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Joakim Andersson scored the tie-breaking goal with 8 minutes, 32 seconds left in the third period Thursday night to help the Grand Rapids Griffins to a 5-3 American Hockey League victory against host Charlotte, handing the Checkers a loss after a franchise-record six straight wins.
The Checkers pulled goalie Justin Peters during the final minute in an attempt to get the tying goal. The ploy resulted in an empty-net goal by Francis Pare to seal the outcome.
Defenseman Michal Jordan twice had staked Charlotte to one-goal leads, only to have the Griffins respond. Jordan had nine goals over 182 pro games coming in.
Andersson finished with one goal and two assists on the night for Grand Rapids. Landon Ferraro added a goal and an assist.
In addition to Jordan’s two goals, the Checkers got two assists each from Brett Sutter and Riley Nash.
• Earlier in the day, the AHL announced Jordan and Peters had been selected to participate in the All-Star Classic in Providence, R.I., on Jan. 27-28. The two will represent the Western Conference along with coach Jeff Daniels, who was selected Jan. 9.
• The Carolina Hurricanes assigned forwards Andreas Nodl and Sutter to the Checkers.
| Grand Rapids | 1 | 1 | 3 | – | 5 |
| Charlotte | 2 | 0 | 1 | – | 3 |
First Period–1, Charlotte, Jordan 2 (Sutter, Nash), 6:56 (sh). 2, Grand Rapids, Hoggan 6 (Andersson, Evans), 10:18. 3, Charlotte, Jordan 3 (Nash, Terry), 11:24. Penalties–Jenks, C (boarding), 5:37; Callahan, GR (fighting major), 14:02; Bellemore, C (fighting major), 14:02; Nyquist, GR (roughing), 14:31.
Second Period–4, Grand Rapids, Ferraro 15 (Andersson, Evans), 11:10. Penalties–Schmitz, C (high-sticking), 3:51; Pither, C (tripping), 11:32; Beca, C (interference), 17:27.
Third Period–5, Grand Rapids, Nyquist 14, 2:47. 6, Charlotte, Shugg 3 (Sutter, Pither), 4:28. 7, Grand Rapids, Andersson 9 (Ferraro, Nyquist), 11:28. 8, Grand Rapids, Pare 12 (Tatar), 19:42 (en). Penalties–Jenks, C (hooking), 6:23; Evans, GR (interference), 11:39.
Shots on goal–Grand Rapids 10-18-13–41. Charlotte 5-3-9–17. Goalies–Grand Rapids, McCollum 9-6-1 (17 shots-14 saves). Charlotte, Peters 15-7-1 (40-36). Att.–6,089 (at Charlotte).
