Charlotte had no shortage of chances throughout the night, ripping off 48 shots across the 60 minutes of play to more than double the output of the home side. Rookie netminder Gilles Senn was up to the task, however, and frustrated the Checkers’ attack. It wasn’t until there was just under six minutes remaining in regulation when the visitors finally broke through, with Oliwer Kaski collapsing in and launching a wrist shot through traffic on the power play to even the score.
The Checkers had been strong in their end as well, with the only marker up until Kaski’s coming via a fluky bouncing puck that careened off the end boards in the first period and ended up in the back of their net. Alex Nedeljkovic shook off that blemish and was dialed in after, while the Checkers stymied Binghamton’s shot production to just 23 on the night.
A golden opportunity appeared for the Checkers down the final stretch, as Binghamton was handed a four-minute penalty just after Kaski’s tying goal. That chance backfired for the visitors, however, as the Devils jumped on a turnover and cashed in a shorthanded goal to regain their lead in the waning minutes of play. The Checkers continued to push for the equalizer with a 6-on-4 advantage late but couldn’t produce anything, stalling out for a tough loss to start the road trip.
