Late Goal Haunts Checkers in 2-1 Loss to Phantoms
December 28, 2024 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Charlotte Checkers News Release
The Checkers and Phantoms locked into a tight battle for their first matchup of the season, but a late shorthanded strike from Lehigh Valley proved to be the difference in a 2-1 road loss for Charlotte.
It was a special teams-heavy tilt, as the two sides traded power-play opportunities across regulation, but neither team could fully take advantage. The Checkers opened the scoring on an early power play in the first when Tobias Bjornfot sniped in a shot from the top of the circles, but the Phantoms would respond early in the second with a power-play tally of their own.
Those would be the only two marks on the scoreboard until the final four minutes of regulation, when the Checkers took the ice on a man advantage looking to catapult ahead. The Phantoms flipped the script, though, and a turnover at the offensive blue line for Charlotte ended up springing Brendan Furry on a breakaway - which he capitalized on to push the home team ahead and eventually hand Charlotte a heartbreaking defeat.
NOTES
The Checkers have dropped two straight contests ... The Checkers have scored one goal in each of their last two games ... The two teams combined for 13 power-play opportunities tonight, with the Checkers converting once on seven tries and the Phantoms converting once on six tries ... Chris Driedger has allowed six total goals over his last three starts ... The Checkers have started each of their last three road trips with a loss ... Will Lockwood, Riley Bezeau, MacKenzie Entwistle, Zac Dalpe, Ryan McAllister, Aidan McDonough, Riese Gaber, Mike Benning, Mitch Vande Sompel and Keith Kinkaid were the extras for Charlotte
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