The only tally on the score sheet was an unassisted goal by Josh Anderson less than a minute into the second when he raced in on a breakaway and potted one behind Daniel Altshuller. Aside from that, neither team was able to muster up a ton of chances, registering single-digit shot totals in each period save for the Checkers’ 14-shot second and combining to go 0-for-8 on the man advantage.
The driving force behind the Monsters’ win was the play of their netminder Brad Thiessen, who earned a 27-save shutout. The veteran goalie frustrated the home team with several highlight reel stops, adding to the Checkers’ scoring woes.
“Lady luck was in his corner,” said Checkers head coach Mark Morris. “There were two pucks where he made the save initially and they sat in behind him and he never saw them. But you’ve got to give him credit, he was in the right place at the right time.”
“The goal that was denied was a tough one to swallow, especially with all that traffic around the net,” said Morris. “Another head scratcher.”
A big part of the Checkers’ struggle seemed to stem from their short bench. With several key, minute-eating players out, Charlotte has been forced to throw some younger skaters to the wolves.
“All you need to do is look at our lineup” said Morris. “We’ve got depth guys playing more minutes than they’ve ever seen. It’s amazing what one or two more guys will do for your lineup and slot guys in the right places. Take a look at our back end right now. We’ve got a lot of youth and inexperience and that was a big game.”
Although mired in their worst stretch of the season as their winless streak hit four games, the Checkers don’t have to look far into the past to see what was working before.
“You can look back and have confidence on what you did before and know that you can do it as a group,” said team captain Derek Ryan. “Individually and as a team, I think we can look at success we had on that longer streak and know that we have it in this group.
“Every team, person and player goes through ups and downs in a season, and you’ve got to just fight through the lows and make sure you’re coming out on top in the end.”
The Checkers will have to avoid some pitfalls in order to navigate their way out of this slump.
“Just sticking with it and not get frustrated because that’s going to make things exponentially worse if you¹re gripping your sticks more and you’re feeling those emotions,” said Ryan of the key to getting back on track. “If we’re confident in our abilities and know what we can do and continue to work hard, that’s when the puck starts bouncing our way and we can come out of these lower periods of the season.”
The two Central Division rivals will once again face each other tomorrow, with the Checkers looking to find their way back into the win column. To do so will take some ramped up play and just a bit of luck.
“Maybe tomorrow the puck is going to bounce for us,” said Morris. “It didn’t today.”