Nicolas Roy and Andrew Poturalski each scored for the second consecutive game and Aleksi Saarela added another as Charlotte twice fought back to within one goal after allowing three in the game’s first 14:25. Jeremy Smith took the loss against former Checkers netminder Michael Leighton as the Checkers were out-shot 35-24 for the evening.
Playing for the second consecutive night with travel involved while Syracuse enjoyed a week off, Charlotte fell victim to the Crunch’s early onslaught that included a pair of power-play goals in the first period.
Roy gave his team some hope via a man-advantage tally of his own scored with just 13 seconds left in that otherwise troublesome first frame. Poturalski would keep that momentum going in the second, but the eventual game-winner came off the stick of Michael Bournival despite Saarela’s strike that got the Checkers to within one for the majority of the third period.
Amid a relatively calm third, Charlotte had its best opportunity to tie the game via a power play with five minutes remaining but could not generate sustained pressure. Minutes later, Syracuse forward Erik Condra, who was just named team captain earlier in the day, deposited his second of a game on an odd-man rush before Smith could vacate his net for the extra attacker.
