Depleted Checkers fight hard but fall 8-2
Published on March 13, 2004 under ECHL (ECHL)
Charlotte Checkers News Release
(Charlotte, NC - Friday, March 12) The Checkers, depleted by injuries and callups, fought hard but succumbed 8-2 to the first place Louisiana IceGators Friday night at Cricket Arena. The Checkers outshot the Gators 34-23 but were the recipients of some spotty goaltending by both starter Gregg Naumenko and reliever David St. Germain, who combined yielded eight goals on only 23 shots. Jamie Johnson and Armands Berzin each had a pair of goals for Louisiana while Semir Ben-Amor had four points on a goal and three assists.
The loss dropped the Checkers to fifth place and two points behind the Generals for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Southern division as a result of Greensboro's 3-2 shootout Friday night over Columbia. Charlotte remained four points behind third place South Carolina who lost to Florence 7-4, and five points in back of second place Florida who dropped a 4-1 decision to Greenville. Idle Roanoke remains three points behind the Checkers, and plays in Charlotte Saturday night.
"I was proud of the way the guys tried tonight but we just didn't get any saves from our goaltenders," commented Checkers coach Derek Wilkinson. "We made some adjustments from Wednesday night's game and the guys stuck to the game plan for the entire game. We're going to come out tomorrow night against Roanoke and play hard again and hopefully the result will be different."
Louisiana jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first period. Just 2:49 into the contest Berzins beat Checkers goalie Gregg Naumenko for a 1-0 IceGators lead. Louisiana would increase its lead to 2-0 at 16:57 when Kenny Corupe took advantage of a Checkers miscue in the Charlotte zone and scored his 15th goal of the season. Despite yielding two goals and not scoring any, the Checkers out shot the IceGators 13-5 in the first period.
In the second period Louisiana built a 5-0 lead on goals by Bobby Brown, Johnson's first, and Semir Ben-Amor, before Mike Hartman finally got the Checkers on the board at 16:26. Hartman, working hard in front of the IceGators net, was able to get a stick on the puck and poke it just over the line past Louisiana goalie Frederic Cloutier to cut the Louisiana lead to 5-1. After the IceGators fourth goal Wilkinson pulled his starting goalie in favor of St. Germain, who yielded the Gators fifth goal while facing his first shot of the night.
In the third period the Gators added three more tallies, while Kengo Ito scored his fourth of the season for the 8-2 final. The Checkers dropped their fourth straight and fell to 30-25-7 for 67 points, while Louisiana won its fifth straight and improved to 44-16-2 for 90 points.
The Checker will close out their three-game home stand Saturday night hosting the Roanoke Express at Cricket Arena at 7:30 p.m. Saturday's game is "Long Sleeve T-shirt Night" sponsored by Circle K. The first 1,500 youth, 14 years of age and under, will receive a free, Checkers log sleeve t-shirt compliments of Circle K.
ECHL Stories from March 13, 2004
- Lynx Blank Pride 1-0 In Shootout - Augusta Lynx
- Checkers dig down deep for 2-1 shootout win - Charlotte Checkers
- Berg's Hat Trick Lifts Blades 5-4 Over Grrrowl - Florida Everblades
- IceGators Sting The Rays 5-2 - Louisiana IceGators
- Rivermen Shut Out Toledo 2-0 for the Second Straight Night - Peoria Rivermen
- Pride fall in shootout - Myrtle Beach Thunderboltz
- Chiefs Power Past Wheeling - Johnstown Chiefs
- Bullies Squeeze By Royals 6-4 - Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies
- ECHL Transactions - ECHL
- Gulls - Falcons Game Preview - San Diego Gulls
- Today In The ECHL - ECHL
- Checkers sign A.J. Walker, Lawson recalled by Hartford - Charlotte Checkers
- Sea Wolves Web Site Developer And Host Wins Award - Mississippi Sea Wolves
- Masters stops Alaska cold - Alaska Aces
- Vegas Topples Bakersfield, 6-2 - Bakersfield Condors
- Barber's Hat Trick Foils Falcons - Fresno Falcons
- Barber Leads Gulls to 4-1 Victory - San Diego Gulls
- Steelheads take bite out of Ice Dogs, 5-1 - Idaho Steelheads
- Depleted Checkers fight hard but fall 8-2 - Charlotte Checkers
- Cyclones Find Go(a)l-d In Alaska - Cincinnati Cyclones
- Royals Set New Club Attendance Record - Reading Royals
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
