After a back-and-forth first period that left both teams scoreless, Ryan Murphy broke the ice with a power-play blast from the point in the second. The Checkers clung to that lead until early in the third, when Zack Mitchell converted a breakaway chance to even the score.
The two clubs again engaged in a deadlock that carried through the remainder of regulation and the five-minute, three-on-three overtime and the game proceeded to a shootout. Drew MacIntyre dominated as he has all season, turning aside both Wild shooters he faced, while Justin Shugg and Derek Ryan buried their attempts to clinch the two points for Charlotte.
While the offense from last night wasn’t there for the home team, it was able enough to get the victory, marking its first consecutive wins at Bojangles’ Coliseum this season.
After proceeding through another high-octane overtime that yielded no goals, the Checkers found themselves back in the shootout, where they have been unbeatable this season. They improved to 4-0 in shootouts this season, and MacIntyre continued to be a brick wall. He has now stopped all eight attempts he’s faced this season.
“I think I feel pretty comfortable in them but a lot of it has to do with your mentality,” said MacIntyre, who has now stopped 29 of the 31 attempts he’s seen as a member of the Checkers. “If you have an aggressive mentality, you¹re usually confident. They kind of go hand-in-hand.”
MacIntyre, who made 22 saves tonight, has had a bumpy start to his 2015-16 campaign, and rookie Rasmus Tirronen has seen an uptick in playing time over the last week. But tonight’s strong performance is hopefully a step in the right direction for the veteran.
“I’ve been in a couple of games where nothing’s gone right,” said MacIntyre. “We’ve been blown out, so those games are tough. Tough on your stats and everything. I just want to get in my rhythm. That’s been my focus all this past week. The last couple of weeks I’ve been working really hard and I just want to get in a rhythm.”
“There’s going to be times when guys are really good and there’s going to be times when somebody’s got to step up and fill in,” said Morris. “I thought [Mac] did that for us tonight. He’s a guy that’s been around the league for a long time and he knows all the nuances and the ins and outs. He certainly was a difference maker for us tonight.”
The Checkers look to have shaken off their rough patch and have now won four of their last five games. The team will get some much-needed time to regroup this week after enduring a grueling four games in six days before welcoming the powerful Ontario Reign to town next weekend.
“Just continue with the momentum,” said Shugg. “Earlier before the game, coach Mo was egging everyone on to get a bump and get engaged into the game. If we can continue with that mentality I think we¹ll be alright.”
“Consistency is what we’re looking for, not only in our game plan but in everybody’s individual efforts too with¬ just making sure that guys consistently bring their best game,” said Morris. “We’re not all perfect, but as long as we’re doing it together things will happen.”