With a litany of injuries affecting the lineup, it was the depth scoring that powered Charlotte against the Amerks - specifically Riese Gaber and Ben Steeves, who each racked up three points on the night.
The Checkers potted one goal in each of the first two periods to nudge ahead in what was a low-scoring affair at the time - one standing as Gaber’s first in the AHL and the other coming off the stick of fellow rookie Sandis Vilmanis on the power play - but they really took off in the third.
Oliver Okuliar and Gaber each struck within 27 seconds of each other to double the lead, then Ben Steeves and Wilmer Skoog added another pair in the final five minutes of regulation to blow the game open and help Charlotte cruise to a lopsided victory.
The offense was firing on all cylinders, but the Checkers were dominant on the other side of the ice as well. They held the Amerks to 19 shots across the contest - including four power-play opportunities - and netminder Ken Appleby had an answer for every one of them, earning his second shutout of the season and Charlotte’s second as a team in as many games.
🚨 First AHL goal 🚨 pic.twitter.com/bHZSslJoTb
— Charlotte Checkers (@CheckersHockey) December 7, 2024
QUOTES
Coach Geordie Kinnear on what stood out from this winThe depth, the guys that haven’t had the quality time on ice, because of the injuries they stepped up and contributed to a team win. I thought all four lines, six D and obviously the goaltender were dialed in from the start to the finish. A building block, for sure.
Kinnear on what has endeared him to Riese Gaber
He’s endeared to his teammates, I think is the most important. Work ethic, a student of the game and wants to continue to get better. He wasn’t happy going down to (ECHL) Savannah, but he went down to Savannah with a great attitude. Him and (Steeves) were the hardest-working guys down there, and I obviously have a great relationship with (Savannah coach Jared Staal) and we talk weekly. They waited for their opportunity and were in and out of the lineup a little bit, and it’s tough to take them out now.
Kinnear on what’s allowed the team to get back-to-back shutouts
Just four lines, six D and a goalie all buying in and playing the right way. When you do that, you can be successful. I think the hardest thing for a coach and a teammate is to build trust. It’s important to have trust because then you can play fast. I thought there was a lot of trust tonight.
Riese Gaber on the feeling in the room
Really good vibes, obviously. A big third period from the guys, and I thought we played a great 60-minute game. That showed on the scoreboard tonight.
Gaber on what’s allowed him to be successful
Just playing my game. I know what I’m capable of, and I think at the end of the day you’ve just got to keep pushing. When things don’t go your way you can act two way. You can pout about it or you can keep working, and I think I’ve done a good job of that and kept a good attitude. I’ve just been enjoying every day and having fun. It’s been awesome being here and I’ve really enjoyed it.
Gaber on his chemistry with Ben Steeves
Really good. Tonight we obviously had a good night, and we’re going to be living together and we have a lot of chemistry off the ice, just good buddies, and obviously that helps. I think at the end of the day it’s just a lot of fun to play with him.
Appleby on the feeling after the game
Definitely very happy. It’s exciting when you can string together a few wins like this in a row, and in the fashion that we did with back-to-back shutouts. Just being solid defensively and not really giving teams a whole lot, that makes our jobs easy and it’s fun to watch them out there do their thing.
Appleby on his key to success in this game
We just had a good week of practice. I wanted to really focus on that after my previous two starts where I wasn’t the happiest with them. I wanted to have a good week of practice here, and luckily that translated into the game tonight. I felt patient on pucks and felt like I was tracking it really well. On the other side, the guys made my job really easy tonight blocking shots, playing the majority of the game down there and scoring lots of goals. That’s nice to see.
