The Checkers’ post-holiday slump continued in Lehigh Valley on Friday as they fell to the Phantoms 3-1.
The visiting Checkers found themselves in a hole early on as the home squad notched a pair of tallies within the first 10 minutes of play and seemed to hold much of the offensive momentum. Charlotte pushed back in the middle frame with a handful of strong chances, but a late strike from star blue liner T.J. Brennan in the final seconds of the period sent the Checkers to the dressing room down 3-0.
The third frame saw the Checkers form a surge of their own. Warren Foegele finished off a slick move to the slot by Andrew Miller to finally break the goose egg on the scoreboard midway through the period, but despite outshooting the Phantoms 7-3, Charlotte couldn’t put anything else behind Lehigh Valley netminder Alex Lyon, who stopped 28 of the 29 shots he faced and picked up the 3-1 victory for the home team.
NOTES
The Checkers have lost consecutive games for just the second time this season, with the others coming during a four-game losing streak that spanned from Nov. 11-18 … The Checkers have failed to score at least three goals in consecutive games for the second time this season, with the other instance coming on Nov. 17 and 18 … The Checkers have failed to score a power-play goal in consecutive games for the fourth time this season … With an assist, Andrew Miller extended his point streak to three games … Warren Foegele scored his 16th goal, tying him for the fourth most in a single season by a Checkers rookie … Sergey Tolchinsky left the game in the second period due to injury and did not return … Valentin Zykov missed the game due to an illness … Dennis Robertson and Steven Lorentz served as healthy scratches
UP NEXT
The Checkers will get a rematch with Lehigh Valley tomorrow night, with puck drop coming at 7:05 p.m.
