Checkers Bounce Back with Home Win Over Islanders

QUOTES

Coach Geordie Kinnear on the game
We learned a lesson from being on the road. Not an easy game after being on the road for a long period of time. You look at last year, we weren’t very successful coming off the road so I’m proud of the group. Our focus is on continuing to get better. We didn’t like the result in Rochester but we built it tonight, so that’s important.

Kinnear on scoring early in the first and second periods
Goals give you confidence and you don’t have to chase the game, so that’s very important. I liked some of the blue paint goals too. You look at the power play, Aspy coming into the blue paint, those are important. I feel like we’ve been on the outside too much, and we got a little more interior today. A huge challenge tomorrow to get back inside.

Kinnear on Jake Wise
He didn’t like his first game very much and then he had to wait his turn, which is not always easy. We talked, and he just kept working hard, got his opportunity back and made the most of it. It would be tough to take him out.

Kinnear on Ludovic Waeber
What a great guy. He brings a lot of energy. He had to wait for his opportunity and made the most of it, but I liked the team effort and I’m glad everyone played hard for him because that’s important moving forward.

Jake Wise on the game
That was an important game for us after what happened at the end of that last game. Just getting some momentum off that, hopefully building off that and coming out hard tomorrow.

Wise on back-to-back, multi-point games
I think my teammates are making it easy on me. Some luck, some good plays. It all kind of works itself out in the end, but it’s been a good start.

Wise on the team’s leadership group
We have great leaders. Dalps, Gerry, Carly, Truesy – all these guys have been through so much and they’ve been through it year after year. We’re so lucky to have them and they kind of show us the way.

Gerry Mayhew on the win
It feels good. We went up 4-1 again and up three, and we lost the first one in Rochester so we had to grow as a group and weather the storm because we knew they were going to have a push. I’m proud of the guys and proud of the way we played. Everyone played well.

Mayhew on Waeber
He was great. It looked like it was his 500th game out there, so I’m really happy for him to get his first win and hopefully he gets a lot more.

NOTES

Wise has at least one point in all three games played this season (2g, 3a). He is tied for fifth among AHL rookies in scoring … With another assist tonight, Santtu Kinnunen finished the game tied second among AHL defensemen in scoring (7a) … Asplund has points in three straight games (1g, 3a) … Sourdif has points in both of his games played this season (2a) … Waeber, a 27-year-old veteran of several pro seasons in his native Switzerland, made his North American debut … Skyler Brind’Amour scored his first professional goal into the empty net … After going scoreless on the power play in the season opener, the Checkers have a power-play goal in five straight games (6-for-24 coming in) … Checkers scratches included forwards Riley Bezeau, Ryan McCallister, Kai Schwindt and Wilmer Skoog; defensemen Evan Nause and Zach Uens; and goaltender Spencer Knight.