CINCINNATI, Ohio – The Checkers and Cyclones both arrived on the ice with chippy attitudes at US Bank Arena. The edginess left over from Friday night’s tussle was apparent as both squads sought to gain the advantage in this pivotal contest. 
Charlotte scored the first marker again to take a temporary lead. Aaron Slattengren notched his second tally of the playoffs at 15:46 of the first period. The Cyclones answered at 19:09 of the period on a goal by Hans Benson, his first of the postseason.
Cincinnati opened the middle frame on the hunt for another goal which seemed to elude them as Ryan Munce had another solid performance in net. 
Cyclones’ netminder Jeremy Smith was anxious to provide an equally stellar game between the pipes. This night was a goalie battle as both teams squandered all their power play opportunities.
Cincinnati finally cracked the tie at 17:08 to gain a 2-1 edge on a great shot by Dustin Sproat. Solid play with minimal turnovers allowed the Cyclones to keep the visitors at bay the rest of the period.
The final stanza opened with both teams furiously taking whacks at each other and various other marginally legal hits to set the tone for the remainder of the game. Quality shots were taken on both sides as the time wound down but no further scoring was to be had this night. 
The Cyclones managed to stem the furious Checkers’ onslaught in the final three minutes of play.
Tonight the defenses were admirable in their stinginess as the offenses tried mightily to overcome them.
Game six will be Tuesday night in Charlotte as the series moves back to North Carolina for the final games of the series.
Contact Rob.Huelsman@prohockeynews.com
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