The Checkers’ first visit to Iowa this season was a positive one, with Charlotte weathering a hectic middle frame and doubling up the Wild 6-3.
Brian Pinho and Sam Lafferty chipped in during the opening frame to give Charlotte a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes, then the second period provided even more fireworks. Each team lit the lamp twice during the middle period, with Iowa bookending the frame with goals and Charlotte adding back-to-back strikes from Donovan Sebrango and Brett Chorske in between to cling to their lead.
The ice fully shifted the visitors’ way in the third. Johnny Beecher extended the one-goal lead by hammering a cross-ice feed into the back of the net in the first part of the period, then Jack Devine sealed the deal with a long-distance empty netter.
The home side couldn’t get any traction offensively after that second-period outburst. The Checkers smothered the Wild down the stretch - outshooting them 13-6 in the third - and Kirill Gerasimyuk stood strong between the pipes, making 14 saves and picking up his fourth win of the season.
NOTES
This was the first meeting between Charlotte and Iowa this season … Gerasimyuk made his second straight start and fourth in the last five games … The Checkers have scored six goals in two of their last three games … Tonight was Sebrango’s first multi-point game of the season … Tonight was Beecher’s first multi-point game of the season … Gracyn Sawchyn has recorded multiple points in two of the last three games … Chorske has picked up a point in four of the six games he has played this season … Devine’s third-period empty netter moved him into a tie for fourth in the AHL in goals this season … Kai Schwindt, Nate Bastian, Karsen Dorwart, MacKenzie Entwistle, Samu Salminen, Mitch Vande Sompel, Mikulas Hovorka and Tobias Bjornfot were the scratches for Charlotte
