on October 27.

Charlotte leads the ECHL in shots allowed allowing only 23.77 per game while ranking second in goals allowed with 2.23 per game. Dusablon leads the Checkers with 14 points while his six goals tie him with Dietrich for the team goal-scoring lead and his eight assists tie him with defenseman Justin Harney for the team assist lead.

ICEGATORS REMAIN ONLY UNBEATEN TEAM IN PROFESSIONAL HOCKEY

Posting a pair of home wins, 1-0 over Kelly Cup Champion South Carolina on Friday and a 5-1 over Mobile on Saturday, Louisiana remained the only unbeaten team in professional hockey. The IceGators improved to 10-0-1 and have won seven consecutive games since a 1-0 shootout loss to Jackson on October 17.

The IceGators become only the third team in East Coast Hockey League history to open the season with a 9-0-1 record, joining Richmond and Dayton, who both opened the 1994-95 season with 9-0-1 records. Richmond went 5-2-3 over its next 10 games for a 14-2-4 record after 20 games. The best record after 20 games is 16-2-2 by Knoxville in 1990-91.

Louisiana travels to Mobile on Thursday and then returns home to host Baton Rouge on Friday and New Orleans on Sunday.

The IceGators¹ longest winning streak is 10 games in 1997 while their longest unbeaten streak is 13 games (9-0-4) in 1999. Louisiana has won six consecutive road games this season and dating back to last season it has won nine straight road games. The six straight road wins this year are three shy of the team season record for consecutive road wins set in 1997.

Louisiana goaltenders Marc Magliarditi and Frederic Cloutier have combined to hold opponents to an East Coast Hockey League best 1.45 goals per game. Cloutier and Magliarditi combined for a team record shutout streak of 143:40, surpassing the previous record by almost 30 minutes. In the six games that Magliarditi has been in goal, the IceGators are averaging 4.7 goals per game while in Cloutier¹s five starts they are averaging 1.6 goals per game and only 1.0 goals per game in his last four starts.

Cloutier has won his last two starts by identical 1-0 scores, making 53 saves in the two games, and won his prior start 2-1 in overtime, making 36 saves including three in overtime and 13 in the third period. A 20-year-old rookie, Cloutier is 4-0-1 in his first five professional games, and leads the ECHL with three shutouts, a 0.39 goals against average, and a .987 save percentage. He has a team record shutout streak of 153:49 and his three shutouts have tied the team record set by Bujar Amidovski in 1998-99. The only two goals allowed in regulation by Cloutier this season have been power-play goals, and Louisiana has not allowed a power-play goal in its last 29 chances.

INGLASCO PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Cory Cyrenne    Louisiana IceGators
GP:  2     G:  3    A:  2    PTS:  5    +/-: +1

ECHL GOALIE OF THE WEEK

Scott Meyer    Charlotte Checkers
GP:  3     Rec.:  3-0-0    GAA:  1.33    PCT:  .944

ECHL Stories from November 12, 2001

• Checkers take four straight - OSC Original by ECHL Press Release

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