The home team found themselves in a hole quickly, with Anthony Mantha ripping a one-timer off a friendly bounce just 24 seconds into the game. The Checkers’ fourth line dug them back out of it, however, with Ethan Werek converting a breakaway at the end of the first and Kyle Hagel hammering one home in front early in the second to put Charlotte on top. But that lead didn’t last long, as the Griffins potted one of their own 18 seconds later to even things heading into the final frame.
The two teams were deadlocked until Jakub Kindl, recently down from the NHL, fired a shot that struck the end boards before ricocheting back and deflecting off a body and in. Grand Rapids quickly followed the strange goal with another to build themselves a two-goal lead down the stretch.
“I just didn’t think we were as sharp as we needed to be and they’ve got a good team,” said head coach Mark Morris. “They jumped all over us when we weren’t ready but that’s just mental preparation. Obviously we did a lot of watching and we need to be better defenders if we’re going to beat a team of that caliber.”
The Checkers were surging in the third looking to tie the game, and it looked like they did at one point. Trailing 3-2, Zach Boychuk carried the puck around the net and wrapped it around and in. But the goal was disallowed, with the referee citing incidental contact with the goalie. The Griffins would score to go up by two shortly after.
“I just watched on video and I’m still questioning why it was called off,” said Morris. “There was no contact by our player on their goaltender. To have that one called off was a shocker.”
But in the end, the game wasn’t decided by one call.
“You can’t get hung up on all that,” said Morris. “I thought that the game was probably decided on the opening shift. I don’t think we came out poised and ready to play, and that’s what happens when you’re chasing.”
While the end result wasn’t what they had hoped for, a bright spot for the Checkers was the play of their fourth line. Hagel, Werek and David Wohlberg factored into all three Charlotte goals and applied pressure on the Griffins all night.
“There’s a ton of character there,” said Morris of his fourth line. “Those are the guys that get you through the hard times and you hope that they can chip in and contribute, but they don’t leave an ounce of energy out of any shift that they’re out there for. They lay it all on the line for their teammates and that’ a tough role to play but they do it well.”
Hagel, who scored his 10th goal tonight in his 308th AHL game, isn’t known for his scoring prowess, but was a big part of the impact his line had on the game and the pressure they took off the high-end scorers.
“Generally the fourth line isn’t always looked to create offense but we can’t just rely on T.J. (Hensick) and Doc (Derek Ryan) to score every single goal every single night,” said Hagel. “When the fourth line can chip in with some offense it helps everybody out and helps share the load. It’s fun when you get to play with great players like that and it just shows the depth of our team.”
The Checkers will again face Grand Rapids, who are the only team in the AHL to record a longer point streak this season, tomorrow night. While tonight’s loss snapped Charlotte’s streak, the key will be bouncing back to the way they have been playing.
“The schedule has been grueling, and I’m proud of the guys for what we’ve been able to do to date,” said Morris. “Today was a little bit of a setback, but we just need to bounce back. You can’t dwell on it. You’re going to get some tough breaks and we got a pile of them in the third.”
“I’m excited to get back at it tomorrow, hopefully get a win and start putting more wins together down the stretch,” said Hagel. “We finished the game well so we’ve got to bring that energy right off the hop tomorrow.”