The Checkers ran into the Atlantic Division leaders Wednesday night and came out on the wrong side of a 4-1 final.
Things started strong for Charlotte, as Justin Sourdif broke the ice by redirecting a Dennis Cesana point shot into the back of the net less than three minutes in.
Charlotte’s lead would be short-lived, unfortunately, as a power-play conversion by Hershey minutes later evened the score. The Bears would continue to turn the tide in the middle frame, with a shorthanded passing play ending up in the back of the net to give the visitors the lead midway through the period and another tally minutes later strengthening Hershey’s grip on the game.
The Checkers couldn’t find a way past Hershey netminder Clay Stevenson, who finished the night with 28 saves on 29 Charlotte shots, and late in the third a fluky bounce off the glass behind Spencer Knight that ended up in the net served as the final nail in the visitors 4-1 coffin.
NOTES
The Checkers are 1-3-0-0 against the Bears this season … Tonight snapped a two-game winning streak for the Checkers … This was the second time the Checkers have been held to a single goal since the start of December … Uvis Balinskis now has eight points in eight games with the Checkers … Dennis Cesana’s assist was his first point of the season … Tonight snapped a two-game streak of scoring a power-play goal for Charlotte and a two-game streak of going perfect on the penalty kill … The Checkers have allowed at least four goals in three of their last five games … Ryan McAllister, Alexander True, Jake Wise, Cam Morrison, Will Reilly, Santtu Kinnunen, Calle Sjalin and Mack Guzda were the scratches for Charlotte
