The Charlotte Checkers had a rough go off of it on home ice this weekend as they were swept by the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at Bojangles Coliseum.
Charlotte got blanked 4-0 on Friday, with Sergei Murashov posting a 25-save shutout. Former NHLer Danton Heinen scored a goal and added two assists and Alex Alexeyev, Ville Koivunen and Joona Koppanen also lit the lamp for the Penguins. Cooper Black took the loss, finishing with 18 saves on 22 shots. Jack Devine, Ben Steeves, Nolan Foote and Marek Alscher each had three shots on goal.
Saturday’s rematch saw the Checkers earn a point in a 3-2 overtime loss that ended when Koivunen scored the winning the goal 3:28 into the extra session. Black made his sixth-straight start and stopped 27 shots. Charlotte took the lead 2:19 into the game when Brian Pinho notched his first of the season from Sandis Vilmanis and Wilmer Skoog. Pinho drew the primary assist on Colton Huard’s first AHL goal which put the Checkers up 2-1 early in the second. Skoog again had the secondary helper to take the team scoring lead with seven points.
Charlotte (3-2-1) will hit the road this week for games against the Hartford Wolf Pack (Wednesday), Springfield Thunderbirds (Saturday) and Providence Bruins (Sunday).
More prospects news
Goaltender Kirill Gerasimyuk earned his first North American win, stopping 29 of 30 shots in the Savannah Ghost Pirates 3-1 ECHL win over the Jacksonville Icemen. Gerasimyuk has earned a promotion to Charlotte.
Shea Busch notched a power-play goal to complete the scoring in the Everett Silvertips 5-1 win over the Spokane Chiefs in action from the Western Hockey League. Busch has racked up 11 goals and four assists in 11 games played.
Shamar Moses had the lone assist on the North Bay Battalion’s only goal in a 3-1 loss to the Kitchener Rangers in Ontario Hockey League action. Moses has two goals and two assists in 12 games played.
Arvid Drott collected two assists in Djurgardens’s 3-2 loss to Mora in Saturday action from Sweden’s U20 Nationell. Drott has seven goals and six assists in 11 games played.
Albert Wikman finished with a shot on goal and a +1 rating in Farjestad BK’s 3-1 win over Brynas IF in action from the Swedish Hockey League. Wikman is -2 with 4 PIM in ten games this season.
Linus Eriksson was credited with two shots on goal, a hit and won three of his seven faceoffs in Timra IK’s 3-1 loss to Orebro HK in SHL action. Eriksson has one assist in 15 games played.
Simon Zether finished with a +2 rating and won one of nine draws in Rogle BK’s 5-0 shutout victory over HV71 in SHL action. Zether has one goal and one assist in 12 games this season.
Stepan Zvyagin was held off the score sheet for the third-straight game as Dinamo Molodechno fell 3-1 to Slavutych in action from the Belarusian BETERA Extraleague. Despite the cold spell, Zvyagin has put up 16 points in 18 games played.
Tyler Muszelik stopped 17 of 20 shots in Connecticut’s 3-1 loss to Boston University in NCAA action. Muszelik is 3-2 with a 2.63 GAA and .914 save percentage for the Huskies.
Defenseman Brendan Dunphy (UConn) finished the game with an even-rating. Dunphy has one assist, 2 PIM and a +1 rating in five games played.
Vladislav Lukashevich collected two assists in Miami of Ohio’s 5-4 win over Lindenwood. Lukashevich is off to a hot start with a goal and seven assists in six games played.
Luke Coughlin posted an even-rating in Maine’s 3-2 overtime win over Colgate. Coughlin has appeared in two games for the Black Bears this season.