AHL Charlotte Checkers

Palmieri's Hat Trick Too Much For Checkers

March 19, 2011 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Charlotte Checkers News Release


SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Paced by Kyle Palmieri's second hat trick of the season and four straight goals in the second period, the Syracuse Crunch defeated the Charlotte Checkers, 6-2, at War Memorial at Oncenter.

Nick Dodge scored 6:21 into the second period and narrowed Syracuse's lead to 2-1, but Palmieri replied twice, and Josh Green and Matt Beleskey tallied within a span of 3:37 to put the Checkers in an insurmountable deficit.

Although he received ample goal-scoring support, Timo Pielmeier was solid and earned the win by virtue of making 40 saves on 42 shots. The losing goalie was Justin Pogge, who made 24 saves on 30 shots through two periods, before being replaced by Mike Murphy.

Patrick Maroon scored the game's first goal and gave the Crunch a 1-0 lead, 6:44 into the first period. The line of Brian McGrattan, Nick Bonino and Maroon executed a nifty tic-tac-toe play in the Charlotte zone and Maroon finished by snapping a shot under Pogge's arm.

Just over 10 minutes later, goalie Timo Pielmeier found Palmieri with a leading pass and Palmieri raced in, beat a defenseman and whipped his 16th of the season beyond Pogge's reach to put the Crunch ahead 2-0.

The Checkers pulled to within a goal when Dodge scored his first goal since Nov. 3 at 6:21 of the second period. Casey Borer and Jacob Micflikier earned assists as Dodge poked in a loose puck that Pielmeier lost sight of within a crowd of bodies at the top of his crease.

Charlotte stayed within a goal of Syracuse for 9:02, when Palmieri's second goal of the game made the score 4-1. The Crunch scored three more second-period goals to take a 6-1 lead through two periods.

Bryan Rodney scored with 3:55 remaining, but the Checkers fell 6-2 and dropped to 2-1-0 on the current four-game road trip.

The Checkers (38-24-2-6) look to clinch a winning record on their four-game road trip when they travel to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for a battle with the first place Penguins at 3:00 p.m. Charlotte then returns home on Tuesday for a tilt at Time Warner Cable Arena against the Adirondack Phantoms at 7:00 p.m. For ticket information, call 704-342-4423 or visit gocheckers.com.

For every ‘like' the Checkers get on their Facebook page between now and Apr. 1, the team will donate $2 to Zach Bennett and his family, who plan to move to Charlotte for better medical care and to be closer to the team. Visit www.gocheckers.com or head to www.facebook.com/charlottecheckers.

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American Hockey League Stories from March 19, 2011


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