Things started off on the wrong foot for the home team as the Wolves struck twice in the first 100 seconds of play, but the Checkers notched a pair of their own later in the period to even things heading into the second.
The game would follow that same pattern in the second, with the Wolves taking the lead two more times before seeing the Checkers snatch it away, and the game proceeded to the third tied at four.
The Wolves once again pushed out in front in the third, with former Checker Jeremy Welsh capitalizing on a turnover and putting one in to put his club up 5-4. But the Checkers surged back, with Brendan Woods netting his second of the night a few minutes later, then Zach Boychuk getting his second just seconds after that to give the Checkers the lead for the first time all game. The Wolves tried desperately for the equalizer, but Charlotte battened down the hatches and rode things out, coming away with a 6-5 win.
“I thought we were going to need a touchdown after the first two shots,” said head coach Mark Morris. “We showed some resilience. I thought that it looked pretty dire there at the start of the game and there were a few times when it looked like, ‘Oh boy, here we go again,’ but guys just stuck with it. We’ll take it. They’re not all going to be pretty, and hopefully we learned some things along the way.”
Boychuk finished the game with two goals, including the game winner, and was a force all over the ice. The Checkers’ all-time scoring leader has spent the last month grinding on the fourth line, and while other high-profile players might have had their games spiral with a shake up like that, Boychuk took it in stride.
“Early on it was a bit of a wake-up call that I needed to be playing better,” said Boychuk. “Everybody gets a little upset at the start, and I tried not to be too down on myself. I tried to just stay positive and tried not to complain - I just kept working and working and tonight I got moved up. It seemed like it went pretty good.”
Taking on a different role has been beneficial for Boychuk in the eyes of his coach.
“He’s earning it,” said Morris. “I think that was one of the few times that I had him out late in the game. He played so well that I didn’t want to tinker with things, especially when he was playing with that kind of confidence. It’s good to see him coming around and getting back to being the type of hockey player that he can be. He’s got a wealth of talent and he’s still a young man, so he continues to build on the success that he’s having here in the recent few games. It’s nice to see.”
Boychuk also notched one of four power-play goals for the Checkers, a new season high. Their power-play unit, which entered tonight ranked third in the league, has been consistently lethal all season, and tonight was no different.
“We’ve got a lot of guys that know how to score,” said Morris. “We have certain guidelines but we also have freedom within them. The creativity comes from each individual, and I think it’s important that they have a little flexibility of their own to feel things out and they’ve done a nice job with that.”
“If you look at the personnel, I think you can’t get much better than that,” said Woods. “We’ve got a lot of smart, skilled, willing guys that make a lot of money doing what they do. We just need to keep doing what we’re doing because that’s going to be huge coming down towards the end there.”
The win keeps the Checkers’ hot streak going, giving them a point in each of their last five games. As they continue to battle through a ridiculously competitive Central Division, wins like this one will be key.
“We have a board up in our room, and right when you walk in you see it,” said Woods. “It’s really tight if you look at the standings and you can’t take any nights off with the division that we have. It’s all really close, so anytime you have a team come in your building that’s in your division it’s huge.”
