CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Charlotte Checkers continued their dominance at home as they jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first half of the game and pounded the Toledo Walleye 5-1 on Sunday afternoon.
Julien Brouillette, who was returned to Charlotte by the Hartford Wolf Pack prior to the game, notched two goals and an assist, while Matt Schepke potted two of his own. Newcomer Cedric Lalonde-McNicoll collected a goal and two assists while Ryan Munce stopped 25 of 27 for the the Checkers, who have not lost in regulation at home since Dec. 26, a span of eight games (7-0-1).
Charlotte opened the scoring midway through the first period on the power play. Lalonde-McNicoll fed a pass to Daniel Tkaczuk down low who saw Brouillette streaking in from the point. Brouillette took the pass in the slot and fired a wrist shot off the left post for his 11th of the season.
With less than two minutes to play in the period, David Marshall and Mike Taylor skated in on a two-on-one which was broken up by a Toledo defender. Lalonde-McNicoll was there to collect the rebound and put it past Walleye goaltender Jordan Pearce for his first as a Checker.
The Checkers held a 17-5 shot advantage through the first 20 minutes and have now outshot their opponents 70-26 in the opening period of the last five games.
Charlotte would take a three-goal lead just over three minutes into the second on a tally by Schepke. Aaron Slattengren dished a pass to Schepke, who lost the puck in his skates, kicked it to his stick and then spun around, beating Pearce through the legs.
The Checkers did not stop there, however, and made it a 4-0 game before the halfway point of the game. Marshall and Lalonde-McNicoll cycled the puck down low on the power play before feeding a pass to Brouillette, who let a wrist shot go low blocker side and past the Toledo goaltender. The goal was the third point of the night for Brouillette, lifting him into fourth place in scoring among all ECHL defensemen.
The Walleye finally got on the board, two minutes later, when Chris Robertson converted a rebound past Munce, spoiling the shutout attempt.
Early in the third, Toledo sent a barrage of shots toward the Charlotte net and Munce was there to stop them all, including a breakaway, to preserve the three-goal lead.
Later in the third, the Checkers added some insurance on the power play when Schepke beat Pearce with a wrist shot from the slot.
Charlotte (26-15-6) will host South Carolina Wednesday at 7 p.m. Ticket information can be obtained by calling 704-342-4-ICE or visiting www.gocheckers.com.
