The Charlotte Checkers answered a comeback by the Hartford Wolf Pack Saturday night, winning 4-2 at Bojangles Coliseum to sweep the weekend series.
Charlotte led 2-0 less than seven minutes in, and Hartford tied it early in the second period on two power-play goals, scored while a Checkers player sat out a penalty. Forward Jack Devine put Charlotte ahead for good at 10:44 of the second, and goalie Cooper Black made 33 saves, a season high for him.
The Checkers, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Florida Panthers, have won three straight, their longest streak of the season. Hartford has lost five in a row.
Devine scored by intercepting a Hartford clearing attempt and shooting over goalie Gabriel Carriere's shoulder. Forward Angus Crookshank added a power-play goal at 8:13 of the third, lifting in the rebound of forward Cole Schwindt's shot for his first goal as a Checker.
Center Brett Chorske, playing his first game of the season after an injury, scored on a rebound 1:07 in, and defenseman Tobias Bjornfot made it 2-0 at 6:37 with a shot from near the blue line, through a crowd of players.
Hartford's Jaroslav Chmelař scored at 8:45 of the first period, and rookie forward Liam Greentree tied it 3:48 into the second. They were the first power-play goals Charlotte had allowed this season; opponents had gone 0 for 18 before Saturday.
Black and Kirill Gerasimyuk, who won in goal Friday, are "two guys back there that we can rely on," Crookshank said after the game, and that lets the team "play a little more free."
Charlotte plays the Springfield Thunderbirds at Bojangles Coliseum at 7 p.m. Friday and 6 p.m. Saturday.
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