As has been the trend lately, the game kicked off with a wild first period. The Moose enjoyed an early lead thanks to a quick deflection in front less than three minutes in, but the Checkers promptly responded and never looked back.
Lucas Wallmark hammered home a gift-wrapped rebound out front two minutes later to get the Checkers on the board, then Connor Brickley put the visitors on top with a deflection tally of his own less than a minutes after that. Andrew Miller and Patrice Cormier each continued the run of tip-in goals going later in the frame to put the score at 3-2 after a busy first 20 minutes.
Things tightened up in the middle period, with the Moose outshooting the Checkers 15-5, but it was the visitors who would strike first to extend their lead. While shorthanded, Brendan Woods applied pressure on the forecheck and dug the puck out of the Manitoba corner, feeding a streaking Danny Kristo who sniped a laser into the top corner. The Moose would pull back within one late in the second, again on a redirection, but this time off a Charlotte defender’s leg. Manitoba would continue to chase that equalizer, but Daniel Altshuller stood tall between the pipes and kept them at bay, riding out the rest of regulation and handing the Checkers a road win.
