Checkers dominate Rivermen 4-2

PEORIA, Ill – The first place Charlotte Checkers showed the third place

Rivermen why they were in first place on Friday night, scoring three goals in the first period and going on to hand the Rivermen 4-2 defeat in front of 4642 fans. The Rivermen could not keep up with the fast-paced Checkers and trailed from the start.
 
Right away it was all Charlotte. Justin Shugg and Zac Dalpe broke in during the first minute of play. Shugg dropped a pass to Dalpe, who skated in a shot on Peoria goaltender Jake Allen. Allen stopped the shot but put the puck right back on Dalpe’s stick and in it went for a 1-0 lead just 53 seconds into the game.
 
Next, it was Brett Sutter and Zach Boychuk with Boychuk keeping the puck and blasting a shot from outside the left faceoff dot that went untouched for the 2-0 lead exactly three minutes later.
 
Peoria killed off a minute-long five-on-three penalty but their misery continued when Justin Soryal found Shugg in front of Allen at 14:59. Shugg roofed a backhanded shot over Allen for the 3-0 lead.
 
The second period had no scoring, although Rivermen captain Adam Cracknell made several nice checks throughout the period.
 
The Rivermen finally broke through in the third period. Evgeny Grachev came in down the boards and cut toward the net and slid the puck under Charlotte goalie John Muse to break the spell. Cracknell and Cade Fairchild were credited with assists at just 32 seconds of the third period that cut the lead to 3-1.
 
The Rivermen hit Charlotte with a fantastic fore-check, putting three men into the boards in succession. However, that left Michal Jordan loose on the far side. Allen got a piece of the puck, but it trickled over the line for the 4-1 lead at 4:45 of the third period.
 
TJ Hensick rallied the Rivermen almost immediately, taking a neutral zone pass from Derek Nesbitt and speeding past a defender before putting the puck over Muse’s glove just 18 seconds later to draw the home team back within two, 4-2.
 
Muse stopped 26 of 28 shots for the win, his ninth in only eleven outings. Allen took the loss, his eleventh, stopping 26 of 30 shots on goal. Both teams had four power plays chances, although neither team was able to capitalize on them.
 
Contact the author: Shaun.Bill@ProHockeyNews.com