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AHL Charlotte Checkers

Checkers Top Oklahoma City in Shootout

December 18, 2011 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Charlotte Checkers News Release


The Checkers entered Sunday's game with Oklahoma City wanting to know how they stacked up against the AHL's best. The can walk away pleased with the results.

Charlotte fought back from a pair of one-goal deficits before beating the visiting Barons by a 3-2 score in the shootout. Jerome Samson and Brett Bellemore scored for the Checkers, who won their second game in a row on the heels of a season-long four-game losing streak.

For coach Jeff Daniels, the bulk of the team's last two wins have been marked by a more consistent effort coupled with the ability to stick to the game plan when things may not be going its way.

"It's just the compete level and the way we kept fighting," he said. "It would have been easy to get frustrated with some of the quality chances we had that weren't going in."

Oklahoma City's David LeNeveu, who entered the game ranked third in the AHL with a 2.01 goals-against average, made 38 saves to help hold the Checkers at bay. Mike Murphy stopped 21 shots on the other end, not including four of five in the shootout.

Murphy, who entered the game as the only goalie in the AHL to stop all comers in the shootout (5-for-5 in one appearance), made a save on the Barons' Mark Arcobello to seal the victory. Jon Matsumoto and surprise inclusion Justin Krueger scored for the Checkers.

"We run breakaway drills in practice, and he's one of the guys that tends to score early," said Daniels of Krueger, a 25-year-old rookie defenseman who has yet to score his first AHL goal. "Obviously it looks good now, but it very easily might not have and then you're asking me what I was doing."

The Checkers appeared to have won the game during the four-on-four overtime session that preceded the shootout, but Zac Dalpe's shot from the right circle, which beat LeNeveu over the left shoulder, was judged to have hit the post after a lengthy discussion amongst officials.

"From what I saw I thought it was in," said Daniels. "Even from the sound you just didn't hear that ding like if it had hit the post. It would have been easy to get frustrated, but we handled it the right way."

Dalpe, who recorded a game-high six shots, was later stopped in the shootout and has not recorded a goal in his last eight games, agreed.

"I'm going to be a little bit biased because nothing's going in for me at the moment," he said.

It seemed as though the Checkers may not be in a position to win the game when the visitors' Curtis Hamilton broke a long-standing 1-1 tie with just 5:28 remaining in the third period, beating Murphy blocker side after a nice cross-ice feed from Antti Tyrvainen. However, another unlikely scorer in Bellemore, tied the game when a Bobby Sanguinetti point shot went off his skate and in as he put a screen in front of LeNeveu.

The goal was the first of the season and fourth in 186 career games for Bellemore, a defenseman who normally doesn't find himself anywhere near the vicinity of the opposing goaltender.

"I'll have to look at it and see what happened, because guys were asking him what he was doing up there and he said he didn't know," said Daniels. "It was nice to see him score because he's a guy that, for all he does defensively, doesn't always get the credit he deserves."

"I don't know," said Bellemore when posed that same question. "I'm not usually down there, but we needed one, so any offense we could generate, we've got to do that."

That marked the second time the Checkers fought back to tie the game against a team that entered the game with a .929 winning percentage when recording the game's first goal. Defenseman Taylor Chorney did just that 6:39 into the second period by knocking home a loose puck behind Murphy, but the Checkers tied it just 1:41 later on the power play with Chris Terry missed the net only to see his shot bounce off the end boards and right to Samson on the other side.

The Checkers, who began the contest as one of just two teams with a winning record against first-placed Barons, who fell to 20-7-2, have now taken three of four meetings between the two teams this season.

"We seem to get pumped up for these games, and now we just have to do it for all the games," said Dalpe.

Meeting No. 5 will occur on Tuesday, as the Checkers play their final game before the holiday break. The circumstances could be different then, as Oklahoma City arrived in Charlotte around noon on Sunday after recording a 3-2 home shootout victory over Houston the night before.

"We'll probably see more from them on Tuesday, because we probably caught them on a tough travel situation after an emotional game last night," said Daniels.

NOTES: The Checkers have recorded at least one power-play goal in their last four games, converting six of their last 19 chances (31.6 percent) ... Samson's goal was his team-leading 12th of the season and team-leading seventh on the power play ... Sanguinetti recorded 2 assists, giving him 4 points in four games since returning from injury ... Bellemore's last regular-season goal was on Feb. 13, 2011 ...Defenseman Chris Murray was a healthy scratch for Charlotte, with forwards Cedric McNicoll and Justin Shugg out due to injury ... Fans voted Murphy winner of the Roll up Your Sleeves Hardest Worker of the Game Award.

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