T-Birds Erase Two Deficits, Topple Checkers 7-4

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -  The Springfield Thunderbirds (34-23-2-5, 75 points) erased a pair of deficits in the middle period en route to a 7-4 victory over the Charlotte Checkers (35-23-3-3, 76 points) on Wednesday night at Bojangles' Coliseum. With the win, Springfield's magic number to clinch a Calder Cup playoff berth now sits at 9, and the T-Birds are now just one point back of Charlotte for third place in the Atlantic Division standings. 

After being shorthanded just once on Saturday in a shutout win in Hartford, the Thunderbirds were forced into an early pickle as Charlotte got the game’s first power play just 19 seconds into action. 

The Checkers’ man advantage got the jump-start they wanted, as a Lucas Carlsson point shot, redirected by Cory Conacher, found its way past Joel Hofer to make it a 1-0 game just 1:04 into the opening period. 

Springfield largely failed to generate much offense in the first 20 minutes, as J-F Berube needed to make just six saves, one of which came on a mini-break for Martin Frk shortly after the Conacher goal. Charlotte outshot Springfield 14-6 for the period as a whole. 

Just like period one, Charlotte wasted little time getting to the scoresheet again in the second, as Carlsson took matters into his own hands, beating Hofer on a wrist shot from the right circle to make it 2-0 just one minute into the second.

Springfield was in need of a momentum shifter, and Martin Frk provided just that as he rocketed a slapper over Berube's stick side at 4:10 of period two, dwindling the Charlotte lead to 2-1.

Just 80 seconds later, the T-Birds' fourth line equalized the game, as Matt Kessel and Drew Callin each made perfect center feeds, and Mitchell Hoelscher cashed in on the doorstep to make it a 2-2 game at 5:30. 

Despite the Springfield charge, the Checkers still had a pushback of their own, and Riley Nash fired home his 23rd goal of the season on a perfect backhand pass through the slot from Gerry Mayhew at 9:54, restoring Charlotte's lead to 3-2. 

Charlotte never could put the T-Birds away, and Nikita Alexandrov redirected a long Adam Gaudette point shot through Berube at 16:16 to send the game into the final frame tied, 3-3. 

On a night where Springfield's power play struggled mightily on its first six chances, they did not strike just past the eight-minute mark of the third, but their work in the offensive end paid off seconds later as Gaudette streamed down the right side and cashed in on a centering feed from Kessel at 8:15 to give the T-Birds their first lead of the night at 4-3.

The T-Birds went to yet another power play, but it was a Charlotte shorthanded bid that saw a huge tipping point in the game, with Hofer denying a shot and a rebound from Patrick Giles to preserve the lead. With just five seconds left on the advantage, Hugh McGing received a pass at the goal line and tried to slip a centering pass through the top of the crease. With good fortune, McGing careened it off a sliding defender and across the goal line to give Springfield insurance and a 5-3 lead.

With a secondary assist on the play, Kessel became the first defenseman in T-Birds history to record four assists in a single game and just the fourth player overall in the team's history to hit that mark.

Charlotte again would not go away quietly, and in his pro debut, Mark Senden crashed the net, dropped the puck out of his glove to his feet, and swatted it past Hofer's stick at 13:40 to cut it back to a one-goal game again, 5-4. 

One more time, though, the T-Birds found the insurance-marking goal on a similar play to the Gaudette tally. Alexandrov entered the zone on the right wing and fired a pass across to Tyler Tucker in the left circle. With attention drawn to him, Tucker slipped a perfect feed into the blue paint, and Will Bitten touched the puck into a wide-open net for his 20th goal of the season to extend the lead to 6-4. 

This time, Charlotte would get no closer, and Matthew Highmore fired a puck into an empty goal with 1:17 to play to round out the scoring. 

Springfield and Charlotte play the second of three straight games on Friday night as they rematch at 7:00 p.m. at Bojangles' Coliseum. 

Thunderbirds fans can reserve their seats for upcoming games by calling (413) 739-GOAL (4625) or visiting www.SpringfieldThunderbirds.com.