WHEELING, WV—The Charlotte Checkers started their three-game northern road swing with a win as they edged the Wheeling Nailers, 3-2, in a shootout on Friday evening.
Ryan Munce rebounded from Wednesday’s loss to Cincinnati with 34 saves on 36 shots for his 16th win of the season. Andrew Carroll notched his third shootout-winning goal of the season, tying him for first in the ECHL while Kenny Roche added two assists to extend his point streak to five games.
The Checkers got things going just four minutes into the game on a goal by team captain Michel Leveille. Aaron Slattengren chipped the puck from the high slot past a Wheeling defender and onto the stick of Leveille who then faked Teslak and wrapped the puck around the sprawling goaltender’s pads.
Later in the period, Wheeling would tie the game when Casey Pierro-Zabotel took the puck out from a scrum in the corner, skated behind the net and passed it out into the slot. Defenseman Kyle Bushee took the pass and fired a wrist shot over the glove of Munce who seemed to be interfered with on the play.
Charlotte killed a late 5-on-3 Wheeling power play and Munce stood his ground keeping the game tied at 1-1 through the first 20 minutes.
The Checkers would take their second lead of the game late in the second period on a great play by Kenny Roche. Roche, at end of his shift, stripped the puck from a Wheeling defenseman on the forecheck and fed Ryan Crane in the high slot. Crane made no mistake and let a hard wrist shot go that beat Teslak high over the glove.
The Nailers applied pressure in the third period, however Munce was solid and made several key stops, including a split-save to rob leading scorer T.J. Fox.
With time winding down in regulation, Charlotte was assessed a hooking penalty and Wheeling pulled its goaltender for the 6-on-4 advantage. A point shot resulted in a scrum in front and Noah Clarke dug the puck free and stuffed it home to tie the game at 2-2 with 50 seconds to play.
After a scoreless overtime in which the Checkers killed an early penalty, the two teams prepared for a shootout. In the shootout, Wheeling took an early 2-1 lead before Leveille beat Teslak low blocker to tie it up with one shooter remaining for each team. Jordan Morrison was stopped by Munce before Andrew Carroll skated in, faked right and beat Teslak with a shot that hopped over the pad and in.
The Checkers (31-20-6) will continue their road trip tomorrow and Sunday in Toledo before returning home on Thursday, Mar. 11 to host Gwinnett. The puck drops at 7 p.m. and ticket information can be obtained by calling 704-342-4-ICE or visiting www.gocheckers.com. Season tickets for the inaugural 2010-11 AHL season are now on sale and 40-game packages start as low as $200.
Notes: Kenny Roche has a five-game point streak (3g, 7a)…Ryan Munce is 8-4-1 in his last 13 games…Andrew Carroll leads the team with 23 goals and ranks tied for first among all ECHL players with three shootout-winning goals…T.J. Reynolds leads the ECHL with 237 penalty minutes and leads the Checkers with a +19 rating…Julien Brouillette and Derek Couture are up with Hartford (AHL), Ethan Graham is with Texas (AHL) while Matt Ford and Randy Rowe are with Lake Erie (AHL)…Codey Burki, Chris Chappell, Trevor Glass and Chris Snavely are on the 21-day injured reserve.
Charlotte Checkers 3 (SO) At Wheeling Nailers 2 - Status: Final SO
Mar 5, 2010 - WesBanco Arena
Charlotte 1 1 0 0 - 3
Wheeling 1 0 1 0 - 2
1st Period-1, Charlotte, Leveille 16 (Slattengren, Roche), 4:09. 2, Wheeling, Bushee 6 (Pierro-Zabotel, Boogaard), 13:01. Penalties-Fox Whl (boarding), 9:23; Roche Chr (holding), 14:02; Slattengren Chr (roughing), 14:48; DiDiomete Chr (unsportsmanlike conduct), 18:37; D'Aversa Whl (unsportsmanlike conduct), 18:37; Schmidt Whl (slashing ), 19:36.
2nd Period-3, Charlotte, Crane 4 (Roche), 18:16. Penalties-Crane Chr (roughing), 5:46; Power Whl (roughing), 5:46; Roche Chr (hooking), 7:12; DiDiomete Chr (fighting - major), 9:48; Clarke Whl (tripping), 9:48; Lord Whl (fighting - major), 9:48; Slattengren Chr (tripping), 19:56.
3rd Period-4, Wheeling, Clarke 18 (Fox, D'Aversa), 19:10 (pp). Penalties-DiDiomete Chr (misconduct), 13:48; Power Whl (slashing ), 13:48; Marshall Chr (hooking), 17:19; Reynolds Chr (delay of game), 19:35.
OT Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Higgins Whl (unsportsmanlike conduct), 5:00.
Shootout - Charlotte 3 (Slattengren G, Marshall NG, Roche NG, Leveille G, Carroll G), Wheeling 2 (Ryan G, Ganzak G, Fox NG, Lord NG, Morrison NG).
Shots on Goal-Charlotte 4-11-6-3-1-25. Wheeling 13-8-12-3-0-36.
Power Play Opportunities-Charlotte 0 of 4; Wheeling 1 of 6.
Goalies-Charlotte, Munce 16-13-1-1 (36 shots-34 saves). Wheeling, Teslak 11-15-2-3 (24 shots-22 saves).
A-3,116
Referees-Keith Kaval (20).
Linesmen-Ray King (39), Zach Roberts (77).
