After nearly 99 minutes of play, the two sides remained deadlocked at four and were barreling toward another period of overtime. But following a mad scramble in front of the Lehigh Valley net, the puck snuck out into the high slot where a pinching Carlsson waited to crush a one-timer through the mass of bodies and into the back of the net - ending the contest and staving off elimination for his club.
The netminders were front and center as the game dragged on, with Mack Guzda finishing the night at 38 saves - including 17 in the extra frames alone.
The path to that thrilling finish was a back-and-forth affair. The tallies came in pairs - the Checkers surged to a two-goal lead in the first six minutes of play, then the Phantoms chipped into that advantage with a late goal in the first and the tying tally to start the third.
Things escalated quickly at that point. Cory Conacher and Connor Bunnaman both found the back of the net inside of a three-minute stretch to reinstate the home-team lead, only for Lehigh Valley to punch back with a quick pair of their own 96 seconds apart - paving the way to extra hockey.
The best-of-three Atlantic Division First Round now sits tied at one game apiece, setting up a winner-take-all Game 3 tomorrow night.
ON TO GAME 3 pic.twitter.com/KdEUg34TyD
— Charlotte Checkers (@CheckersHockey) April 21, 2023
QUOTES
Coach Geordie Kinnear on the gameI’m proud of the guys. What I was happy with is that we saw more of how we play. I thought in the first game I saw bits and pieces of it but not truly how we want to play. It was good to see the guys rewarded for playing our game.
Kinnear on the swings in momentum during regulation time
A playoff game. It’s momentum, it’s the way it works. It’s a huge thing that you have to learn to be able to handle. Just have simple micro-goals like win your next shift and put the other one to bed. It’s a learning curve for everybody. It’s two good hockey teams that played a hell of a hockey game. Obviously it’s a shorter series so it comes down to tomorrow, which is what you want.
Kinnear on Mack Guzda bouncing back from Game 1
Focus on that next one, and that’s what he did. I’m proud of him, proud of the group and proud of the dig in. I just thought it was a really good hockey game by both teams and it comes down to tomorrow.
Kinnear on playing a long overtime game
It’s a lot of mental toughness. You play throughout the year and you talk about it, and then it comes to fruition today. You’ve got to make sure that you’re dialed in and mentally tough throughout. If you do those micro goals and next shift, you’re able to do that. If you go big picture, it’s harder to do.
Lucas Carlsson on how he feels
Tired, that’s for sure, but it was fun. It was the first time for me in double OT, so it was fun, but I’m tired.
Carlsson on the winning goal
Pretty much the same as my last goal (in Game 1). I was just trying to find an open spot and the puck came there. I was just trying to score.
Carlsson on playing a long overtime game
You’ve got to simplify your game. I think that’s the biggest part. I think we did, and I think we dominated OT, so I think the boys did a great job.
Carlsson on Mack Guzda
He was unreal today. He kept us in there in the third where we kind of lost our game a little bit. He stepped up, and it was fun to see.
Carlsson on momentum for Game 3 tomorrow
This was huge. It was a do-or-die game today, so I think we are filled with confidence for tomorrow. Let’s do it again.
