After the two sides traded goals in the first six minutes of play, the Checkers took control over the next period and a half. Jake Wise pulled off a snipe on the man advantage to claim the lead for the visitors late in the first, then Mike Benning hammered home a one-timer on an early power play in the second to extend Charlotte’s advantage to 3-1 - a score that would hold until well into the final frame.
You simply are not stopping that pic.twitter.com/k138pucxxw
— Charlotte Checkers (@CheckersHockey) October 26, 2023
It was a fairly low-event game - the final shot total was 19-15 - but the Americans ramped up the pressure late in the third as their desperation set in, and a tally from Jiri Kulich with just under six minutes remaining would be just the spark they needed.
Rochester would find the equalizer 58 seconds later, then snatch the lead away less than two minutes after that. All together it was three goals over the span of 2:42 that flipped the game upside down, and despite several strong chances down the stretch the Checkers couldn’t pull themselves back into it, taking the stunning road loss.
