Jake Bean, Mark Cooper and Max McCormick scored for the Checkers, who came up empty despite taking the lead just 3:32 into the contest and out-shooting the Phantoms 32-20 for the evening.
After Bean put the Checkers ahead early, the Phantoms rallied back with three consecutive goals, the third of which was a complete accident. With the Checkers in possession of the puck on a delayed penalty, they sent a pass from the neutral zone back into their own end that eluded all remaining Checkers skaters and went straight into the net recently vacated by Checkers debutante Mike Condon.
Maksim Sushko, the last Phantom to touch the puck prior to that sequence, received credit for the own goal.
Despite the bizarre setback, Charlotte got back into the game through recent tryout signing Cooper, who made it 3-2 on a deflection just 1:48 into the third period. However, after the Checkers’ potent power play received a golden opportunity to tie the game with five minutes remaining in regulation, the Phantoms instead scored on a shorthanded two-on-one break.
That goal would prove to be the winner after McCormick got one back on a deflection on the same power play. The Phantoms added an empty-net goal to seal the victory.
