AHL Charlotte Checkers

Checkers Weekly

December 24, 2002 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Charlotte Checkers News Release


THURSDAY'S PREVIEW: The Checkers will meet the South Carolina Stingrays for the third time this season, with each team winning once in the previous two meetings on the other's ice. The six-game season series will feature each team playing three games at home. Mike Jickling and Curtis Huppe lead the Stingrays in scoring with 32 points. South Carolina enters this week in first place in the Southeast Division of the Southern Conference with a record of 18-9-2 for 38 points.

FRIDAY'S PREVIEW: The Checkers hit the road for two straight following Thursday's home game beginning with a Friday night tilt in Richmond. The Checkers are 1-1-1 versus the Renegades so far in the nine-game season series. The Renegades enter this week tied for third place in the Northeast Division of the Northern Conference with a record of 17-12-1 for 35 points. Lars Petersen leads Richmond in scoring with 30 points.

SATURDAY'S PREVIEW: Charlotte closes out a three game in three night schedule this week in Greensboro to continue the eight-game season series with the Generals. The Checkers are 1-3-0 versus the Generals so far, winning once in three tries on Cricket Arena ice and dropping the lone meeting at the Greensboro Coliseum. As this week begins, the Generals find themselves only two points out of first place in the Northeast Division with a record of 19-6-4 for 42 points. Veteran forward Jay Murphy leads the Generals in scoring with 31 points while veteran goalie Daniel Berthiaume has won 13 games so far this season.

CHECKERS RECENT MOVES AND TRANSACTIONS:

Tuesday, December 17 – Defenseman Chad Wilchynski obtained in a trade with the Toledo Storm.

Wednesday, December 18 – Hartford assigned goalie Scott Meyer to Charlotte.

· Thursday, December 19 – Traded defenseman Chad McIver to Cincinnati

· Sunday, December 22 – Hartford returned Nick Bilotto to Charlotte.

SUZUKI NAMED TO ECHL'S NORTHERN CONFERENCE ALL-STAR TEAM: Charlotte rookie Japanese right wing Takahito Suzuki was named to the ECHL's Northern Conference All-Star team. Suzuki will be the Checkers lone representative at the All-Star game to be played Tuesday, January 21 at Teco Arena in Fort Meyers, Florida. The Florida Everblades are the host team for this season's All-Star game.

INMAN NAMED ECHL'S ‘PLAYER OF THE WEEK": Checkers left wing Dave Inman is the InGlasCo East Coast Hockey League Player of the Week for December 16-22. The 22-year-old Inman scored the game-winning goal in each of Charlotte's wins last week as the Checkers increased their season-high winning streak to three games. Inman capped the Checkers' 4-3 come-from-behind win at Trenton on Saturday, scoring the game winner at 1:35 of overtime, and then on Sunday he scored the game-winning goal in Charlotte's 5-2 win at Reading.

Selected in the second round (59th overall) by the New York Rangers in the 1999 National Hockey League Entry Draft, Inman has scored five goals and seven points in four games with the Checkers, and he ranks second on the team in game-winning goals (2). In his first professional season, Inman opened the year with Hartford of the American Hockey League, scoring seven points (1g-6a) in 13 games.

On behalf of Dave Inman, a case of pucks will be donated to a Charlotte area youth hockey organization by InGlasCo. Runners-Up: Ryan Vince, Dayton (3 gp, 5g, 1a, 6 pts, +2) and Matt Reid, Pee Dee (3 gp, 4g, 2a, 6 pts, +4)

CHECKERS HAVE STILL PLAYED FEWEST GAMES: The Checkers enter this week as having once again played the fewest number of games in the ECHL so far this season at 26.

CHECKERS BUILD A WINNING STREAK OF THEIR OWN: The Checkers have won a season-high three straight games, and four of their last four overall. Earlier this season the Checkers tied a club record with a six-game losing streak.

TEAM LEADERS:

POINTS - Eddie Pershin (27)

GOALS – Takahito Suzuki (13)

ASSISTS – Eddie Pershin (18)

PLUS/MINUS – Kurt Seher (+6)

PENALTY MINUTES – Brandon Cullen (93)

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

Date Opponent ___ Result

Sat, Dec 21 @ Trenton W 4-3 OT

Sun, Dec 22 @ Reading W 5-2

TICKET INFO: Individual game tickets for all Checkers' regular season home games may be purchased through Ticketmaster via phone at (704) 522-6500, via website, www.ticketmaster.com, or in person at the Cricket Arena Box Office located at 2700 E. Independence Boulevard in Charlotte (704) 335-3100. Group Tickets and Mini-Plans are also on sale. Specific ticket information can be obtained by calling the Checkers' office (704) 342-4423.

The Charlotte Checkers enter their tenth season as members of the East Coast Hockey League, who celebrate their 15th anniversary this season. The team is owned by Felix Sabates and Carl Scheer. The Checkers play all home games at Cricket Arena. For more information on Charlotte's professional hockey team, please visit www.gocheckers.com, or call (704) 342-4423.

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American Hockey League Stories from December 24, 2002


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