CHARLOTTE, N.C.—The Charlotte Checkers scored a pair of unanswered, second-period goals to battle back from a 1-0 deficit and beat the Adirondack Phantoms, 2-1, on Wednesday.
With the win, Charlotte improves to 7-1-2 over its last 10 games.
Justin Pogge made 23 saves and the Checkers had goals from Bobby Sanguinetti and Drayson Bowman. Andrew Rowe scored the lone tally for the Phantoms while Adirondack goaltender Nic Riopel stopped 24 of 26 shots in his first game since being recalled from Greenville.
Adirondack outshot Charlotte, 11-3, in the first period, after getting four consecutive power-play opportunities. The Checkers stood their ground, however, and killed a 5-on-3 penalty for the final 1:39 of the period to keep the score knotted at 0-0.
Rowe opened the scoring for Adirondack, 9:23 into the second period. Pogge thought he had Cullen Eddy’s initial shot stopped but the puck trickled though his pads and Rowe chipped it into the back of the net.
Charlotte answered back, just 1:30 later, when Bobby Sanguinetti scored his first goal of the season. Sanguinetti blasted a loose puck that hit a body in front and directed passed Riopel.
Drayson Bowman broke the 1-1 tie at 14:59 when he buried a backhanded pass from Zach Boychuk. Boychuk stole the puck from the defenseman behind the net, spun around and fed a driving Bowman, who ripped the puck past Riopel.
The Checkers outshot the Phantoms 13-5 in the second period.
Adirondack had a shorthanded 3-on-1 midway through the third period, but the Zach Boychuk made a great backchecking play to lift the stick of a Phantoms forward and negate the scoring chance.
Charlotte kept the pressure on throughout the third period. Pogge made a few key saves and the Checkers held on for a 2-1 victory.
The Checkers (9-7-3) are back in action on Friday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. when they take on Adirondack for the second half of the two-game series. Holiday packs are on sale now and include four games, a merchandise certificate and a puck for just $35. For more information, call 704-342-4423 or email tickets@gocheckers.com.
CLICK HERE for the official gamesheet from TheAHL.com.
