Forward Gracyn Sawchyn scored on a power play three minutes into overtime Sunday, with Iowa a player short for a penalty, and the Charlotte Checkers beat the Iowa Wild 5-4 in Des Moines. The Checkers had trailed by two goals in the third period and tied it with 49 seconds left in regulation, when forward Nate Smith finished a play from forward Robert Mastrosimone and Sawchyn.
The win completed a two-game sweep at Casey's Center, after a 6-3 Checkers win Friday. Charlotte is first in the American Hockey League's Atlantic Division at 8-4 with 16 points, three ahead of the Hartford Wolf Pack, according to the league's standings. The Checkers took six of a possible eight points on a four-game trip through Colorado and Iowa, the club said.
Iowa led 4-2 after two periods. Charlotte outshot the Wild 15-4 in the third, and forward Jack Devine cut the lead to one at 13:27, from forward Angus Crookshank. In overtime, Iowa's Hunter Haight was called for tripping at 2:52, and Sawchyn scored 21 seconds later. Mastrosimone, who had three assists, and defenseman Alex Petrovic assisted on the winner.
Charlotte outshot Iowa 40-20, and Iowa goaltender Riley Mercer made 35 saves, according to the league's official game report.
The Checkers fell behind 2-0 in the first 8:20, the second goal by Dylan Gambrell while Iowa was a player down. Defenseman Mitch Vande Sompel scored at 12:19 of the first. When Iowa's Justin Kirkland scored 34 seconds into the second period to make it 3-1, Charlotte replaced goaltender Kirill Gerasimyuk with Tyler Muszelik, who stopped nine of the 10 shots he faced. Petrovic scored his first goal as a Checker at 9:46 of the second, and Iowa's Bradley Marek restored the two-goal lead at 14:05.
On Friday, forward Brian Pinho scored on the power play and forward Sam Lafferty added a goal for a 2-1 lead after one period. After Kirkland tied it early in the second, defenseman Donovan Sebrango and forward Brett Chorske scored to make it 4-2. Iowa got within a goal late in the second, and forward Johnny Beecher answered at 8:14 of the third before Devine scored into an empty net. Gerasimyuk made 14 saves, and Charlotte outshot Iowa 31-17, according to the league's report.
The Checkers host the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at Bojangles Coliseum at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6, and 6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7.