After a tight opening few minutes, the home team broke through with a pair of quick strikes in the back half of the frame - snagging a lead and never letting go.
Ben Steeves lit the lamp on a power play in the middle frame to push that advantage even further - one of his three points on the night. While the Penguins were able to break through later in the period, Jack Devine quickly responded with his second goal of the night to reestablish Charlotte’s dominance.
Buried it 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/b4iPCmaejw
— Charlotte Checkers (@CheckersHockey) January 11, 2026
The Checkers snuffed out any hopes of a Penguins’ rally in the third, backstopped by a strong 19-save performance from Kirill Gerasimyuk. Nate Smith made the visitors pay for an early goalie pull, and that would seal the deal as Charlotte got back in the win column.
QUOTES
Coach Geordie Kinnear on Kirill Gerasimyuk’s adjustment and performance tonightFirst time over here, going through that road trip, Christmas, being away from home, being here, the bus rides and all that stuff. A credit to him, he really worked hard this week. A credit to (goalie coach Sylvaine Rodrigue) too, who works with our goalies diligently and does an unbelievable job and made sure that he was ready. There was no doubt he was going to be ready for the game.
Kinnear on the physical nature of the game
It's part of our game, to be honest with you. I say it all the time, but it’s what makes this game great. Boys will be boys, men will be men. For me, I enjoy it. It’s when the game is the most fun when you have competitive people across from you. It was a good game.
Kinnear on Ben Steeves
If you look at Stevo, his game got elevated because of the ultra-competitiveness and the competitive spirit that he showed and the group showed. When he gets like that, he’s a dangerous hockey player. He was physically and mentally engaged tonight, and for me that’s when he’s at his best. Goals are secondary.
Jack Devine on this game compare to last night’s
Especially after last night, we kind of got punched in the mouth a little bit by that team. I thought we were in it late in that game, but to respond and make some adjustments tonight was really big. For me, it’s just sticking with the process and doing what I can game in and game out. Sometimes you get bounces and sometimes you get not, but stick to your process and stick to what you know.
Devine on his forward line
I thought the entire 11 forwards did a good job. Obviously that’s a little more ice time for everyone, but wheter you’re a young guy or an older guy, getting your legs going on a back-to-back can be tough. Obviously a great pass by Brett (Chorske) there, and Ben (Steeves) has been finding his footing again. He’s obviously a tremendous player.
Devine on getting more depth scoring
It's been awesome and when we have four lines going, it can help a lot. That first line of (Nathan Smith, Nolan Foote and Brian Pinho) did such a good job on that road trip and kind of put the team on its back there, so I think that can kind of help them out a little bit when they get more scoring from other guys. We have so many good players here that it’s just a credit to not only the other guys but the coaching staff.
