SPRINGFIELD – Led by Mathias Laferriere and Zachary Bolduc’s multipoint performances, the Springfield Thunderbirds stay hot as they rally troops against the Charlotte Checkers 6-1 during their seventh annual Home Town Heroes Event.
Pregame festivities presented an ode of gratitude to the community in front of a sold-out crowd of 6,793 on Saturday night.
Springfield netminder Malcolm Subban finished his night with 29 saves on 30 shots, securing the victory and the weekend series.
“I felt we stuck to the game plan tonight, and it happened to go our way,” Interim Thunderbirds coach Dan Tkaczuk said. “It’s professional hockey, which means if your specialty teams play a part and produce, you’ll have many chances to win like we did tonight.”
The Thunderbirds wasted no time jumping out to the early 1-0 lead. Dylan Coghlan put the play into motion as he zipped a quick pass to Mathias Laferriere, who raced into the offensive zone to intercept the loose puck; trailing behind Laferriere were Charlotte’s defencemen Michael Benning and Calle Sjalin, but they were too little too late, as Mikhail Abramov emerged from the left slot.
Laferriere took note as he sent over a cross-ice pass to him. Abramov then buried the glove-side wrister, blanking Checkers netminder Ludovic Waeber, giving the home team the 1-0 lead at 16:23 remaining in the opening frame.
Coghlan recorded his 16th assist, and Laferriere got his first point of a 3-point performance.
“I think Laferriere had a solid weekend,” said Tkaczuk. “He’s got a good skill level, but when he’s competing, he’s moving his feet and using his range to win some puck battles. Suddenly, he’s playing with the puck a bit more, and it’s nice that he can show that skill level to capitalize on the opportunities he earned tonight.”
As the first period progressed, penalties piled up for both teams, but neither could capitalize on the man advantage.
Due to both netminders taking the spotlight, Subban dominated the first period as he flashed the leather and diffused the Checkers’ momentum, stopping all ten shots on the net. Checkers netminder Waeber made his presence known despite recording his first blemish to Abramov, as he matched Subban’s intensity from that point and stopped all nine shots from that point on.
Charlotte would strike back as the middle frame drew to an open. Once the puck broke at center ice, Checkers’ forward Patrick Giles led the charge as he rushed into the T-Birds zone. Springfield looked to clear, but Giles muscled his way to the net as he tried to jam the puck home past Subban, but to no avail.
As play continued, Patrick Khodorenko skated to the front of the net as he found the loose rebound outside the crease; he then zipped it back over the left shoulder of Subban, tying the game at 1-1 at 19:16 remaining in the middle frame. Khodroenko’s goal was the only flaw that Subban recorded. Giles and Rasmus Asplund assisted in the play.
“Well (Subban) is a leader,” said Tkaczuk after Saturday’s victory. “He’s(Subban) a guy that we lean on for stability back there, but he’s so good around the room around the team, from how he approaches practices to how he interacts with everyone on the staff.
“He’s just a pleasure to coach, and I know why he’s a great teammate to have.”
The T-Birds would quickly regain the momentum as defenceman Matt Kiersted was called for hooking, resulting in the T-Birds’ third powerplay attempt of the night.
Springfield was only getting started as they would score three times in the middle frame. The offense erupted on the powerplay as it began to take shape when Calle Rosen fed a quick pass to Lafferiere. He then fired a quick wrister that bounced off the boards.
McGing then salvaged the loose puck and sent it back; Sjalin tried to disrupt McGing’s focus as he slid to his knee in a last-ditch effort to block the shot; the effort came up short, as McGing’s wrister was already in the back right side of the net, breaking the tie as the T-Birds took the lead 2-1 at 18:44 remaining in the 2nd period. Lafferiere and Rosen assisted in the play.
Adding to the scoring sheet was Thunderbirds defenceman Hunter Skinner, who recorded his first AHL goal of the season. The puck was coasting to the neutral zone. Springfield captain Matthew Peca made the initial play as he quickly recovered the striding puck and sent it to Zachary Bolduc.
Bolduc then located Skinner skating into place at the bottom right point before passing to Skinner, who fired the one-timer back stick side on Waeber, extending Springfield’s lead 3-1. Bolduc finished his night with three assists.
For us, it’s been a bit harder on the powerplay as of late in the last few games,” Thunderbirds forward Zachary Bolduc said. “So I think we gained a lot of momentum from the success on the Powerplay tonight. I think it gave wings for the rest of the game.”
By the closing minutes of the second period, Springfield led 4-1 as Lafferiere lit the lamp once again. Keean Washkurak dropped a cross-ice pass to Lafferiere, who then turned the jets on racing into the offensive zone.
Leading the charge with the puck on his stick, Lafferiere got to the bottom of the left red dot circle and zipped a wrister that soared past Waebers’ glove side, giving the home team the 4-1 lead at 6:00 mins remaining in the middle frame. Washkurak and Skinner assisted in the play.
From that point on, Springfield held complete control of Saturday’s game. The T-Birds scored two additional insurance goals during the third period to distance themselves from Charlottle with a 6-1 lead as the Checkers looked for any answers.
“It was huge, as we were home,” said Bolduc, gathering his thoughts after Saturday’s victory.
“This was an important game for us, and we had a pretty tough game on the road earlier this week in Hershey. So tonight was a big overall team win.”
Home Town Heroes Night
Before the ceremonial puck drop on Saturday night, the Thunderbirds honored all Western Mass first responders with appearances from various Police and Fire Departments, EMTs, and the US Marines.
Springfield Fire Department Private Ken Korzec broke down while describing what the experience meant to him.
“I love all the community support from everyone who came out for us,” Korzec said. “I also love seeing the general public have a piqued interest in wanting to learn about fire prevention and our first responders.”
During the first-period intermission, lights were dimmed as multiple emergency service vehicles drove onto the ice and took a ride around, creating a special moment that will forever be a memory and token of gratitude to the heroes in the Western Mass Community.
The T-Birds are back in action this Wednesday as they make a quick road stop in Bridgeport to face off against the Islanders to close the month.
The puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m.
