Hartford set the tone with the opening goal just 14 seconds in, and after Aidan McDonough put the visitors on the board minutes later the Wolf Pack snatched back their lead before the first buzzer sounded.
The second period saw the Checkers tilt the ice in their direction - outshooting their opponent 20-11 - but the Wolf Pack were the only side able to convert in the frame and carried a 3-1 advantage into the third.
The Checkers came alive in the final frame, however. Ryan McAllister hammered in a one-timer on the man advantage, Justin Sourdif pulled off a slick individual effort shortly after, then Kyle Criscuolo fired in a shot from the slot to cap off three straight tallies before the midway point of the third - a blitz that earned Charlotte its first lead of the game.
That lead ended up being short lived, as Alex Belzile capped off his hat trick with a power-play strike less than a minute after Criscuolo’s - evening the score again and setting the game on course for overtime.
Neither side could end it in the extra frame, so the contest would be decided in a shootout. Belzile opened things up with a conversion, while Hartford’s next two shooters would be denied by Chris Driedger. Unfortunately for the visitors, luck wasn’t on their side for the shootout - McAllister and John Leonard both beat Hartford netminder Louis Domingue but saw their attempts ring off the post, then Criscuolo couldn’t get his shot off in round three, sealing Charlotte’s fate.
