It was a tightly contested rematch from start to finish, as the Bears nudged ahead 2-1 early in the second and clung to that advantage until the waning minutes of play. With under three to go, though, it was Henry Bowlby who broke through for the home side - sliding in a rebound from the mouth of the crease and sending the game to overtime.
After an extra frame that featured man-advantages and plenty of opportunities but no goals, the contest advanced to a shootout. The Checkers shooters were on point - with both Riley Nash and Zac Dalpe ripping wristers into the back of the net - setting the table for Mack Guzda to seal the deal. The Charlotte netminder shook off a conversion on Hershey’s first attempt and stonewalled each of the Bears’ remaining shooters, earning the Checkers a huge two points from this Atlantic Division battle.
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— Charlotte Checkers (@CheckersHockey) February 19, 2023
QUOTES
Coach Geordie Kinnear on the gameThat’s the name of the group – find a way to get it done. Everyone contributes and has a positive impact. I didn’t love the game yesterday, especially how we started but we got going in the second, but it was a committed group today. I’m proud of the guys for sticking with it. A good hockey game and probably should have went to a shootout. I’m glad it did and I’m glad we were on top.
Kinnear on the team getting pucks to the net today
We talked about a lot of stuff today. There’s times to get it to the net and there’s times to be patient with it. I felt yesterday we just weren’t good with the puck for whatever reason. The first period (today) they were kind of snapping it around pretty good, but guys stuck with it. We made a mistake in the second period to go down 2-1 with an undisciplined penalty, guys bailed him out to make it 2-2 and then obviously the penalty kill was huge and we had a lot of positive impact from some players.
Kinnear on his fourth line
They had an identity. We weren’t happy with how the game went the other day. I thought their fourth line yesterday was really good and I thought our fourth line was really good today. I don’t even like labeling it the fourth line because everyone is important and everyone contributes. It was a positive impact and a committed group today.
Kinnear on Mack Guzda
He’s a competitive kid. You watch him in practice, he battles on every single puck. He makes his teammates better because he battles on pucks. That’s what it’s about. Your teammate makes you better because he’s competitive in practice. You practice the right way, hard work always pays off and you just don’t know when. The kid’s worked hard.
Henry Bowlby on his tying goal
It felt unbelievable. It was kind of towards the end of the shift, Nasher had dumped it in and was on the puck and worked for it back. Patty threw it under to me and I had the easy job. It felt amazing.
Bowlby on both of the team’s goals coming from getting pucks to the net
Especially with a team like Hershey where they’re all over us all day, it helps to get pucks deep and get it to the front of the net. When they’re pressing up you’ve got to get that D to turn around. That was the goal tonight and I guess it worked out.
Bowlby on two physical games against Hershey
We just wanted to come out and play just as physical. They’re a rival and they brought it yesterday, so we thought we’d match it tonight. I thought it was a nice, physical battle all game.
Bowlby on the game’s playoff-like feel
That’s a great way to put it. Everyone was hard on pucks and it was a battle throughout the entire game. It really did feel like a playoff game.
Mack Guzda on the shootout
You’ve just got to take it one shot at a time. It’s only in the regular season, in the playoffs there won’t be any shootouts, so it’s just an extra point on the line. Those are little skills that some guys have. Some guys are good at shootouts, and you just try to find a way to win. Our guys went in and scored two goals on two shots so it made it pretty easy for us to win.
Guzda on keeping his team in the game as it tried to get the tying goal
I just try to do my job the best I can. I think if we have 20 guys doing their jobs the best they can that gives us a lot of confidence and momentum. Really it’s just a matter of everyone pulling on the same rope and playing as a team.
Guzda on an apparent injury suffered during the third period
I just had some cramping and was a little bit dehydrated. It was kind of a heavy game and hot in the building. When it comes down to the wire there, you’ve just got to battle through and find a way to win.
Guzda on getting this win at home
It was awesome and it was exciting. It was a tough game last night where we didn’t play our best, but we were able to bounce back and get two points against a team that’s just right in front of us in the standings.
