Andrej Nestrasil Charlotte Checkers
With a burst of offense and a solid performance in goal, the Checkers rolled over the Manitoba Moose 4-1 to pick up another home win.

Charlotte wasted no time getting on the board, Jake Chelios and Andrej Nestrasil connected on an odd-man rush just 20 seconds into the contest. With an early lead in hand, the Checkers refused to let go, as Kris Newbury doubled the advantage in the middle frame and Lucas Wallmark tacked on one more to put the home squad up 3-0 a minute into the third period.

The Moose would finally break through minutes later to cut into the Charlotte advantage, but it was too little, too late. The Checkers slammed the door on a Manitoba rally attempt, including an extended 4-on-6 stretch, and Wallmark buried an empty netter to clinch a crucial two points for Charlotte.

“I thought we skated really well and we managed to use open ice and really put pressure on them,” said head coach Ulf Samuelsson. “The guys played really hard.”

Picking up that early lead proved to be a key to the Checkers’ victory, putting them in the driver’s seat from the get go.

“It helps,” said Newbury. “They’re going to try to play catch up and it kind of forces their hand a little bit. It builds a lot of confidence for our bench. Anytime you start the game you want to try to win the first five to 10 minutes and set them on their heels, especially with the travel they’ve been through.”

Wallmark extended his team goals lead with a pair tonight, the first of which came on a quick one-timer from the slot, which is quickly becoming his signature move.

“He’s slippery there,” said Samuelsson. “He gets open, he has a pretty quick release and he’s shooting more now. At the beginning of the year he would have taken a lot of those and tried to make another pass to make it an open net, but now he’s ripping it. That’s exciting.”

What would stand as the game-winning goal came via the fourth line, as Kris Newbury cleaned up a Mitchell Heard rebound on a rush. That group, rounded out by Levko Koper, turned in strong performances across the board and Samuelsson leaned on it heavily.

“When you can rely on four lines like we did tonight you can get some extra energy on the other lines,” said Samuelsson. “That fourth line in particular was good. They had great forecheck and it was a hard line to play against.”

“We’re just trying to keep it simple,” said Newbury. “Get the puck in their end, play as long as we can in there and force the coach to put us in a position where he (has to) play us. I think if we’re doing that, his hand is forced if we’re playing our game. We’ve got to keep building. Every game we’re getting a little more confident, so that’s good.”

Shortly after joining the team on a PTO, Newbury was forced out to the sideline for 10 games due to injury. While returning to game action was a lot of work on the veteran’s part, his presence has helped solidify the team’s bottom six.

“It’s been tough,” said Newbury, who recently played his 800th AHL game. “In the last year and a half to two years, I’ve dealt with a lot of injuries whereas in the first 12 years of my career I didn’t really deal with much. It’s kind of the breaks of hockey but you’ve got to come back as healthy as you can and not too early where you don’t help the team out in any way. I bided my time, and then when I get in there I want to help as much as I can.”

Making his debut between the pipes in Charlotte tonight was Eddie Lack, who was recently assigned to the team yesterday on a conditioning stint. In his first game action since Nov. 10, the netminder turned in a strong performance, making 28 saves and picking up the victory.

“I felt good,” said Lack. “It was really fun playing again and it’s a game I’ve been looking forward to for a while now. I felt like the team stepped up and played good too, so overall it was a good effort.”

Even joining a new team, Lack’s presence could be felt up and down the ice for the Checkers.

“He looked big, calm and in position,” said Samuelsson. “If you see that behind you, you play with a different confidence. Not necessarily with taking unnecessary chances, but you know if there’s a shot from somewhere on the outside, he’ll take everything.”

With the victory, the Checkers leapfrogged the Moose in the Central Division standings and now sit within striking distance of the fourth playoff spot. At 6-1-1 in their last eight games, momentum appears to be on Charlotte’s side.

“I think we’re just trying to roll with things,” said Newbury. “We’re getting a little confidence, and that comes when you’re getting two points every night. Guys are feeling more comfortable with the puck and we’re scoring a little more. We’ve just got to keep it going.”

NOTES

Charlotte improved to 13-5-1 at home … Nestrasil’s opening goal at the 20-second mark was the fastest to open a period and a game for the Checkers this season … Lack was playing his first game in the AHL since Nov. 24, 2012 … Wallmark has goals in consecutive games and six in his last eight outings. He now has a five-goal lead over Valentin Zykov for the team lead (15) … The Checkers improved to 4-1-0 against Manitoba this season … Including two assists tonight, nine of Dwyer’s 12 points on the season have come in his last 12 games … Chelios (2a), and Nestrasil (1g, 1a) also had multiple points … Forwards Sergey Tolchinsky and Brendan Woods missed the game due to injury … Forwards Kyle Hagel and Erik Karlsson, defenseman Kevin Raine and goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic were the other scratches.