Despite tying a franchise record by allowing just 17 shots, Charlotte dropped the first of back-to-back games in San Antonio by a 2-1 score in overtime on Friday. Returning from injury to play his first game since Oct. 12, Justin Shugg scored to tie the game in the third period as the Checkers mustered just a single goal for the sixth time in 12 games this season. Drew MacIntyre made 15 saves in the losing effort.
With the loss, the Checkers (4-7-1) missed a chance to win consecutive games for the first time this season. They are now 1-1 in overtime games, having just missed a chance to test out the AHL’s new three-on-three format for the second time.
Ellis, who is playing for the Rampage under a one-way contract for the Florida Panthers, played 18 games for Charlotte during the 2012-13 season before joining the parent Carolina Hurricanes at the end of that campaign’s NHL lockout. Another notable save among his in a game with relatively few scoring chances both ways came in the second period, when he denied Shugg on a cross-ice, one-time feed from Brock McGinn.
Ellis finished the game with 30 saves.
Most of the game was played with San Antonio leading 1-0 thanks to a freak goal scored in the first period. MacIntyre, who became the fastest Checkers goalie to make 10 starts in any given season (12 games), left the puck behind his net for one of his defensemen to pick up, only to see Rampage forward Andrew Yogan swoop in to put the puck into an empty-net on the wraparound.
After a pair of listless power plays, the Checkers finally tied the game on their third opportunity 6:48 into the third period when Shugg one-timed a cross-ice feed from Michal Jordan into the empty net to Ellis’ left. McGinn, who fired a career and game-high eight shots on goal, had set up the power play by drawing his third penalty of the evening.
Charlotte, which entered the game ranked 29th in the AHL with an average of 2.00 goals per game, will play the second of eight matchups against the Rampage at 8 p.m. EST on Saturday.