NEW MATH… 12 + 3 = 8 

       VERSUS      

CHECKERS SWAMP FLORIDA, 6-2, FOR EIGHTH STRAIGHT WIN

Carroll Nets Hat Trick To Help Charlotte To Longest Win Streak Since 2001

Andrew Carroll, (Number 12) recorded his first ever hat trick (+3) as the Charlotte Checkers overpowered the visiting Florida Everblades, 6-2, for their eighth (8…in case you were trying to figure out the reference in the title) straight victory on Tuesday evening.

Carroll scored while shorthanded, on the power play and at even strength to help the Checkers to their longest win streak since the 2000-01 season. Ryan Munce stopped 22 of 24 shots for his seventh straight win while David Marshall, who was returned from Lake Erie on Monday, increased his point streak to five games (5g, 4a). Munce is now 4-1-1 versus the Everblades this season while the Checkers lead the season series with a 6-3-2 record.

The Checkers struck first, and are now 25-2-6 when doing so, as Carroll picked up the rebound off of a Tysen Dowzak point shot and backhanded it home along the ice. The even-strength goal came at the 4:34 mark of the first period.

Exactly 20 minutes later, at 4:34 of the second, Charlotte took a two-goal lead on a perfectly-placed shot by Marshall. A Florida defender attempted to clear the zone and the puck took a strange bounce off the glass and onto the stick of Tyler Doig. Doig then dished it to Marshall who let a wrist shot go from the right slot into the top corner.

Midway through the period, Matt Schepke would make it a 3-0 game when he one-timed a pass from Daniel Tkaczuk past Florida goaltender Chris Beckford-Tseu. Marshall picked up an assist on the play with a behind-the-back pass to Tkaczuk.

With just less than three minutes to play in the period and the Checkers on the penalty kill, Carroll picked up a stray puck at center ice and skated in alone on Beckford-Tseu. The winger faked right and buried the puck into the left side of the net for his second of the night.

Carroll then completed the hat trick on the power play when he tipped home a Steve Ward point shot with 35 seconds to play in the period. The goal was Carroll’s team-leading 28th of the season and put him into fourth place among all ECHL rookies in that category.

Florida would add two goals, three minutes apart, in the third period before Charlotte put the game out of reach with less than seven minutes to play. Matt Stefanishion took a pass from Brock Bradford and threw the puck toward the net. Carroll tied up a defender in front and it trickled in past Beckford-Tseu.

Munce would stop a late flurry of shots and the Checkers walked away with the 6-2 victory. The two teams will meet again on Thursday.

The Checkers (39-20-7) will host Florida Thursday at 7 p.m. and ticket information can be obtained by calling 704-342-4-ICE or visiting www.gocheckers.com. Season tickets for the inaugural 2010-11 AHL season are now on sale and 40-game packages start as low as $200.

GAME SUMMARY and OFFICIAL SCORERS SHEET

SCOREBOARD:

It was a light night for action in both the AHL and the ECHL.

In the AHL Worcester got two goals from Andrew Desjardins and ex-Pack Greg Moore scored Syracuse’s only goal in a 3-1 Sharks win. At the Bradley Center Milwaukee scored three in the first period and held on for a 3-2 win at home against Texas. In the only other game on the night, Mike Glumac scored twice for Hamilton but it wasn’t enough as Manitoba got a big home win over the Bulldogs 3-2.

In the ECHL, in addition to the Checkers big win, Cincinnati got two goals from Maxime Lacroix, a marker from Dustin Sproat and two helpers from Reid Cashman. Elmira got two assists from Tyler Donati as the Cyclones beat Andy Chiodo and the Elmira Jackals 3-2.

