Bridgeport responded to Calle Sjalin’s opening tally just past the midpoint of the first, but that would be all that Charlotte would cede. Henry Bowlby chased down a Johnny Ludvig stretch pass and buried it to push the home side ahead going into the first intermission, and the Checkers would be off to the races from there.
Six different Checkers finished the night with multi-point efforts as the home side poured it on over the final 40 minutes. Lucas Carlsson kept his red-hot run rolling with a rocket from the slot and a helper to go with it, while Gerry Mayhew pulled off a wicked redirect before setting up Bowlby’s second tally of the night. Another pair of strikes in the final frame finished up the lopsided final for Charlotte.
The contest quickly devolved into a heated physical battle, with the Islanders clocking in at 47 penalty minutes compared to Charlotte’s 16. The Checkers’ cooler heads ultimately prevailed, though, and the frustrated Bridgeport squad was held to just 17 shots across the night - including four in each of the second two periods - with Mack Guzda turning in 16 saves in his winning effort.
Nine game point streak for Nash! pic.twitter.com/zkgctX6PxV
— Charlotte Checkers (@CheckersHockey) March 11, 2023
QUOTES
Coach Geordie Kinnear on the gameI thought the first period was kind of back and forth a little bit, and then I thought we settled in and started making some plays. Obviously a very physical game, but I’m glad the guys stuck with it and got the job done.
Kinnear on getting Henry Bowlby back in the lineup
We talked (Wednesday) about being out of sync a little bit, and he plays with Nasher and Hepo and brings a little bit of pace there. So now they’re in sync a little bit more, and then you bring (Morrison) back, it brings some speed and size and he’s played with Dalps and Deni. We were more in sync than we were the other night, but obviously we want to put this one to bed and move on.
Kinnear on the team responding to a physical challenge
I think it’s important. In the playoffs in certain situations you’ve got to remain disciplined. Nothing is more important than the two points, so if you have to take a punch to the head, take the punch to the head for the group. That’s just hockey. It’s what makes our game great, it’s the physicality. Credit to them, they’re a physical team, and I’m proud of our guys for sticking with it.
Kinnear on Lucas Carlsson
Mr. Consistency. If you watch our practices, he’s one of the hardest-working guys and most competitive guys. It never changes for me. If you work hard and you do the right things every day at practice and the gym, you get rewarded for it. I’m glad he’s on my team. He’s a true pro and he’s played very well for us.
Henry Bowlby on what stuck out in this game
Honestly nothing really stuck out. I thought everything was soild tonight. Our defense, our forechecking, our goaltending – it all came together tonight and it showed on the scoreboard.
Bowlby on scoring in his first game back
It feels great. Obviously you want to get on the scoresheet as soon as possible, and it just happened to come right away. I was happy about it, but at the end of the day I just wanted to play simple and hard for the team.
Bowlby on a third straight game against Bridgeport tomorrow
It feel like the playoffs last year when we played them in that first round. It’s definitely going to be a physical game, and they’re going to come out a little pissed off from tonight. It’ll be a good one.
