Checkers Take Opener
Eklind Extends Goal Streak to Four
March 6, 2026
Lehigh Valley, PA – Oscar Eklind extended his goal streak to a career-best four games, but Charlotte used a three-unanswered goal surge across the second and third periods to skate away with a 5–3 victory on Friday night at PPL Center.
Cooper Marody (8th), Eklind (6th) and Jacob Gaucher (12th) tallied for Lehigh Valley while the Phantoms outshot Charlotte 36–21, but the visitors converted key chances and prevented a late comeback push.
“I thought we were completely in control of the game,” head coach John Snowden said. “But we turned pucks over in dangerous areas and against a team like that, they thrive on mistakes. Tonight we essentially beat ourselves because they capitalized on every one.”
Newly acquired forward Boris Katchouk made his Phantoms debut and quickly began adjusting to the team’s style.
“Getting traded is part of hockey, but I was excited to come here and jump right into it,” Katchouk said. “We controlled a lot of the game tonight, but the turnovers cost us. If we clean those up, we’ll be in a good spot moving forward.”
Charlotte (32-18-5) opened the scoring midway through the first period when Nolan Foote chipped a shot over Aleksei Kolosov after a quick passing play set him up in front at 10:22.
Lehigh Valley (24-25-5) responded early in the second period with a strong power-play sequence. Max Guenette blasted a shot from the blue line that slipped behind Charlotte netminder Kirill Gerasimyuk but remained loose in the crease. Jacob Gaucher got the first stick on it before Cooper Marody dove behind the netminder and tapped the puck across the line at 3:24 to tie the game at 1–1.
Charlotte regained the lead less than five minutes later when Luke Kunin sprung Noah Gregor behind the defense with a long stretch pass. Gregor raced in alone and beat Kolosov to make it 2–1.
The Checkers added another late in the period as Foote chased down a puck behind the Phantoms’ net and fed Nate Smith in the slot. Smith buried the chance with under a minute remaining to send Charlotte to the second intermission ahead 3–1.
Early in the third period, Brett Chorske capitalized on a turnover in the Lehigh Valley zone and pushed the Charlotte lead to 4–1.
The Phantoms answered midway through the period when Oliver Bonk found Oscar Eklind streaking to the back door. The Swedish forward buried the feed to extend his goal streak to four games and trim the deficit to 4–2.
Charlotte answered at 18:27 with an empty-net goal from Mikulas Hovorka to restore the three-goal cushion.
Lehigh Valley kept pushing until the final horn and found the net in the closing seconds. On a power play, Gaucher slipped a loose puck past Gerasimyuk with 0.3 seconds remaining, a goal confirmed after review to produce the final 5–3 score.
The Phantoms will have a quick opportunity for redemption as they face Charlotte again Saturday night at PPL Center.
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