Checkers Erase Three-Goal Deficit for Third Straight Win

NOTES

Author: Nicholas Niedzielski Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Director of Communications Nicholas Niedzielski joined the Checkers in the summer of 2014. A Texas native, he previously worked for the AHL's Texas Stars.

After finding themselves in a deep hole early on, the Checkers clawed their way back to erase a three-goal deficit and complete their weekend sweep of Cleveland.Three minutes into the middle frame, the visiting Monsters had amassed a sizeable 3-0 lead and seemed primed to cruise their way to victory until the Checkers’ offense finally found its spark. Inside the final five minutes of the second, Phil Di Giuseppe ripped in a shot from the right circle on the power play to put Charlotte on the board, then it was newly assigned Andrej Nestrasil nine seconds later who sniped a puck into the top right corner to pull the Checkers within one goal through 40 minutes of play.The Checkers mounted heavy pressure in the third, and 12 minutes in Lucas Wallmark found the equalizer by collecting his own rebound all alone out front and burying. With the stunned Monsters on the ropes, Charlotte completed its comeback with under three to play when Patrick Brown stripped Cleveland goalie Brad Thiessen of the puck as he tried to play it behind the net and fed it out front to Sergey Tolchinsky for the tap into the vacated goal.Desperate to pull themselves back even, the Monsters pulled their goalie for an extra attacker in the waning moments, but it wasn’t enough as Charlotte shut down their comeback attempt and potted an empty netter at the buzzer to cinch the 5-3 come-from-behind victory. “The boys never quit,” said head coach Ulf Samuelsson. “They got a little down there when we were down 3-0 but we managed to keep our composure and play our system. We slowly but surely inched our way back.”Though the Checkers found themselves trailing early on, the score didn’t necessarily reflect their level of play.“You’ve got to look at how we were down,” said Samuelsson. “It was a pretty even game and they capitalized on some of their chances and we didn’t on ours. Structurally even though we were down 3-0 we felt like it was pretty even. We were ahead in shots, which doesn’t mean everything but it means you aren’t totally behind.”The message to the team at that point was clear.“If we’re going to have some chance to do something, we needed to first take the puck to their zone a little bit,” said Wallmark. “We woke up late in the second and showed that we’re a good team.”“Get all lines going, because we’ve had one or two lines going,” said Phil Di Giuseppe. “Our line wasn’t going too well yesterday but we pulled it together in the third to get some chances and then today we got rewarded for a couple there. Hopefully we start getting our game back, contributing and helping one another.”The Checkers were able to break their dreaded two-goal barrier for the second consecutive game, and the normally goal-starved team now has 13 total goals in their last three contests. One of the apparent keys has been the emergence of some top tier scorers.“Wallmark and Poturalksi have carried a heavy load in the middle there – they’ve been 1 and 2 every night and they’ve done a tremendous job,” said Samuelsson. “Di Giuseppe is an exceptional player that’s here now and also creating a lot of chances for us.”“We had a good line with me, Phil and Z [Valentin Zykov] out there,” said Wallmark. “I tried to take the pucks to the net, and it’s always fun when you score.”As was the case early on in the year, the Checkers have again emerged as a strong home team. After a tough end of the calendar year, things seem to be shifting for the team as they look to work their way back up the standings.“We ended up coming back .500 on the (recent six-game road trip) and obviously you want to do better than that but it wasn’t too bad to start off the new year,” said Di Giuseppe. “We’ve been good at home pretty much all year, and to get two wins like that was huge and good for the fans as well.”Lucky for the Checkers, the home cooking will continue for a while as they are currently in their longest home stand of the season, hosting the Milwaukee Admirals for a pair of weekday contests starting with a sold-out event on Tuesday.Charlotte is now 10-4-0 at home and 16-6-2 on the road … The Checkers’ three-game win streak is their longest since winning six in a row from Oct. 28- Nov. 11 … Wallmark’s multi-goal game was the first of his career … Nestrasil’s goal was his first in the AHL since April 19, 2014. Each of his last three AHL goals were against the Monsters … The nine-second gap between the Checkers’ first two goals tied their season record. They also scored goals nine seconds apart at Manitoba on Dec. 30 … Milano’s shorthanded goal was just the second allowed by the Checkers this season. They entered the game as one of three AHL teams tied for fewest allowed (one) … Forwards Andrew Miller and Brendan Woods missed the game due to injury … Forwards Kyle Hagel and Kris Newbury and defenseman Kevin Raine were healthy extras.