Checkers News

In their fourth attempt, Checkers finally broke through and earned their first home win of the season, defeating the Hamilton Bulldogs by a score of 2-1.

The Checkers got on the board first for the second straight game, as Greg Nemisz controlled a loose puck centered from the corner and backhanded it past Bulldogs goalie Mike Condon less than two minutes into the middle frame. Charlotte held that lead for the rest of the period, but Hamilton evened the score early in the third when Christian Thomas threw the puck at the net from below the goal line and it bounced off the back of the leg of Drew MacIntyre and trickled in for the equalizing goal.

It was Nemisz who netted the game-winner, finding a rebound in the crease and hammering it home to clinch the one-goal victory. It was not only the first Checkers’ win at Time Warner Cable Arena this season, but it was also the first time that the team scored more than one goal on their home ice.

Nemisz’s pair of goals gives him four points in the last four games and sole possession of the team scoring lead with six points (4g, 2a). Both of the markers came from the forward playing to his offensive strengths.

“To be effective I’ve got to get to the net,” said Nemisz. “I’m a big body and that’s how I’m going to score most of my goals.” After surrendering the lead in the third period to a fluky goal, it would have been easy for a team to lose their composure, especially after blowing a one-goal lead to the same team two days ago. But the Checkers showed their character by bouncing back.

“As much as you want to play with a lead through 60 minutes it doesn’t always happen,” said head coach Jeff Daniels. “Goals happen and it’s just how you respond to it. We didn’t respond well on Friday but I thought we responded well today.”

With the Checkers facing the frustration of losing three straight home games and taking on the Bulldogs for the second straight game, tempers boiled over in this contest, with five fights occurring, often involving players stepping up to defend teammates after questionable hits.

“We came to the rink today with a chip on our shoulder – enough is enough,” said Daniels. “It wasn’t our plan to fight five times, it just kind of happened. It got a little chippy at times but for the most part it was a pretty honest game.” While he does stress the importance of the team staying out of the penalty box, Daniels saw tonight’s performance as indicative of how he wants this team to play.

“We want to be a hard team to play against – we’re not a finesse team,” said Daniels. “We’ve got to be a team that dumps and chases and forechecks and bangs bodies, and I thought tonight we did that.”

While they got the end result that they wanted, the power play continued to be a problem for the Checkers. The team went one for six with the man advantage, including getting two five-minute majors with nothing to show for them on the scoreboard. Despite the struggles, the team was able to capitalize once, and it came as the game-winning goal, giving Daniels a positive to take away from the game.

“For the most part I haven’t hated the power play,” said Daniels. “For what we’re trying to do, I think we’re getting the pucks to the net and we’re getting bodies to the net. Pucks don’t go in right now, but as I said to the guys, some nights it’s not how many you score on the power play it’s when you score them, and sure enough tonight the game-winning goal is on the power play. We’ll just kind of build off that.”

MacIntyre once again stood tall in the crease for the Checkers, turning aside 24 of the 25 shots he saw and earning his third win of the season. The only puck that got past him was a strange one that came from behind the net and ricocheted off his leg.

“Mac is a winner and he battles in the net,” said Daniels. “We talk about how the team responded but some goalies can’t handle a fluky bounce like that. He just moved on and I think that comes with experience.”

As the team looks to regroup and get ready to take the Time Warner Cable Arena ice again next weekend against Texas, getting the first home win out of the way is certainly a morale booster for everyone.

“It’s huge for the guys in the room to kind of get the monkey off the back there,” said defenseman Trevor Carrick. “And it’s nice for the fans too because they’ve had some good support so far.”

NOTES

Nemisz’ goal ended an 0-for-16 skid on the power play spanning parts of three games. Hamilton entered the game with the league’s best power play at 92.9 percent … Nemisz’ performance was his first multi-goal game in the AHL since a playoff game with Abbotsford on April 20, 2012 … The Checkers entered the day as one of three teams still searching for their first victory on home ice (Hamilton, Grand Rapids) … Patrick Brown earned his first professional point with an assist on Nemisz’ first goal … Alex Aleardi, who assisted on the game-winning goal, led the Checkers with five shots … Brendan Woods, Keegan Lowe, Carrick, Brody Sutter and Carter Sandlak all fought for the Checkers … Andrew Rowe, who the Checkers signed earlier in the day, played his fourth game in four nights after completing his third with ECHL South Carolina the night before … Checkers forward Brock McGinn missed the game while serving a one-game suspension for checking to the head … Forwards Ben Holmstrom and Justin Shugg missed the game due to injury, while defensemen Dennis Robertson and Beau Schmitz were healthy extras.