Facing each other in the Queen City for the first time since they were eliminated by them in the playoffs, the Checkers took down the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in a tight 2-1 contest.
The Phantoms broke the ice late in a deadlocked opening frame with a shorthanded breakaway conversion, but the red-hot Nick Schilkey evened the score in the period’s final minute with a one-timer from the slot. The Checkers pushed back hard in the middle frame, more than doubling up the Phantoms in shots, and a quick wrister from Haydn Fleury found its way through traffic to beat Phantoms netminder Alex Lyon and secure the home side their first lead of the night.
Fleury’s snipe would prove to be the decisive tally, as the goalies tightened up their already stellar performances down the road. Alex Nedeljkovic came away with 25 saves on the night, including 12 in the third period alone, to best Lyon and extend his league lead in wins.
