The Charlotte Checkers split a pair of games against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms at Bojangles Coliseum over the weekend.
On Saturday, John Leonard lit the lamp twice and rookie Cooper Black stopped 17 of 18 shots to lead the Checkers to a 4-1 win over the Phantoms. Oliver Okuliar and Will Lockwood scored the other Charlotte goals. Defenseman Jaycob Megna finished with two helpers and Justin Sourdif, Tobias Björnfot, Rasmus Asplund, Matt Kiersted and Wilmer Skoog were also credited with assists. The 23-year-old Black raised his record to 9-3-1 and lowered his GAA to a sparkling 1.62.
Charlotte fell short in Sunday’s rematch with Lehigh Valley recording a 3-2 victory when Anthony Richard notched a power-play goal with 31 seconds left in regulation. Captain Trevor Carrick scored a goal an added an assist and Jesse Puljujärvi notched his second for the Checkers. Skoog, Asplund and C.J. Smith also collected assists. Ken Appleby took the loss, finishing with 23 saves on 26 shots.
The Checkers (31-17-3-3) will begin a six-game road trip against the Rochester Americans on Wednesday.