Andrew Poturalski was the only Checker to produce any offense in regulation, picking up his 51st point of the year, while Tom McCollum stood tall for the remainder of the contest. Playing as a visitor at Van Andel Arena for the first time in his career, the netminder stopped 42 of 43 shots over 65 minutes of play.
Charlotte got on the board first courtesy of the team’s leading scorer, Poturalski, who showed off his patience by carrying the puck all the way around the back of the net before curling around in front and wiring one in. That would stand as the only goal in the opening frame, but the Griffins answered back in the second, with Matthew Ford capitalizing on a strange bounce off the end boards to tie the game. From that point on, despite strong pushes from both sides, the goalies took center stage, turning aside everything they saw in the third period to force the game to overtime. The Checkers dominated possession in the extra frame but couldn’t come through with the winner and the game would proceed to a shootout.
Each of the first two shooters from both sides lit the lamp, then each goalie turned aside their third attempts to push the shootout to sudden death. After Phil Di Giuseppe was denied on a quick backhand move, Filip Hronek dangled his way around McCollum and found the back of the net, securing the win for the home squad.
