CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Charlotte Checkers were edged by the Florida Everblades, 4-3, in shootout on Thursday evening, snapping a five-game home win streak.
Coming into the game the Checkers held a one-point lead over the Everblades in the ever-competitive South Division.
David Marshall notched two goals for Charlotte while Mike Taylor chipped in with two assists. Munce stopped 30 of 33 shots in a losing effort.
Charlotte out-chanced Florida for the first 20 minutes, including a breakaway by Michel Leveille, but Everblades goaltender Chris Beckford-Tseu made several key saves to keep the game knotted at 0-0.
The Checkers opened the scoring early in the second on a power-play goal by Ethan Graham, his second of the season. Tyler Doig dished the puck back to Graham at the point who fired a slap shot into the top corner for the 1-0 lead.
Charlotte then went ahead by two, just under three minutes later, when Marshall took a pass in the slot from Taylor and beat Beckford-Tseu with a wrist shot on the blocker side.
Florida cut the Checkers’ lead in half at the 13:51 mark of the period on a goal by leading scorer Ross Carlson. Former Checker Mike Bayrack took a shot from the point and Carlson was there to stuff home the rebound past a sprawling Munce.
Charlotte held a one-goal lead and 29-17 shot advantage after two periods of play.
Just a minute into the third, Taylor was sent in alone on the Florida net and made a nifty move however Beckford-Tseu made an impressive glove save to keep it a 2-1 game.
The save seemed to inspire the Everblades as they tied the game a minute later when Milan Gajic converted a Brad Zanon point shot for his seventh of the season.
At the other end of the ice, Munce, making sure not to be outperformed by his counterpart, made what can only be described as a miraculous stop. Carlson took a pass from Gajic and Munce dove across the crease, gloving the puck to keep the game tied at 2-2.
With less than three minutes left, Charlotte took the lead when Marshall buried his second goal of the game with a wrist shot from the slot that beat Beckford-Tseu.
The Checkers seemed headed for victory, however Carlson scored an unassisted goal with 1:29 to play and the teams headed for overtime.
Charlotte went on the attack with several good scoring chances throughout the extra frame but was unable to convert and the Zamboni cleaned a strip of ice in preparation for a shootout.
The shootout needed 16 shooters and Mathieu Roy eventually scored in the eighth round to propel the Everblades to the 4-3 victory.
Charlotte (24-15-6) will host Florida again tomorrow night (7 p.m.). Ticket information can be obtained by calling 704-342-4-ICE or visiting www.gocheckers.com.
