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The Charlotte Checkers sticks came alive as they beat the Providence Bruins 8-2 at Bojangles Coliseum on Saturday night. Charlotte peppered Providence with 43 shots, Alex Nedeljkovic made 16 saves for his 9th win of the season, and Sergey Tolchinsky tacked on a goal and two assists.
The first period was a quiet affair with not many substantial offensive chances. Sergey Tolchinsky streaked in from the right side just five minutes into the game and pulled off a between the legs deke before firing a shot on net but to no avail. Providence and Charlotte exchanged power play opportunities but neither team could get anything going. Bruins goalie Zane McIntyre stayed sharp throughout the first period, stopping all 12 Charlotte shots faced.
Early in the second period, Nedeljkovic came out to stop the puck and got caught out of position. Trevor Carrick dove across the crease and blocked the puck from ending up in the net despite multiple jabs from Providence players. Around five minutes into the period, Scott Fitzgerald scored on a rebound chance to give Providence the lead. At the 10:06 mark of the second period, Aleksi Saarela charged in on the breakaway and lifted a backhand shot over the glove of McIntyre to tie the game at 1-1. Janne Kuokkanen earned an assist on the play. After Emil Johansson was sent to the box, the Checkers struck on the power play after Andrew Poturalski set up captain Patrick Brown for the easy tap in. Later in the period, Sergey Tolchinsky sent a no look, behind the net pass out front to Julien Gauthier who fired a shot to give the Checkers the 3-1 lead. Charlotte led 27-13 in shots at the conclusion of the second period.
The Charlotte offense continued to explode in the third period. Andrew Miller continued the scoring with some nifty stick-handling on the breakaway to put the Checkers up 4-1. Charlotte also received some insurance goals from Warren Foegele, Nick Schilkey, Phillip Samuelsson and Sergey Tolchinsky. Foegele is now tied for the team lead in goals. Kenny Agostino added a late power play goal for the Bruins. Five Checkers players had a multi-point night.
Post-Game Notes and Quotes
Foegele on his play: "It's been good but couldn't have done it without my teammates. I think each linemate I play with they all work hard and all look for each other. Just fortunate to get the lucky bounces."
— Justin Lape (@LankyLape) November 26, 2017
Vellucci says there's a "chance" Wallmark plays tomorrow. Doesn't consider tonight's victory a statemennt win despite recent struggles.
— Justin Lape (@LankyLape) November 26, 2017
The two teams will face off again at Bojangles Coliseum on Sunday at 1 p.m.