Checkers Top Phantoms 5-3
Published on March 6, 2026 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Charlotte Checkers News Release
ALLENTOWN, Pa. - Kirill Gerasimyuk recorded a season-high 33 saves in a 5-3 victory for the Charlotte Checkers (32-18-5-0) over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (25-24-2-3) on Friday night at PPL Center.
Nolan Foote scored for the third straight game, giving the Checkers a 1-0 lead 10:22 into the first period. Jack Studnicka and Mike Benning recorded assists on Foote's 14th goal of the season.
Cooper Marody tied the game 3:24 into the second period, capitalizing on a Phantoms power play for Lehigh Valley. Noah Gregor restored Charlotte's lead with his eighth of the season under five minutes later, wristing a shot between the legs of Phantoms goaltender Aleksei Kolosov at 7:52. Luke Kunin sent Gregor in alone on a breakaway over the Lehigh Valley blue line, notching a point in his Checkers debut.
Nate Smith added his 11th goal of 2025-26 in the final minute of the middle stanza, finishing a centering feed from Foote at 19:17. Brett Chorske tallied in the third period, scoring for the first time since January 31st, propelling the visitors to a 4-1 lead with an unassisted strike. Oscar Eklind lit the lamp for the Phantoms at 13:47.
Both teams exchanged goals in the final two minutes as Mikulas Hovorka hit the empty net with 1:33 left in regulation. Kunin registered his second point of the game with the lone apple on Hovorka's fourth goal of the year. Lehigh Valley's Jacob Gaucher scored with 0.3 seconds left in the game, but the Checkers came away with the victory.
Gerasimyuk logged his seventh win of the season in the effort. The Checkers will conclude their ten-game road trip on Saturday night against the Phantoms. Coverage of the game can be found on FloHockey and Mixlr.
NOTES
Charlotte is 5-2-2 on their current ten-game road trip ... Friday's game marked Kunin's first AHL appearance since the 2018-19 season with the Iowa Wild ... Hovorka has passed his previous high of three goals in 2024-25 ... Gerasimyuk's previous season-high in saves was 30, set on November 2 against Providence ... Ludvig Jansson, Mitch Vande Sompel, Liam McLinskey, Eamon Powell, Kai Schwindt, Gracyn Sawchyn, Wilmer Skoog, Riese Gaber, and Louis Domingue were scratched for Charlotte.
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