Photo: Tori Hartman
Cory Conacher and Aleksi Heponiemi scored second-period goals to lead Charlotte to a season-saving 2-1 win at Hershey on Wednesday night.
The Bears still lead the best-of-five series, two games to one, and will host Game 4 on Thursday.
With the Checkers down a goal, Conacher and Heponiemi scored 4:29 apart to give Charlotte its first lead of the series.
Mack Guzda (2-2) made the lead stand up with nine saves in the third period, finishing with 21 stops for the night. The Checkers also killed off three Bears power plays in the final frame.
Sam Anas scored the only goal for Hershey, which fell to 1-5 all-time in home playoff games against Charlotte.
Atlantic Division Semifinals (best-of-5)
A2-Hershey Bears vs. A3-Charlotte Checkers
Game 1 – Fri., Apr. 28 – Hershey 5, CHARLOTTE 2 | Recap
Game 2 – Sat., Apr. 29 – Hershey 5, CHARLOTTE 1 | Recap
Game 3 – Wed., May 3 – Charlotte 2, HERSHEY 1
Game 4 – Thu., May 4 – Charlotte at Hershey, 7:00
*Game 5 – Sun., May 7 – Charlotte at Hershey, 5:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern
