SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Thunderbirds (6-8-1-0) got a clutch late-game goal from their captain en route to a 4-2 win over the Charlotte Checkers (7-4-0-1) on Saturday night at the MassMutual Center. Springfield picked up its first set of back-to-back wins this season in the process.
The T-Birds played a stout defensive opening period against the AHL’s most potent offense, keeping the Checkers to just nine shot attempts and one unsuccessful power play opportunity. Vadim Zherenko has a stable start to his night, denying each Charlotte shot that reached the blue paint.
At the other end, former T-Birds head coach Geordie Kinnear also had his team locked in defensively. The Checkers also killed off one Springfield power play, and Ken Appleby had answers for each of the T-Birds’ seven first-period shots.
2:30 into the second, one of the newcomers to North America got Springfield the night’s first tally. Leo Loof brilliantly maneuvered himself down the right wing into the slot, moving the puck to his forehand and rattling a shot off the post. While Loof did not have luck on his side, his fellow Swede Simon Robertssondid, as the rookie arrived in the slot, found the loose puck, and snapped it past a fallen Appleby to give Springfield the 1-0 lead. It was Robertsson’s first AHL goal, and it marked the first time in three games that Springfield tallied the first marker.
The Springfield power play, which had not scored since Nov. 2, got into the action next at 5:57, as Aleksanteri Kaskimaki uncorked a one-timer from the right circle off a setup from Samuel Johannesson. Marcus Sylvegard parked himself in front of the net and deftly tipped the shot past Appleby for his second man-advantage goal of the season, and the T-Birds lead moved to 2-0.
A late penalty and subsequent unsportsmanlike conduct call put Charlotte on the power play for four minutes at the tail end of the middle stanza. With just 1.8 seconds left in the frame, Trevor Carrick held a clearing attempt in and snapped a shot past Zherenko to bring the Checkers to within a goal heading into the third.
The visitors built off that goal at the 2:23 mark of the third when Marek Alscher moved up from the blue line to find a loose puck in a scramble and score his first AHL goal to tie the game, 2-2.
The stalemate carried into the back half of the final frame, and a pair of matching minors set the teams up at 4-on-4 hockey with less than six minutes to play. Almost immediately, the T-Birds rose to the occasion. Hunter Skinner raced to the right point to hold a puck at the blue line. With no hesitation, he whipped a pass diagonally to a streaking Matthew Peca on the left-wing side. Appleby denied Peca’s first attempt with the pad, but the captain corraled the rebound and swept it into an empty net, restoring the T-Birds lead, 3-2, with 5:29 to go.
With Appleby pulled in the closing minutes, Charlotte kept pressing the issue, but Zherenko and the T-Birds defense stiffened. Dylan Peterson blocked a last-ditch effort, cleared the defensive zone, and tapped the puck into the empty cage to wrap up Springfield’s win.
Zherenko earned his first win since Oct. 12 with 25 stops on the night, while Appleby had 22 saves for Charlotte.
The two teams rematch on Friday night inside the MassMutual Center with puck drop set for 7:05 p.m.
