CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Trailing 2-1 in the second period, the Charlotte Checkers rallied, and then some, to beat the Rochester Americans in front of a sellout crowd at Truist Field to win the first-ever Queen City Outdoor Classic, 5-2.
The gathering of 11,031 at the home of the Charlotte Knights baseball team marked the largest crowd in the stadium's decade-long history.
But, the Americans were intent on spoiling the big party, taking a 1-0 lead after the first period.
In the second period, Rasmus Asplund tied it up, but Rochester responded so quickly, the stadium's public address announcer was still filling the crowd in on the Checkers goal information. That made it 2-1.
However, Charlotte did all of the scoring from there.
It began with a scoop shot by Uvis Balinskis, knotting the scores at 2-2 after two periods.
Charlotte scored three more times in the third to ensure the rowdy crowd went home happy, getting goals frmo Mackie Samoskevich, Brendan Perlini and Lucas Carlsson.
Contact Nick Carboni at ncarboni@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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