ECHL Charlotte Checkers

Graham and Lee score twice each, Checkers beat Chiefs 5-1

Published on November 10, 2006 under ECHL (ECHL)
Charlotte Checkers News Release


(Johnstown, PA) The Charlotte Checkers scored four, unanswered goals in the third period to snap a 1-1 tie en route to a 5-1 triumph over the Johnstown Chiefs Friday night in Pennsylvania. Mark Lee and Bruce Graham each tallied twice for the Checkers while Dusty Jamieson notched a single goal. The top star of the game for Charlotte was goalie Chris Holt, who was spectacular the entire night making 22 saves and yielding only one goal.

The Checkers won their second straight contest while snapping a two-game losing streak to the Chiefs in Johnstown. Charlotte also improved its road record to 3-1-0 on the season.

"We started out slow tonight but in the second period we really got going," remarked Lee. "Chris Holt played great early and really kept us in it until we started to roll. He helped us at the beginning of the game and we helped him at the end."

After a scoreless first period, Johnstown broke the ice at 6:54 of the second when Brandon Elliott's shot just trickled across the goal line by Holt for a 1-0 Chiefs lead. Later in the period with the Chiefs on the power play, the Checkers scored shorthanded to tie the game at 1-1 at 13:45. Lee stole the puck deep in the Johnstown zone and put a perfect pass on the stick of Graham who fired in his sixth goal of the campaign.

The Checkers began to dominate in the third period as their number one ranked power play clicked twice in the final 20 minutes. Jamieson took a perfect pass from Blake Bellefeuille at 5:58 with Charlotte on the power play, and tapped it by Chiefs netminder Gerald Coleman for a 2-1 lead. After a three-minute Johnstown flurry which the Checkers survived, Lee's slapshot from the left circle made it 3-1. Graham finished off his two-goal night with a power-play tally at 14:08, as his third whack at the puck on a goal-mouth scramble finally went in. Lee's empty net goal with two minutes remaining sealed the 5-1 victory for Checkers.

"I was real happy with our effort tonight" said Charlotte coach Derek Wilkinson. "Chris Holt played great, especially early in the game. We began to turn things around in the middle of the second period. Our first goal, the short-handed goal by Graham, seemed to really pick us up and we took off from there."

The Checkers raised their overall record to 6-2-0 for 12 points, and remains tied for second place in the Southern Division of the ECHL's American Conference. The Chiefs dropped to 4-6-0 for eight points.

The Checkers return home Saturday night to host the Augusta Lynx at Charlotte Bobcats Arena at 7:30 p.m. At Saturday night's home game, the Checkers will stage a special salute to all veterans. Checkers players will wear special patriotic jerseys, and those jerseys will be auctioned off in a live, on-ice auction after the game with proceeds going to Junior Achievement of Charlotte. All veterans and military personnel can purchase Attack Zone tickets for only $ 5.00.

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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ECHL Stories from November 10, 2006


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.

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