The game kicked off with a wild first period. After the Penguins broke the ice just 16 seconds into play, Patrick Giles quickly evened the score with a shorthanded strike, only for the visitors to find the back of the net another two minutes after that. The back-and-forth wasn’t done, though, as Will Lockwood floated a long-distance shot past the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goalie to deadlock the score at two before the eight-minute mark.
Things settled from there, and the two sides jockeyed for the upper hand. It wasn’t until midway through the third that the stalemate would be broken, as the Penguins chipped a puck into the Charlotte zone and were able to poke it free from Ken Appleby as he came out to play it - sending the puck into the back of the net and giving the visitors the lead once again.
The Checkers couldn’t draw up a response across the back half of the period, however, and time eventually ran out on a tough defeat.
QUOTES
Coach Geordie Kinnear on the gameA gutsy effort. If you look at what the group’s done, it was super tough travel and a super tough road trip, then we come back and get right after it again. We played very well yesterday. We made mistakes today, lost a little bit of structure in the first, chased it a little bit and they scored a quick goal, but the guys showed me a lot of mental toughness with finding a way to get two goals. Stuck with it, a mental error at the end cost us, but I’m not going to criticize the group. They emptied the tank today and gave me all they had. I think I counted seven first-year players in the American Hockey League in that lineup, so there’s a lot of good building blocks for that group.
Kinnear on a tight battle with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the standings
They’re obviously a good team but we’re always focused on ourselves. We need to get some rest and energy. It’s critical. They’re emptying the tank every single game, so the break is coming at a good time. Enjoy it. You make a lot of sacrifices along the way as a player with getting away from family and travel, so now you take the opportunity to spend some time there. Meanwhile we’re staying focused on taking care of your body so we can get back after it when we get back.
Kinnear on Justin Sourdif missing the game due to injury
Day-to-day. Obviously a big piece, but give the guys credit that came into the lineup and gave us some good minutes. They got better today.
