Providence Pulls Away in Third to Defeat Checkers 3-1
March 25, 2023 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Charlotte Checkers News Release
The Checkers locked into a tightly contested battle with the first-place Bruins on Saturday, but the division leaders pulled away in the third to hand Charlotte a 3-1 defeat.
The netminders stole the show for the first 40-plus minutes of play, with both sides trading chances up and down the ice but neither team ceding the opening tally.
Providence finally broke the ice early in the third by converting on a breakaway, then broke things open with a pair of strikes just 10 seconds apart midway through the frame.
That would prove too steep a hill for the Checkers. Santtu Kinnunen put a shot through from the top of the circle with just under seven to play to give the home team some life, but Providence would squash out the Checkers' hope for a rally.
QUOTES
Coach Geordie Kinnear on the difference in the third period
We talked after the second about not losing focus and being mentally tough, because it was a playoff-type game. It takes one mistake and it ends up in the back of your net, and case in point the first goal against we lost focus for a little bit, they executed a play and we were chasing it from there.
Kinnear on the chances his team created
You've got to give their goalie credit, but that's hockey. The goalie is supposed to make big saves and he made some big saves, but we just have to stick with it, be mentally tough, and continue to play the right way. We lost focus there, it's a 1-0 hockey game, we start chasing it, and then we're really chasing it after giving up the next two.
Kinnear on his depth players
I thought Franco, Bezeau and Patty Giles had a really important game. Really good minutes, but the bottom line is that it's not about one line and it's not about depth guys. It's about everybody going and giving us the best chance to win. I didn't feel like I had everybody going, but we pride ourselves on being a group that has everybody going all the time. A good hockey game, we ended up falling on the short end of the stick. Pick up, move on, get better and respond tomorrow.
NOTES
Charlotte's four-game point streak (3-0-1) came to an end ... The Checkers had scored 19 goals over their previous four games coming into this matchup, an average of 4.75 per contest ... Grigori Denisenko extended his point streak to five games (1g, 5a) ... The Checkers have killed 13 consecutive penalties over their last five games ... The Checkers are now 2-4-1 in their season series with the division-leading Bruins that concludes tomorrow. This marked the first win for the road team ... Checkers scratches included forwards Logan Hutsko, Ethan Keppen, Mark Senden and Justin Sourdif, defenseman Calle Sjalin and goaltender J-F Berube.
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