Faced with a do-or-die Game 3, the Checkers rose to the occasion, steamrolling the Phantoms 6-0 to advance to the second round of the Calder Cup Playoffs.
After a tight first period, the Checkers mounted a stunning surge in the middle frame and quickly buried the Phantoms. All in all, the home team racked up five straight tallies across that 20-minute stretch, starting with a Patrick Giles snipe from the bottom of the circle.
After that broke the ice, the Checkers incrementally added to their lead – Riley Nash, Dominic Franco and Henry Bowlby each chipped in loose pucks from out front, then Cam Morrison picked a corner on a late man advantage to cap off the five-goal avalanche in the period. Connor Bunnaman would then make it an even six with the lone tally in the third, wrapping things up with a shorthanded tally for good measure.
While the offense was throttling Lehigh Valley, J-F Berube was putting on a clinic between the pipes. The visitors pumped 31 shots at the Charlotte netminder across the 60 minutes, and the veteran turned each one aside – claiming his second career Calder Cup Playoff shutout and sending the Phantoms packing.
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