"Zac Dalpe is scoring some big goals for the Charlotte Checkers in the Calder Cup playoffs, and Mike Murphy has been stellar in net. To succeed in playoff hockey, a team needs its stars to play like stars and to have confidence in its goaltending. So it has been for the Checkers, who topped the Hershey Bears in the first round of the AHL playoffs and edged the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 3-2 Thursday in Game 1 of the East Division finals. Dalpe scored early, Jon Matsumoto added a pair of goals, and Murphy had 28 saves against the Penguins. Game 2 is tonight in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. But the Checkers' playoff success doesn't just rest with a Dalpe or Murphy. It also has come from Nick Dodge winning a critical faceoff, or Brett Sutter forcing a key turnover or Casey Borer's stickwork helping kill off a penalty. Or an unlikely hero, Nicolas Blanchard, scoring an overtime winner to finish off the Bears in six games, the defending Calder Cup champs. "Those are the guys, not just in the playoffs but the regular season, who do all the little things you don't read about or see on the highlights but coaches really appreciate," Checkers coach Jeff Daniels said this week. "Those are the guys you trust late in the game." Read more: http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/04/30/1165055/checkers-step-up-to-win.html
