AUGUSTA, GA -- The Charlotte Checkers were cruising early in the second period of their New Year's Eve encounter with the August Lynx. The Checkers were enjoying a two-goal lead and two early-period power-play opportunities when the roof suddenly caved in.

Augusta scored four short-handed goals in the second period and then added an empty-net goal in the final period for a 5-2 victory over Charlotte Sunday night at James Brown Arena in Augusta, Georgia. The Lynx' Louis Goulet scored twice including the game winner to lead Augusta, and goalie David McKee settled down in the final two periods to earn his eleventh victory. Dirk Southern, Mike Erickson and Jamie Johnson also notched single tallies for the Lynx.

Charlotte goals came from Blake Bellefeuille and Jan Vodrazka, with Checkers goalie Chris Holt suffering the loss yielding four goals on 24 Augusta shots. The loss was Charlotte's fourth in its last five games, while the win was Augusta's third in its last four contests.

The Lynx' four short-handed goals in the second period included three goals in a 4 minute, 47 second span, two unassisted goals, and two goals on the same Charlotte power play.

"We had some problems in our own end and couldn't get the puck deep into their end on our power plays," commented Checkers forward Zdenek Bahensky. "I really don't think we played that badly overall. Another problem we had tonight was our shooting accuracy. We didn't hit the target as much as we would have liked."

The Checkers (16-13-1 for 23 points) started fast with two goals in the game's first eight minutes. Bellefeuille scored at 5:51 of the first period off an assist from Dan Murphy for a 1-0 Charlotte advantage. Two minutes later Vodrazka blasted home a Murphy rebound for a 2-0 Charlotte lead. The Checkers controlled the first period while limiting Augusta (15-17-0 for 30 points) to only four shots.

Five minutes into the second period with Charlotte on the power play, Holt went to the corner to play the puck and then cleared it up the boards. Unfortunately for the Checkers, Holt could not clear the puck past a fore checking Goulet. With Holt scrambling to get back in the net, Goulet fired the puck into the open Charlotte goal to cut the Checkers lead to 2-1. Another puck bobble by Holt and some miscommunication with his defense led to Southern's shorty at 13:43 which tied the game at 2-2. Two more Augusta goals in a 51 second span gave the Lynx a 4-2 second-period advantage.

The Lynx tightened up their defense in the third period, keeping Charlotte off the scoreboard and also netting an empty-net insurance goal. Needing two goals to tie the game, Charlotte coach Derek Wilkinson pulled Holt for a sixth attacker with a minute and a half to go in the game. Johnson found the empty net for Augusta with 1:25 left to seal the 5-2 victory.

The Checkers return to action Tuesday at Charlotte Bobcats Arena to host the Columbia Inferno at 7:00 p.m.