Crunch jumped by Checkers

SYRACUSE, N.Y. ­­– The Syracuse Crunch were surpassed by the Charlotte Checkers, 5-1, tonight at the War Memorial Arena.

Charlotte was first on the board and never gave up the lead, dropping Syracuse to 11-9-2-0 on the season and 0-2-0-0 in the four-game season series.

Goaltender Spencer Martin stopped 29-of-34 shots in net for the Crunch. Anton Forsberg earned the win with 17 saves between the pipes for the Checkers. Syracuse went 0-for-3 on the power play, while Charlotte was 2-for-5.

The Checkers open scoring with a power-play goal 8:05 into the game. Martin made the initial save when Julien Gauthier tipped Jake Bean’s shot from the high slot, but Gauthier found his own rebound and knocked it in out of midair. Janne Kuokkanen recorded the secondary assist.

Gauthier potted his second of the game to double Charlotte’s lead two minutes later. He drove towards the net from the left wing and fired an attempt from the goal line that found its way in. Gustav Forsling and Roland McKeown earned the helpers.

The Crunch stole one back with 4:05 remaining in the first period. After Cameron Gaunce’s shot got caught in traffic, Ross Colton snuck the puck past Forsberg and across the goal line. Luke Witkowski tallied a point on the play.

Charlotte went back up by two 9:59 into the middle frame. Bean’s left side shot ricocheted off Colin Markison and into the slot for Hunter Shinkaruk to chip into an open net.

At 18:55, the Checkers made it 4-1. Eetu Luostarinen carried the puck into the zone and dropped it back for Max McCormick to pick up as he came down the right wing. Kyle Wood followed behind the play and sent home a centering feed from McCormick.

Charlotte added a final goal on the power play halfway through the third period. Kuokkanen got a stick on Luostarinen’s shot from the right wing and redirected it in. Bean also made it a multi-point night with a secondary assist.