AHL

Checkers Drop Matinee Thriller To Islanders

by
Zachary Martin
November 3, 2022

Charlotte, N.C. – When it comes to the morning routine, some may try to have food with their coffee or even try to exercise to wake themselves up. Hockey fans in the Queen City had a different way to start their day on Tuesday, as the Charlotte Checkers and the Bridgeport Islanders had a puck drop at 10:35 am EST. Alex Lyon would start in net for the Checkers as Cory Schneider started for the Islanders in a game won 4-3 in a shootout by Bridgeport.

First Period

Bridgeport got the first goal of the game at 6:10 of the first period from Vincent Sevigny. That would be his first of the season for the Islanders. Although the Checkers would not stay off the board for long as not even a minute later, John Ludvig would score his first of the season, as well as his first Checkers goal in his career.

Ludvig sticks with it and gets his first as a Checker! pic.twitter.com/W0Zpus8l5h

— Charlotte Checkers (@CheckersHockey) November 1, 2022

That would tie up the game at 7:02 into the first period. Furthermore, that wouldn’t be the only goal of the period as Captain Zac Dalpe would notch his third goal of the season for the Checkers at 12:16 into the period. What made the goal even more special is that he scored it on his 33rd birthday. The first would conclude with the Charlotte Checkers leading the Bridgeport Islanders 2-1 going into intermission.

Second Period

Unlike the first period where it was all Checkers, it was the Islanders who took charge in the second period. The Islanders would end up getting the first goal of the period once again on an Aatu Raty powerplay goal at the 2:11 mark. The goal from Raty would tie the game up at 2-2. At the 6:51 mark of the period saw once again a Checkers lead as Ethan Keppen would score not only his first goal of the season but his first pro goal as well.

Keppen's first pro goal regains the lead for us! pic.twitter.com/5nKvNIYTjN

— Charlotte Checkers (@CheckersHockey) November 1, 2022

Unfortunately for the Checkers, they could not stave off the Islanders as they once again tied the game at 3-3. This time it would be Andy Andreoff with the tying goal at 18:09 in the period. The Andreoff goal would also be a powerplay goal as well, the second man-advantage goal the Checkers would give up in the game. After forty minutes of play, the second period ended in a 3-3 tie.

Third Period

The final period was marked by a handful of minor penalties, one given to the Islanders’ Jeff Kubiak at the 4:04 mark of the period for slashing. The other was given to Checkers Justin Sourdif for interference at the 19:33 mark of the third.

Overtime/Shootout

While the Sourdif penalty did carry over into overtime, neither team could find the net just like in the third period. After 60-plus minutes of play including overtime, the Tuesday morning game would be decided by a shootout. The three Charlotte Checkers to shoot were Gerry Mayhew, Dalpe, and Grigori Denisenko. No Charlotte shootout try got through as Schneider kept all three attempts out of the net.

When it came to the Islanders, they gave their opportunities to Ruslan Iskhakov, Chris Terry, and William Dufour. In the end, it was Dufour who would score the lone goal in the shootout for both teams. Bridgeport would walk away with a 4-3 win in a shootout.