CHARLOTTE, NC – The Checkers got revenge against a divisional foe Wednesday 
night, upending the Lehigh Valley Phantoms by a 4-2 score.
Wednesday opening stanza didn’t much resemble the fireworks from last night, as a power-play tally from Patrick Brown stood as the only mark in the period. The Checkers wasted no time adding to that advantage in the middle frame, with Valentin Zykov lifting a loose puck out in front for another man-advantage strike early on, followed quickly by a bar-down snipe from Andrew Poturalski.
Brown closed out the period with his second of the night, scooping home a cross-ice feed from Aleksi Saarela to give Charlotte a 4-0 lead. The Phantoms’ high-flying attack wouldn’t roll over, however, as a late power-play goal in the second and an early mark in the third suddenly cut the Charlotte lead in half.
The Phantoms, who fired 28 of their 37 shots in the second two frames, pushed hard down the stretch, but the Checkers stood strong. Jeremy Smith shook off those two blemishes to finish the night with 35 saves, and an empty netter from Andrew Miller sealed the netminder’s fifth win of the season and sent the Phantoms packing.
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