In an incredible comeback, the Checkers took the win 7-6 in their season opener on the road against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins powered by Aiden McDonough's hat trick.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- In his Checkers debut, McDonough fueled the game's momentum as he tied the game 3-3 in the second. In a grim start to the third period, the Checkers found themselves down by two until a Penguins interference call ignited the Checker's comeback. Trevor Carrick's power-play goal brought the energy, then Rasmus Asplund quickly tied the game with a shorthanded tally of his own and Aidan McDonough struck 71 seconds later to snag Charlotte's first lead of the game.
- With only five minutes remaining of the third, McDonough scored the first hat-trick the Penguins' have allowed since 2021, allowing the Checkers to take the two-goal lead with the assist from Will Lockwood. The Penguins snuck in a goal in the final minute of the game, but it wasn't enough to stop the Checkers. In a nail-biter of the final minute of play, the Penguins pulled back within one, but it wasn't enough to stop the Checkers, who fended off one last faceoff to take the win.
- The rapid-paced game stayed tight all 60 minutes as the Checkers narrowly took the shots on goal 38-37. The Penguins were given 7 power-play opportunities, only scoring on 1, and allowing the Checkers to score 2 short-handed goals.
NOTES
This was the Checkers’ second season-opening win in the last five seasons … This was the most goals scored by the Checkers in a season-opening game ever … Aidan McDonough’s hat trick was his first as a pro … The Checkers scored two shorthanded goals, something they didn’t do last season … Mikulas Hovorka scored his first North American pro point … Sandis Vilmanis scored his first pro point … Riley Bezeau, Matt Luff, Riley Hughes, Jamie Armstrong, Nicholas Zabaneh, Mitch Vande Sompel, Marek Alscher and Cooper Black were the scratches
