The Checkers had a rough ending to their road trip as they fell by a 6-1 score to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Saturday.

Artem Anisimov had four points for the Phantoms, who won three of four meetings between these two teams in December. Riley Nash scored the lone goal for Charlotte, which returns home having dropped all three games of this week’s road swing.

Penalties were the story of this contest, with the Phantoms scoring three times on seven opportunities through the first two periods. Two of those came in the final five minutes of the first, with Anisimov and Tyson Foerster scoring man-advantage goals on either side of an even-strength tally by Kieffer Bellows.

Things did not improve in the second period, with the Phantoms missing out on two additional power-play opportunities in the first four minutes, only to score once at even strength and then add their third power-play goal near the end of the frame.

Anisimov added his second goal of the game on a 2-on-0 break in the third to make it 6-0, with Nash avoiding the shutout with a power-play goal of his own shortly thereafter.

The result gives the Checkers, who lost to the Phantoms and Hershey earlier in the week, their first three-game regulation losing streak since Feb. 25-27 of last season. They play their next four games at home starting with a back-to-back set against Rochester on Dec. 16 and 17.

NOTES

The Phantoms’ seven power plays, all of which were in the first two periods, were the most by a Checkers opponent in any game this season … The five-goal loss marked the Checkers’ largest margin of defeat this season … The Checkers are now 4-6-2 on the road and 8-3-1 at home … The Checkers gave up three first-period goals for the first time this season. They have given up three in a period four times, three of which have come in their last eight games … The Checkers have given up more than two power-play goals just twice this season – tonight and another game against the Phantoms exactly one week earlier … Checkers goaltender J-F Berube played for the first time since the first game of the season on Oct. 14 … Checkers scratches included forwards Anton Levtchi and Justin Sourdif, and defensemen Robert Calisti, Johnny Ludvig and Calle Sjalin.