The Charlotte Checkers split a weekend set at Bojangles Coliseum against the Toronto Marlies.
Charlotte posted its tenth win of the season on Saturday, besting the Marlies by a 5-1 count. Brett Chorske scored two goals and added an assist and Riese Gaber, Gracyn Sawchyn and Sanid Vilmanis also lit the lamp for the Checkers. In addition to his goal, Vilmanis also finished the game with the two assists. Also collecting helpers were Trevor Carrick (2), Brian Pinho, Tobias Bjornfot, Jack Studnicka, Ben Steeves and Marek Alscher. Cooper Black stopped 18 of 19 shots to raise his record to 8-3-1.
On Saturday, Charlotte gave up three first period goals and could not fully recover. Vilmanis and Sawchyn scored to pull the Checkers within one, but former Panther Logan Shaw put Toronto back up by two at 13:48 of the second. Ben Steeves’ power-play goal at 9:34 of the final frame halved the deficit before Reese Johnson clinched it for the visitors with an empty-netter with 26 seconds remaining. Charlotte skaters who were credited with assists were Mike Benning (2), Chorske, Studnicka, Ludvig Jansson and Gaber. Kirill Gerasimyuk took the loss, finishing with 15 saves.
The Checkers are now 10-5-2 and in fifth place in the AHL’s Atlantic Division. They will continue their six-game homestand by welcoming the Rochester Americans for a pair of games this weekend.