Checkers Keep Rolling with Sweep of Rochester

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The Checkers battled through a hard-hitting rematch to pick up a season sweep of the Rochester Americans courtesy of a 3-1 victory.After weathering a heavy push from the visitors early on, the Checkers opened the scoring in the frame’s final minute with Julien Gauthier picking off a Rochester pass and launching a shot along the ice past Scott Wedgewood.The physicality ramped up at the first buzzer, and Rochester carried that momentum into the second by evening the score less than three minutes in. Bobby Sanguinetti took back Charlotte’s lead later in the frame, however, after following up his own shot and potting the rebound for his first goal since rejoining the Checkers earlier this season.The Amerks would continue to push down the stretch, doubling up Charlotte in shots, but Dustin Tokarski would come through strong for the home side. Aleksi Saarela extended Charlotte’s advantage with a snipe on the man advantage and that would prove to be the dagger, as the team rode out Tokarski’s 33 saves to another win on home ice.I didn’t like the first 10 minutes. We didn’t have a shot on net and [Tokarksi] really held us in there. He made some big saves. [Gauthier] scored a big goal there on a turnover in the neutral zone, and that changed the momentum of the game once we got that first one.I give [Assistant Coach Ryan Warsofsky] credit. He’s worked hard with dthe guys on the PK. We didn’t give them a lot of zone time. On their breakouts we did a really good job of trailing and making it at 3-on-3 and there were other guys paying the price to block shots. It’s huge to kill nine because they have one of the top power plays. To kill nine is pretty special.I’ve talked to Bobby a lot about it lately. He was a little worried that he wasn’t getting offensive chances but it had been coming for a long time. He’s been progressing well because he’s been off for most of the year and didn’t start until January. He’s coming along great and I was really happy for him.It’s a fun crowd to play in front of. Our guys love being in Charlotte. The fans are special and there’s a lot more of them this year. We definitely notice when more people are showing up. The crowds have been great and very energetic and get us going a lot of times.The same. They’re both top teams in that division. They’re very good, they’re fast they’re experienced and they’ve been winning a lot. We just have to play it like a playoff game. It’s fun to play in these games and get better by playing in the big games.He’s got experience. He’s played in the National Hockey League so he can settle some of our young guys down. He didn’t beat himself – he made them beat him. He made the easy ones look easy and the hard ones look easy too.I think we felt it out a little too much instead of playing our game and taking it to them. This is a playoff atmosphere and to see games like this down the stretch is going to be good for us. It’s good to get the win.I was just trying to get something going and create something. The puck found me in the slot and the net couldn’t have looked bigger at that moment. It was nice to get the first one.I’m focusing on just doing what I can to help this team win every night. [Alex Nedeljkovic] has been outstanding for them all year, and if I can come in and give him a little rest and do my job, that’s what I’m here to do.I’ve played a little longer than a lot of these guys, and they’re all good kids and extremely talented. It’s a fun team to be a part of. It’s well coached and guys work and compete. I’m here to be a calming presence and if things get a little hectic once in a while I’ll calm things down and just do my part to be a good teammate.The Checkers won for the ninth time in their last 11 games. They have also won seven of eight and have out-scored the opposition 32-11 during that time … This was the Checkers’ sixth straight home win, tying a franchise record set twice previously, including once this season … Charlotte was a perfect 4-0-0 in the season series with Rochester, who entered this weekend’s matchup as the league’s No. 2 team behind Charlotte … The Checkers improved to 30-0-0 when leading after two periods. They are the only team in the league with a perfect record in that scenario … Sanguinetti’s goal was his first in the AHL since March 4, 2016 and his first as a Checker since Jan. 11, 2013 … Tokarski is 2-0-0 as a Checker with just one goal allowed in each matchup … Trevor Carrick extends career-long point streak to six games (1g, 9a) and has 12 points in his last nine games … Aleksi Saarela tied his career high in points (43) in 11 fewer games played … Tomas Jurco picked up an assist and now has six points in his last six games … Patrick Brown had an assist, giving him seven points (4g, 3a) in his last six games … Including a perfect 9-for-9 performance tonight, the Checkers are 43-for-46 on the penalty kill in their last 10 games (93.5 percent) … Forward Janne Kuokkanen missed the game due to injury … Forwards Steven Lorentz and Zack Stortini were healthy extras.There isn’t much downtime for the Checkers, as they’ll welcome the new North Division leader Syracuse Crunch to town on Tuesday.