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AHL Charlotte Checkers

GAME RECAP: Checkers Can'T Keep Pace, Fall to Moose 2-1

January 28, 2017 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Charlotte Checkers News Release


CHARLOTTE, NC - In front of a packed house on NASCAR Night, the Checkers couldn't quite keep the pace, falling to Manitoba in a tightly fought 2-1 battle.

Unlike last night, it was the Moose who found the back of the net first, notching a power-play tally five minutes into the contest. They then doubled that advantage midway through the second period, and that would prove to be all they needed. Andrew Poturalski cut into the deficit later in the frame, but there would be no more offense mustered from the home squad. Their rally attempt, stunted by having to kill a penalty for the final two minutes of regulation, came up empty, and the Checkers saw their three-game winning streak come to a halt.

"It's one of those things where we weren't quite getting the bounces," said head coach Ulf Samuelsson. "We were all around it and had a lot of opportunities, but we didn't make that last, telling play as many times as we wanted to. There was certainly no lack of effort or try there, it was just the final execution that was not quite as sharp as we needed tonight."

"I think we started off a little slow with a couple of mishaps and they got a couple of goals in the first two periods, but I thought we came out strong in the third and dominated the majority of the period," said Poturalski. "We had a ton of chances, we just couldn't get one to go in. Credit to them for the win, but we battled hard and it was a good game."

The Checkers were once again able to put a lot of rubber on Manitoba netminder Eric Comrie, topping the 35-shot mark for the third time in their last four games.

"Anytime you have more chances that the opponent, which I think we will have when we break the game down, that's a positive sign," said Samuelsson. I think that's a good statement."

When the Checkers were able to break through, it came off a bit of a lucky bounce, as Poturalski's shot careened off the stick of a defenseman and looped into the net. Given the tough time they were having creating offense that was a welcome break.

"In the huddle we said that we'll take that one," said Poturalski. "We had a ton of great chances that didn't go in and then we get a chance like that that does - it's funny how the game works. We took it, we kind of rolled with that and I thought we dominated. We just couldn't seem to get one to go in."

Between the pipes for the second straight night was Eddie Lack, in Charlotte for a conditioning stint. The netminder stood tall on several of the chances he saw, and kept the Checkers within striking distance the entire game.

"He was very good," said Samuelsson. "I'm looking forward to following his adventure in the NHL now. I think Carolina has two good goalies and Eddie has certainly proved that he's healthy and ready to go, so I'm excited for him."

This loss wrapped up the Checkers' longest home stand of the year, and now the team will get a week off for the AHL's All-Star Break. While that time off can be a positive in most senses, it's a bit of a double-edged sword for Charlotte.

"I don't know - we're playing good right now and I'd like to keep it going," said Samuelsson. "But looking at the guys and the amount of ice bags, the guys have really given it everything they've had in the last month or so. I think it will be good for our group."

The Checkers will quickly launch back into action with a trip to Tucson next weekend, so the players are going to take full advantage of this week.

"I think we just take some time to relax and regenerate," said Poturalski. "It's a long season, a lot of games and a lot of hard work. Take these couple of days off, get your mind off hockey and come back ready to make a push."

NOTES

The Checkers attracted 8,319 fans for their annual NASCAR Night promotion that featured appearances by Ryan Newman, Joey Logano, Regan Smith, Michael Annett, Brennan Poole and Sam Bass ... Andrej Nestrasil's assist gave him five points (3g, 2a) in eight AHL games this season ... Poturalski has recorded a point in seven of his last nine games ... After pulling ahead of the Moose in the standings last night, the Checkers fell back to seventh in the Central Division tonight ... The Checkers are now 4-2-0 against Manitoba this season ... The Checkers are 0-for-19 on the power play over their last six games ... Forwards Sergey Tolchinsky and Brendan Woods missed the game due to injury ... Forwards Kyle Hagel and Erik Karlsson, defenseman Kevin Raine and goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic were the other scratches.

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