For the second straight contest it was the Barracuda who jumped ahead early, with the home side opening the scoring just 82 seconds in and then doubling that advantage midway through the first frame.
The Checkers punched back in the early stages of the second, as Ryan McAllister found the back of the net to keep his hot hand alive and put Charlotte on the board, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to spark the visitors.
The Barracuda responded with three unanswered strikes of their own - starting with a shorthanded tally late in the second - to lock in a lopsided advantage in their favor. The Checkers couldn’t solve San Jose netminder Magnus Chorna down the stretch, and the first series between the two clubs in eight years ended in a split.
