Entering
Sunday, the Charlotte Checkers had generated only a single goal in each of
their three home games this season.
Greg
Nemisz put an end to that trend all by himself, scoring a goal in the second
and third periods to lead the Checkers over the Hamilton Bulldogs, 2-1, in
front of 3,753 at Time Warner Cable Arena .
“Nemo,
for me, is just a real solid pro with his voice in the locker room and the way
he prepares for practice every day,” said Checkers coach Jeff Daniels of
Nemisz, who now leads Charlotte with six points (four goals, two assists). “He
put up a lot of points in junior (hockey) and it hasn’t happened yet at the pro
level... but he’s off to a good start.”
The win –
which featured five fights – was the Checkers’ first at home this season and
improved the team to 3-6-0 overall, while also serving as revenge for a 3-1
loss to the Bulldogs this past Friday.
“We came
to the rink today with a chip on our shoulder – enough is enough,” said
Daniels. “It wasn’t our plan to fight five times, it just kind of happened. It
got a little chippy at times, but for the most part it was a pretty honest
game.”
After
taking a 1-0 lead over the Bulldogs on Friday and then surrendering three
unanswered goals, the Checkers found themselves in a similar position on
Sunday.
Nemisz’
first – a backhanded chip past Hamilton goalie Mike Condon (31 saves) – came a
minute and 47 seconds into the second period. Early on in the third, Hamilton
evened the game at 1-1, thanks to a puck that bounced off the backside of Drew
MacIntyre (24 saves) and slid just over the goal line.
The
Checkers response, left coach Daniels impressed.
“(The
game) could have gone either way with the mindset of our team, but I thought
the shift after that (goal) was a really good shift by Brownie’s line (Phil Di
Giuseppe-Patrick Brown-Alex Aleardi)," Daniels said. "They just went
in there, were moving their legs, had some zone time and we moved on from it.”
Midway
through the second period, Nemisz was sent hard into the boards by Connor Crisp
and was slow to get up, as Charlotte defenseman Carter Sandlak and Crisp
dropped the gloves.
In the
third, Nemisz got revenge, batting home the rebound from a power-play shot off
the stick of Ryan Murphy for the game-winning goal.
“As much
as you want to play with a lead through 60 minutes it doesn’t always happen,”
Daniels said. “Goals happen and it’s just how you respond to it. We didn’t
respond well on Friday but I thought we responded well today.”
NOTES: With two goals on Sunday,
Greg Nemisz now has 17 points (7g, 10a) in 23 games since his acquisition from
Calgary last season. The two-goal game was his first since 2012. … Andrew Rowe,
who signed with the team early on Sunday to play for the suspended Brock
McGinn, played his fourth game in four days. He finished the game with four
shots on goal. “He played a three-in-three and all of the sudden you get in the
car, get in at two this morning and then play at one a clock,” Daniels said. “I
thought he gave us everything he had and I thought he did some good things.
We’ll see how this week goes about with injuries and whatnot and we’ll see
where he fits in.”… 20-year-old rookie defenseman Trevor Carrick has impressed
coach Daniels with his play thus far. “He’s been a pleasant surprise for us,”
Daniels said. “He’s a confident kid and he plays a big, strong game. He’s not
afraid to make a play out there and he gets involved physically. He’s been real
good for us for a first-year pro nine games into his pro season and he’s
handled it real well.”
INJURIES: Justin Shugg (upper-body
injury) is yet to practice with the team and missed his sixth consecutive game.
… Ben Holmstrom (shoulder injury) missed his first game of the season and “was definitely
out” according to Daniels. “He wasn’s a question mark today.”
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