Charlotte held Cleveland to just 13 shots across the 60 minutes of play, and the Russian netminder turned all of them aside to earn his second shutout of the season.
While the defense paved the way for the Checkers, it was Liam McLinskey’s first-period tally that ultimately stood as the difference on the scoreboard. It would hold as the game’s lone goal until the third, when Sandis Vilmanis finished off a slick feed from Mike Benning to double the home team’s lead.
With some insurance on their side, the Checkers poured it on down the stretch and continued to keep the Monsters at bay. Jake Livingstone hit the empty net for a late dagger, then Riese Gaber added one more second later with the goalie back in the cage for good measure and that would be the final nail in the coffin for Charlotte’s lopsided win.
What a setup! pic.twitter.com/5fyUzIgMrl
— Charlotte Checkers (@CheckersHockey) December 11, 2025
QUOTES
Coach Geordie Kinnear on drawing penaltiesTonight was a little different than last night. When you play the right way, the other team will take some penalties. I’m not looking at the last couple, but tonight we for sure deserved to be on the power play.
Kinnear on Robert Mastrosimone
From the previous year, we talked about the guys that went down. You look at Steeves and Gaber, they’re here now, and I know Mastrosimone probably deserved it early on but with our numbers we wanted to get him playing down there (in ECHL Savannah). If I talked to (Savannah Coach Jared Staal), every day he was the hardest worker, most passionate, loves the game of hockey and is a student of the game. It was just a matter of time before he came up here and had an impact.
Kinnear on Liam McLinskey
It's all behind the scenes stuff where you put the work in and you start to see it evolve a little bit, and the work ethic becomes addicting because you know it works. He’s put a lot of work in. Obviously last year was good for him, but he jumped into a finished product. We’re definitely not a finished product but we’re working towards that, so he’s got to be part of that group now that leads the way on how we want to play.
Liam McLinskey on his rookie season
It’s definitely a change from college hockey. Last year coming in it was more of a complete team, so at the beginning of the year I’m just kind of trying to find my spot and it’s a long process. It was good to finally get one.
McLinskey on the adjustment to the pro game
Probably the size and the speed of it, honestly. There’s guys around you so you’ve got to start moving your feet every time you get the puck, know where guy are and just be convicted in your spots.
McLinskey on Kirill Gerasimyuk tonight
It's unreal. Just having a steady presence back there. There’s a couple that you’re like, “Oh no, it’s right on the goal line,” and he’s just fighting and makes a save. He was unreal tonight. It was awesome.
