Checkers draw first blood against Wolves
It’s uncommon for the lower seeded team to open a hockey playoff on home ice so the Charlotte Checkers took full advantage of the opportunity, opening its American Hockey League Central Division Semi-Final series with a 4-0 win against the top seeded Chicago Wolves at Bojangles Coliseum on Thursday (April 20, 2017) night.
While veteran Tom McCollum stopped all 20 Wolves’ shots he faced in goal for the Checkers, the home side grabbed control with a goal by Brendan Woods just past the halfway mark of the opening period.
That stood up as the only goal of the opening period and Lucas Wallmark added another for the Checkers in the middle period.
The game remaining within reach for the Wolves until Andrew Miller gave his team some insurance 3:51 from the final buzzer and Wallmark finished it off with his second into an empty net with 37 seconds to go.
Ville Husso got the start in goal for the Wolves, handling 23 of 26.
Game two will also be played in Charlotte tomorrow night with the third and if necessary, fourth and fifth games scheduled to go at the Allstate Arena in Chicago.
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About Author
jimmerdenhollander@gmail.com
Born and raised in Ontario, Canada and moved to the state of Wisconsin in my late 30's. I worked at various newspapers and magazines in various sports positions for 25 years before changing careers five years ago. Now I am streamlining my focus on hockey only and in particular, all levels of hockey in the American Midwest.