NOTES:

*  The Checkers have now won eight in a row, their longest streak since 2000-01 (10 games) and are 13-2-1 in their last 16 home games

* Ryan Munce has won seven straight games and is 4-1-1 against Florida this season

* David Marshall is currently on a five-game point streak (5g, 4a)

* Andrew Carroll leads the ECHL with five shootout-winning goals and leads the Checkers with 28 goals

LINES:

Taylor – Leveille © – Slattengren
Bradford – Tkaczuk – Stefanishion
Doig – Chabot – Schepke
Marshall

Urquhart – Schaeffer
Berube – Hendrikx
Dowzak – Ward

Munce
Zemlak

(Assistant Captains Bold and Italicized)

SCRATCHES:

Jean-Philipp Chabot – Healthy Scratch
Ryan Crane – Healthy Scratch
Mike Taylor – Sick – Day-to-Day
Randy Rowe – Recall in Lake Erie
Matt Ford – Recall in Lake Erie
Julien Brouillette – Recall in Hartford
Ethan Graham – Recall in Texas
Kenny Roche – Recall in Providence
T.J. Reynolds – Lower Body – 2-3 weeks
Devin DiDiomete – Lower Body – 2-3 weeks
Chris Snavely – Upper Body – Season Over
Trevor Glass – Back Surgery – Season over
Codey Burki – Undisclosed – Season over
Chris Chappell – Shoulder Surgery – Season over

THREE STARS

1. CHR – A. Carroll
2. CHR – D. Marshall
3. CHR – R. Munce

ON-ICE OFFICALS:

Referee:
Jason Rollins (13)

Linesmen:
Paul Reid (97)
Mathieu Chenier (71)

NEXT GAME:

Florida plays their second game at the Time Warner Cable Arena Thursday. After that Checkers fans, it’s Reading coming in for a pair on the weekend and then the last regular season home game is Tuesday the 30th against Gwinnett. The Checkers finish the season with two on the road in Florida. Jason Shaya will be on the air both Tuesday and Thursday night at 7pm.

For live in-game coverage from your cell phone or computer, we’ll have the action for you at www.twitter.com/howlingstoday.

You can always buy tickets for any Checkers game home or away at Ticketmaster.com.

Should you want to watch this very exciting team from the comfort of your computer chair, all Checkers games are available on B2Live.

SCORE-SHEET:

Florida Everblades 2 At Charlotte Checkers 6 – Status: Final

Mar 23, 2010 – Time Warner Cable Arena

Florida 0 0 2 – 2

Charlotte 1 4 1 – 6

1st Period-1, Charlotte, Carroll 26 (Dowzak), 4:34. Penalties-Hendrikx Chr (tripping), 13:56; Bayrack Fla (hooking), 18:12; Olson Fla (roughing), 20:00; Stefanishion Chr (roughing), 20:00.

2nd Period-2, Charlotte, Marshall 20 (Doig, Berube), 4:34. 3, Charlotte, Schepke 25 (Marshall, Tkaczuk), 12:54. 4, Charlotte, Carroll 27 (Urquhart), 17:01 (sh). 5, Charlotte, Carroll 28 (Ward), 19:25 (pp). Penalties-Olson Fla (high-sticking), 10:50; Bradford Chr (hooking), 16:04; Osman Fla (tripping), 18:50.

3rd Period-6, Florida, Bayrack 8 (Baker, Gajic), 7:43 (pp). 7, Florida, Carlson 24 (Hartlieb, Bayrack), 10:51. 8, Charlotte, Stefanishion 20 (Bradford), 13:44. Penalties-Olson Fla (roughing, charging major, game misconduct – charging), 0:13; Schaeffer Chr (roughing), 0:13; Doig Chr (hooking), 6:38; Hendrikx Chr (slashing ), 17:11.

Shots on Goal-Florida 7-3-13-23. Charlotte 9-18-7-34.

Power Play Opportunities-Florida 1 of 4; Charlotte 1 of 4.

Goalies-Florida, Beckford-Tseu 17-10-2-2 (34 shots-28 saves). Charlotte, Munce 23-13-2-1 (23 shots-21 saves).

A-3,373