A power-play tally by the home squad was quickly followed by another Binghamton strike to give the Devils an early advantage after one period, but the Checkers’ mighty offense responded in the second. The league’s leading goal scorer Valentin Zykov stuck with a loose puck out front and knocked it home to cut Binghamton’s lead in half early on in the middle frame, but the home team would take over from there.
The Devils cashed in two more times before the second horn to reestablish their stronghold on the lead, then tacked on a pair right away in the third to put the Checkers on the ropes. Roland McKeown threaded in a wrister to the back of the net midway through the frame but other than that Charlotte’s attack, which hung seven goals on this same Binghamton team in their earlier meeting this month, couldn’t muster up a rally and the Devils skated away with the lopsided victory.
