Sandis Vilmanis Scores Four in 6-1 Rout of Hershey

The Checkers bounced back in a big way Sunday afternoon, beating down the Bears 6-1 behind a historic performance from Sandis Vilmanis.

The Latvian forward lit the lamp four times across the contest - once to start the second period, once to end the second period and twice in a two-minute span in the third - to set a new high-water mark in the franchise’s history.

Jack Studnicka kicked off the scoring for Charlotte just 28 seconds into play and the Checkers never looked back. When Hershey broke through midway through the second to narrow the score to 2-1, the home side rattled off each of the game’s next four goals to reach the lopsided final score.

While the offense was firing on all cylinders, Louis Domingue and the defensive corps ahead of him took care of business on the other end. The Checkers allowed just 21 shots on goal - 12 of which came in the third period - and the veteran netminder stood tall against 20 of them to secure the victory for Charlotte.

QUOTES

Coach Geordie Kinnear on Sandis Vilmanis
It’s been a while. He’s been a great player and a great story. Last year he came in and really stepped up in the playoffs for us, and then obviously going to the Olympics and going to the NHL for the first time and making an positive impact there, then coming back and honestly not missing a beat. He has a true love for the game, and when someone has a true love for the game and works at it, the sky is the limit.

Kinnear on setting the tone early
We liked some stuff from yesterday’s game and there was some stuff we didn’t like, but credit to the guys because they fixed the part where I thought we were a little (on the) perimeter in the last game. I thought we were more inside tonight, so credit to the guys. This time of year you definitely have to get inside, so the guys definitely set the one early and I thought they did it for the majority of the game.

Kinnear on keeping the team focused with playoff seeding already locked in
It's honestly not me. It’s the group and the environment and the work everyone puts in every single day. You need a leadership group that’s really bought in to how we play. It’s not an easy way to play, but I think for the guys that were here last year during the run it’s carried over, and they’ve really stepped up. For the point about the games don’t really matter, I know seeding-wise they don’t, but if you look at the step we took from yesterday to today and how the game should be played, I thought we moved the needle and now we have two more games where we have to continue to move the needle as a group.

Kinnear on this game being more physical
It's what it’s going to look like. You look at the blue paint scrums and all that type of stuff – playoff hockey, if you ask anybody, is the greatest playoffs around because of all that. I thought the refs did a really good job allowing us to play that way and allowing the guys to go whistle to whistle. It’s what makes playoffs good. It’s good that our guys got their noses dirty a little bit because that’s what it’s going to feel like.

Kinnear on Louis Domingue
Very impressed. He made some adjustments and has really worked hard. He and Sly (goaltending coach Sylvaine Rodrigue) work extremely hard before and after practice. I think the word you look for in regards to that is trust. Trust the systems, trust the players around you and do your job. He’s benefited from that. He’s playing very well right now so that’s good to see.

Sandis Vilmanis on if he remembers his last four-goal game
Actually I do. It happened two years ago in juniors with North Bay. That was the last time.

Vilmanis on if this game was more exciting than that one
Especially in your building and being a pro now in your second year, it’s just amazing to score more goals than one.

Vilmanis on getting a fourth goal after his hat trick
I didn’t really think about scoring another one. I just played my game after that as well and got a chance.

Vilmanis on what worked for him in this game
I think it’s just the mindset that I changed from last game. Last game we had a good game but we were all over the perimeter. We weren’t driving the net and we weren’t in front of the net. This game I just thought that I’m going to do that and it worked out. Of course I can’t say that I did it by myself because none of the work is by myself. Thanks to my teammates who helped me to score those goals here.

NOTES

Vilmanis set a franchise record with four goals … This was the second hat trick by a Checker this season … Vilmanis and Hovorka both have points in back-to-back games … Sawchyn has three points in four games since returning from injury … Domingue has won each of his last four starts … The Checkers finished their regular-season series against Hershey with a 4-2-2-0 record … The Checkers have gone four straight games without allowing a power-play goal … Mitch Vande Sompel, Liam McLinskey, Riese Gaber and Kirill Gerasimyuk were the scratches for Charlotte.