AHL Charlotte Checkers

Whale Stuns Checkers with Comeback Shootout Win

Published on March 25, 2011 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Charlotte Checkers News Release


HARTFORD, Conn. - After erasing a 2-0 deficit in the final 2:21 of the third period, the Connecticut Whale got shootout goals from John Mitchell and Evgeny Grachev to earn a 3-2 win over the Charlotte Checkers on Friday night.

Jon Matsumoto had a chance to keep his team alive in the second half of the fifth shootout round, but he was stopped by Dov Grumet-Morris, who also denied 29 of Charlotte's 31 shots in regulation and overtime in a winning effort.

Justin Pogge played well and stopped 34 shots on the way to earning a point in the standings. The Checkers' regulation-time goals were scored by Brad Herauf and Zach Boychuk.

After the teams played a scoreless first period, Herauf scored his third goal of the season to give the Checkers a 1-0 lead at 3:30 of the second period. He received a leading pass from Riley Nash and broke in on a two-on-one with Cedric McNicoll, but elected to shoot and picked the corner on Grumet-Morris.

Charlotte increased its lead to 2-0 when Boychuk finished off a solo effort by ripping a slap shot from the left-wing circle through Grumet-Morris' legs. The goal was Boychuk's 20th on the season.

The Checkers maintained their two-goal lead until the 17:39 mark of the third period, when Russian defenseman Pavel Valentenko scored a slap-shot goal from the right point off a faceoff win by Kris Newbury,

Gaining momentum from the goal, the Whale stormed Charlotte's net in the final minutes of the third period and Stu Bickel used a high slap shot to beat Pogge and tie the game with 1:08 left in regulation.

Tied 2-2, the teams battled through overtime and into a shootout, where John Mitchell and Evgeny Grachev scored to lift the Whale to a 3-2 victory.

The Checkers (39-25-2-7) will finish their road trip in Portland tomorrow night at 7 p.m. before returning to Time Warner Cable Arena for a 5 p.m. meeting with the Norfolk Admirals on Sunday.

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.

Check out the Charlotte Checkers Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



American Hockey League Stories from March 25, 2011


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.

OurSports Central