Hershey took it 3-2 in regulation, and the margin was built in the first period, when the Bears scored twice and never trailed. Charlotte got within one twice in the third but ran out of runway.
The Bears went up at 11 minutes and doubled it at 20 for a 2-0 lead, then the second period came and went without a goal from either side. Charlotte finally broke through at 49 to make it 2-1, but Hershey answered two minutes later at 51 for 3-1 — the turning point — before the Checkers' goal at 56 closed it to 3-2.
The number that mattered: four of the five goals came in the third period or the final seconds of the first, and Hershey's immediate response at 51 was the difference. Charlotte's 0-for stretch across 48 scoreless minutes to open the game was too much to erase in the final 11.