A third period rally made things interesting, but the Checkers ultimately fell short Sunday afternoon in a 5-3 loss to Lehigh Valley.
Cole Schwindt kept his hot streak going when he opened the scoring early on in regulation, but the tide would turn in the Phantoms’ favor from there. The visitors would even the score minutes later, and then pour in the next three goals to build up a commanding 4-1 advantage early on in the third for Lehigh Valley.
The Checkers showed some fight in the final frame, however. Connor Carrick’s power-play strike sparked the home side and Scott Wilson’s tally just two minutes later pulled Charlotte within one with over 15 minutes remaining. They would continue to push the play, outshooting Lehigh Valley 17-7 in the final frame and seeing several near chances go their way, but the Checkers couldn’t solve netminder Felix Sandstrom down the stretch and time ran out on a 5-3 defeat.
While Antoine Bibeau started the contest and stopped seven of the eight he faced, he exited the game after the first period due to injury and was replaced by Joey Daccord, who made 15 stops after playing in last night’s contest.
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