Putting on the pressure right from puck drop, the Checkers were able to open the scoring midway through the first period, with Trevor Carrick putting a cannon blast from the point behind former Checkers netminder Justin Peters.
With an early lead in hand, the Checkers refused to let go, trading chances with Tucson through the second period until Andrej Nestrasil added to the advantage, pulling off a slick toe drag and backhanding the puck top shelf less than five minutes into the second.
The Roadrunners would finally break through later in the third, capitalizing on a rebound from the rush, but it wouldn’t be enough to trip up the surging Checkers, who outshot their opponent 16-7 in the third. Shortly following the Tucson tally, Levko Koper ripped a one-timer off a cross-ice feed from Kris Newbury to reestablish Charlotte’s two-goal advantage, one that would last through the Roadrunners’ rally attempt and all the way to the final buzzer.
We played well, we played solid,” said head coach Ulf Samuelsson. “Tucson is a team that doesn’t give you anything for free, so we played a solid two-way game and managed to get a win.”
“I thought we played a good game last game (an overtime loss against Milwaukee on Wednesday) so it gave us a little momentum coming into tonight,” said alternate captain Carrick. “I thought the team played a good game all around from goaltending with Neddy (Alex Nedeljkovic), who had some great saves, to the d-corps, I thought we were solid back there, all the way to the forwards, who were strong in the offensive zone, created a whole lot of scoring chances and were able to get three goals which was good enough.”
Getting the crucial first goal proved to be a key part of the Checkers’ overall effort against a Tucson team that Samuelsson noticed likes to play a more defensive-minded game.
“I thought that helped out,” he said of the Checkers opening the scoring. “Especially against a team that plays sort of on the conservative side, it makes them try to open up a little bit.”
“It’s huge for any game just to set the tempo and set the momentum and give the boys a little more confidence,” said Carrick. “You’re not playing on your toes as much and are just trying to get another one. I think that’s helpful.”
Carrick’s strike not only helped break the ice for the Checkers, it marked the blue liner’s first goal of the year, lifting that monkey off his back.
“It felt great,” said Carrick. “It was a long time coming. That injury kind of set me back, so I was kind of slowly trying to work myself back into my game here shift by shift. The last two games I wasn’t getting a whole lot of ice time but now I feel like I’m getting my normal ice time and my wind is back and my legs are back. I’m feeling good, and that goal felt good.”
The team’s resolve came through following Tucson’s lone goal on the night, which cut the lead in half and put the Roadrunners right back within striking distance, as Charlotte didn’t fold under pressure.
“A two-goal lead is the most dangerous, and just like that they cut it in half and had us on our heels a little bit but we stuck with it,” said Nedeljkovic. “We played well, we played hard and we played the right way – the way we’d been playing the whole game. It was good the way we responded.”
Nedeljkovic, making his first appearance since debuting with the Hurricanes last week, turned in a strong showing. “He was good,” said Sameulsson. “He made a couple of key saves and gave us a chance to win, so if you get that from your goaltender you’re very happy.”
Nedeljkovic has seen a turnaround as of late, picking up his third consecutive win, which matches the total from his first 16 appearances this season.
With just six goals allowed over that stretch, the rookie is finding his groove in the crease.
“I think I’m just playing my game,” said Nedeljkovic. “I’m not forcing a save or force a pass. I’m just letting everything come to me and taking it one shot at a time. If it’s a rebound I’ll react to it and if there’s a puck laying around I’ll react to it. Whatever it is. It’s doing more reacting than the forcing I was doing earlier on.”
Along with his solid effort, Nedeljkovic was quick to heap praise on the players in front of him, who slowed down a lethal Tucson attack.
“We played strong defensively – that was the biggest thing,” said Nedeljkovic. “We didn’t give them a lot, especially off the rush. When you’ve got a team that has a lot of high-powered forwards, they feed on chances off the rush. We did a very good job of having a third forward high and backchecking. When they did get chances, we bore down, blocked shots and cleared guys out of the way in front of the net.”
Tonight’s win continued the Checkers’ hot streak on home ice, as they have now picked up at least one point in the standings in five of their last six contests. By taking down one of the top teams in the conference, the team earned itself some confidence but is well aware there is a lot of work to be done.
“They had won five in a row, so hopefully it’s something that we’ll use to get some momentum here,” said Samuelsson. “We’ll enjoy this game for a little bit, but pretty soon we’re going to have to start charging up again because the next game is coming really quick.” “Tomorrow is a quick turnaround and not a whole lot of time to enjoy this one,” said Carrick. “We’re right back at it tomorrow and they’re not going to be happy, so we’re going to have to bring the same kind of effort we did tonight.”
