The contest was in a dead heat for over half of regulation, with the two sides trading chances but the netminders stealing the show. It wasn’t until the final five minutes of the second frame that Rochester broke the ice, claiming a one-goal advantage heading into the third.
The visitors took that flash of momentum and ran with it from there, doubling the lead less than a minute into the final frame. The Checkers pushed for a rally down the stretch - firing 13 shots on goal in the period - but couldn’t solve Malcolm Subban, who finished the weekend with 75 saves on 77 shots and slammed the door on Charlotte. Two more daggers from Rochester sealed the Checkers’ fate, and the home side dropped their fifth straight contest.
QUOTES
Coach Geordie Kinnear on the gameFor the first two periods it was a tight, tight game. Pretty even and not a lot of chances really either way. I thought there were some chances but the goalies came up with some saves. I was disappointed in the third period. I don’t know if it was fatigue, lack of focus or lack of urgency to score, but that was probably one of the worst periods of the weekend.
Kinnear on his players not losing confidence in a tough stretch
Dig in, grow and be mentally tough. Embrace the hard, because sometimes it’s hard. You keep fighting during the hard times and when you come out there’s a big growth spurt. If you don’t fight and you don’t dig in, then you don’t come out of it very good. For the most part I’ve been happy with that dig in. Guys are playing more minutes and quality time on ice than what they’re used to, so embrace that. You’re getting an opportunity, make the most of it, continue to grow and continue to fight and do things right.
Kinnear on the power play
We had a couple of looks and then it got stagnant. You’ve got to have some tempo to it and I thought we lost that. Also it’s a good hockey team on the other side and you’ve got to give them credit. You’re not going to win every single game, but we need our young guys and our older guys to continue to grow and come together as a group. A great character trait is being resilient, and we have to be resilient.
Gerry Mayhew on the difference this weekend
They just capitalized on their chances. We had almost 50 shots last night and couldn’t put it away, and what we’ve been preaching is to get the puck to the net and get guys in front and bury those second and third chances. We just haven’t been doing that, but hopefully they’ll come soon if we keep doing the right things.
Mayhew on staying upbeat during a tough stretch
It’s a long season. We’re in game 26 or something like that and we’ve got a long way to go. If we continue to do the right things it will pan out for us.
