The Checkers' attack was firing on all cylinders from start to finish. Phil Di Giuseppe got the offense off the ground, feeding Derek Ryan in the first and then netting a goal of his own in the second to give the Checkers a 2-0 cushion. Patrick Brown kept things going with a pair of strikes, including one shorthanded tally, to stretch the Charlotte lead to 4 goals early in the third.
The Admirals found their way onto the score sheet shortly after when a bouncing puck found its way off a Charlotte defender and over the line. They added another goal late in the frame to pull themselves within striking distance, but the Checkers answered with empty-netters from Danny Biega and Brendan Woods to squash any hopes of a Milwaukee comeback. Erik Karlsson put home one more in the waning seconds for good measure, tipping in his first North American goal and sealing the lopsided 7-2 victory for Charlotte.
Brown and Di Giuseppe led the way for the forwards, with the former recording his first career multi-goal game and the latter sitting at a team-leading four points through three games. But it was the Checkers' blue line that really poured it on, as three different defensemen led the team with three-point nights- Biega, Jaccob Slavin and Jake Chelios.
Drew MacIntyre rebounded from a tough last outing, one that saw him pulled, by turning aside 22 of the 24 shots fired at him. The two that got past both came on strange plays with bouncing pucks, but overall the veteran netminder was a rock in the crease. He was called upon to make several big stops against a talented Admirals attack, and was an integral part of the Checkers killing off all four power-play opportunities that Milwaukee had.
Tonight kicked off an 18-day, 8-game road trip that will see the Checkers making their way through the Midwest Division before returning home in early november. They will face the Chicago Wolves tomorrow night in a quest to keep the pristine start alive.
