Charlotte Slams Syracuse 5-3 For Fifth Straight Win

Details
The Checkers battled hard and pulled off a big 5-3 win over Syracuse, capping their perfect road trip through the Empire State.

Charlotte’s quick-strike offense came up clutch for the visitors multiple times on Saturday. After Syracuse potted an early one to snag the first lead of the night, the Checkers finished the period with a pair of their own less than two minutes apart - with Logan Hutsko lighting the lamp to keep his hot streak alive and Johnny Ludvig following up with a point blast that snuck its way across the goal line.



SCORE SHEET
The Crunch knotted the game again with the middle frame’s lone tally, but Charlotte’s offense had another quick burst in it. Justin Sourdif followed up his own breakaway chance and chipped the puck in from behind the net to reclaim the lead, then 39 seconds later Connor Bunnaman gave the visitors a cushion by depositing a rebound in close for goal number four.



Syracuse would give a final push down the stretch - answering a long-distance empty-netter from Matt Kiersted with one more tally of its own - but the home team couldn’t close the gap. Facing down a flurry of shots in the third, J-F Berube wouldn’t break, and his 30 saves helped slam the door and earn Charlotte a crucial road victory.

NOTES

The Checkers have now won five games in a row - the second longest active streak in the AHL … Charlotte wrapped up its five-game road trip through New York with a perfect 5-0-0-0 record … Logan Hutsko scored for the second straight game and extended his point streak to five games … Aleksi Heponiemi recorded an assist for the third consecutive game … Lucas Carlsson now has points in back-to-back games … Justin Sourdif has points in three straight games … The Checkers were perfect on the penalty kill tonight, snapping a three-game run of allowing a power-play goal … J-F Berube has wins in each of his last two starts, has earned his team a point in three straight starts and has at least 30 saves in three of his last four starts … The Checkers are 3-1-0-0 this season against the Crunch … Charlotte scored its seventh shorthanded goal of the season tonight … The Checkers are 10-4-1-0 against the North Division this season … Anthony Bitetto, Ethan Keppen and Zac Dalpe were the scratches for Charlotte