With two goals and an assist, Grigori Denisenko factored in on all three goals in his first game back from an NHL stint with the Florida Panthers. Justin Sourdif scored the other goal for Charlotte, which has followed up a season-long, five-game losing streak with three straight victories.
The Checkers came from behind on two separate occasions in this contest, with Sourdif first canceling out Cleveland’s first-period opener with a power-play strike midway through the second. Denisenko started the play with a blast that was too much for Cleveland goaltender Jet Greaves to handle, setting up Aleksi Heponiemi to corral the rebound and quickly send it over to Sourdif for the finish and a 1-1 tie.
Though Cleveland would tie it up three minutes later, Denisenko, who was playing his first AHL game since Dec. 10, quickly responded as his blast from the slot found the back of the net on this occasion. Just two minutes after that and with just 56 seconds remaining in the period, Denisenko earned a penalty shot as he was hauled down going towards goal and converted to give the Checkers their first and only lead of the game at 3-2.
The penalty shot goal was the Checkers’ first since Jan. 16, 2019 (Andrew Poturalski). They had missed each of their last five opportunities spread across three seasons.
Cleveland had several good looks to tie the game late, particularly on a power play that lasted the game’s final minute, but Alex Lyon (24 saves) and the Checkers’ penalty kill stood tall against the league’s No. 1 power play to secure the win.
The teams will rematch for a New Year’s Eve matinee game at 12:31 p.m. this Saturday.
We're up 3-2 and he's got 3 points! pic.twitter.com/0brktCCCkg
— Charlotte Checkers (@CheckersHockey) December 30, 2022
