Ryan opened the scoring when he received a pass from Bruce Graham in the left circle and beat Checkers goalie Justin Peters with a short-side wrist shot at 5:21 of the 1st period. Chad Costello also assisted on the goal.

Trevor Cann turned away all 14 shots he faced in the first period to preserve the Monsters 1-0 lead into the middle frame.

The Monsters held their 1-0 lead until the 9:48 mark of the second when Justin Shugg picked up a loose puck in front of the Monsters net and beat Cann to tie the game at 1-1.

Justin Soryal gave Charlotte a 2-1 lead at 16:56 of the third period, which proved to be the game-winning tally. Less than two minutes later, Shugg notched an empty-netter, his second goal of the game, to secure the 3-1 victory for Charlotte.

Trevor Cann turned away 28 of the 30 shots he faced in the loss.

Next up for the Monsters: the season opener and home opener, on Friday night at Quicken Loans Arena. The Monsters will host the Abbotsford Heat Friday and Saturday nights.