SPRINGFIELD – The Springfield Thunderbirds (19-17-3-2) rode a spectacular performance from a recent call-up in net to a 3-1 win over the Charlotte Checkers (20-16-4-0) on Friday night at the MassMutual Center.
Colten Ellis, recently recalled from ECHL Orlando, jumped into the crease for the T-Birds in his first AHL action since Jan. 15, 2022, and the third-year pro did not look out of place. A busy offensive attack by the visiting Checkers got the young goaltender a quick sweat with 15 first-period shots. The 23-year-old Ellis had answers against every opportunity, including a bevy of great Charlotte chances on the game’s first power play.
After surviving the man-down situation, the T-Birds responded with a home run on offense. Calle Rosenspotted a lurking Jakub Vrana with a two-line saucer pass from his own zone. Vrana made an incredible catch of the pass before calmly and defiantly snapping a forehand shot through Spencer Knight’s blocker hand at 9:20, giving Springfield the 1-0 lead, which stood after 20 minutes despite a 15-5 shot disparity in Charlotte’s favor. It was Vrana’s sixth goal in his first 13 games as a T-Bird.
The only shot to elude Ellis came off a quick face-off play just 2:13 into period two. Skyler Brind’Amour cleanly won control back onto the stick of Patrick Giles, who wasted no time in releasing a perfect shot into the top corner over Ellis’ glove, tying the game, 1-1. The goal was the eighth of the year for Giles.
However, Charlotte would be unable to parlay that into any momentum, and just 1:38 later, the T-Birds retook the lead. Rosen again found himself in the middle of things, walking a puck to the middle of the blue line before letting a wrister go toward the crease. Captain Matthew Peca positioned himself right at the top of the blue paint and deflected it past Knight to restore the Springfield lead, 2-1, at 3:51. Peca’s goal, his ninth of the year, broke an eleven-game goalless drought.
From there, Ellis was the star of the festivities, as the two clubs battled tooth-and-nail without any change in score into the waning minutes of the third. Knight was also terrific in the third, helping fend off back-to-back Springfield man advantages. The T-Birds responded in kind with a penalty kill of their own with less than seven minutes remaining, and after Charlotte could not equalize things, Mathias Laferriere finished the night with an empty-net tally in the final minute, his second goal in as many games.
The T-Birds now sit just one point behind the Checkers in the Atlantic Division standings. The clubs rematch in front of a sold-out crowd on Saturday night for M&T Bank Hometown Heroes Night. Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m. and can be seen locally on CoziTV, one of the networks of Western Mass News.
