Checkers win fourth in last five with 3-0 victory at Pensacola
March 21, 2007 - ECHL (ECHL)
Charlotte Checkers News Release
(Pensacola, Florida - Tuesday, March 20) The Charlotte Checkers rode the back of goaltender Alex Westlund who pitched a shutout Tuesday night in a 3-0 blanking of the Pensacola Ice Pilots in Florida. Westlund's 25-save shutout was his third of the season and the Checkers fourth overall.
The Checkers offense got single goals from Blake Bellefeuille and Steve Slonina, as well as an empty-net goal from Daymen Rycroft. Jan Vodrazka also added two assists for Charlotte.
The win allowed Charlotte (35-24-1-2) to jump into sole possession of the fifth and final playoff spot in the ECHL's South division, two points ahead of the sixth place Augusta Lynx. The Checkers also climbed to within two points of fourth place South Carolina. Charlotte, with ten regular-season games remaining, has a game in hand on the Lynx and three games in hand on the Stingrays. Pensacola, already eliminated from the playoffs, fell to 19-41-1-3. (Click here for up-to-date ECHL Standings) http://echl.leaguestat.com/stats/statdisplay.php?type=standings
"It was a big two points for us tonight," remarked Charlotte Coach Derek Wilkinson. "The building was hot and the ice was terrible but the guys gutted out a nice win. We didn't give them a lot in the third period and Westy (Alex Westlund) was solid as usual. Getting those first two goals was also a key for us tonight."
After both teams had good opportunities in the game's first 15 minutes but both goalies were hot and neither team could score. Charlotte finally grabbed the lead at 14 minutes, 49 seconds of the first period. Bellefeuille blasted home a pass from the right rear boards from Dan Murphy for a 1-0 Checkers advantage. Four minutes later and with each team sitting a man in the penalty box, Slonina's wrist shot from the left circle sailed over the shoulder of Ice Pilots goalie Evan Lindsay and into the net at 18:52. Charlotte took the two-goal advantage to the locker room at the end of one period.
In the second period Pensacola had three power-play opportunities, but Westlund and Charlotte's third best penalty killing unit in the ECHL kept the Ice Pilots off the scoreboard.
In the final period the Checkers defense clamped down, yielding only three Pensacola shots. After the Ice Pilots pulled Lindsay for a sixth attacker with 1:45 left, Charlotte iced the game on Rycroft's empty-net goal with 20 seconds left for the 3-0 final.
CHECKERS TUESDAY NIGHT SCRATCHES: Dusty Jamieson, Lee Falardeau, and Adam Nightingale.
ON RECALL TO (AHL) HARTFORD: Corey Potter, Chris Holt, and Zdenek Bahensky
FOR BOX SCORE CLICK: http://echl.leaguestat.com/stats/game-summary.php?game_id=1689
NEXT GAME: The Checkers will play in Augusta Friday night in a crucial ECHL South division matchup. Face-off time is set for 7:30 p.m. Broadcast on (TEAMLINE http://www.teamline.cc/sportpages.html?teamcode=2820&eventcode=0036) and B2 https://www.b2livetv.com/hockey/echl/charlotte/billnow.asp )
NEXT HOME GAME: The Checkers next home game is Tuesday, March 27 when they'll entertain the Pensacola Ice Pilots at Charlotte Bobcats Arena at 7:00 p.m.
Tickets for all Checkers home games can be purchased on the official team web site at www.gocheckers.com, on the telephone by using a credit card and calling 1-800-495-2295, or by visiting the Charlotte Bobcats Arena box office.
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