Two goals in the first three minutes of the first period only foreshadowed what was to come in the last of eight meetings between the West Division rivals this season. After the Checkers fought back to make it 3-2 at one point in a deceptively competitive middle portion of the game, the Rampage turned the final score into a decisive rout with five strikes in the final frame.
The nine goals allowed by Charlotte marked the most in the team’s five AHL seasons. Their third also tied a franchise record for goals allowed in a single period set on five previous occasions.
Brendan Woods provided the bulk of the Checkers’ offense with the first two power-play goals of his professional career, giving him three goals in his last two games. Brock McGinn procured the other on a tally originally credited to defenseman Mike Cornell, while Trevor Carrick picked up two assists to set a club record for points by a rookie defenseman (23).
Starting goaltender John Muse set a record for the shortest outing by a goaltender in team history as he exited the game after allowing two goals on three shots in 2:57. Though he had a much larger sample size with which to work, Drew MacIntyre did not fare much better by allowing seven goals on 32 Rampage attempts.
Heading into the third period with a manageable 4-2 deficit, Brett Olson, who had earlier hit the post on a first-period breakaway, gave San Antonio what was then its largest lead of the game with blast from the right faceoff circle after just over two minutes. That seemed to take away whatever momentum remained in Charlotte’s sails, as Shane O’Brien made it 5-2 two minutes later and Andrew Yogan added a sixth with his second goal of the game just 38 seconds after that.
Woods then grabbed one back for the Checkers to record his second multi-goal game of the season and of his pro career, but former Checker Matt Corrente and Olson struck on power plays late in the game to seal the final score.
Olson’s second goal came during a major penalty to Ben Holmstrom, one of several infractions handed out during a five-on-five melee that erupted late in the game. Holmstrom, one of two alternate captains on a team that has not seen any player wear the “C” since Michal Jordan’s recall to the NHL, earned 17 total penalty minutes on the play (slashing, the major penalty for high sticking and a game misconduct).
The first leg of their season-long, six-game road swing now concluded, the Checkers will return home for roughly 48 hours before heading out two play two games against the Iowa Wild, the only team currently trailing them in the Western Conference standings.