The first period proved to be a high-energy frame with several strong offensive chances for the Checkers, including one by defenseman Haydn Fleury as he broke up a zone entry attempt by Springfield’s power-play unit and sprung himself on a shorthanded breakaway that was deftly handled by Thunderbird goaltender Samuel Montembeault. Shortly after, a beautiful passing sequence between the top line of Aleksi Saarela, Martin Necas and Andrew Poturalski hit off the post and appeared to cross the goal line, but after a video review it was determined to be a no-goal. With just over 10 minutes remaining in the first period the Checkers broke through with a power-play goal by Nick Schilkey to take a 1-0 lead and give the forward his tenth tally of the season. Charlotte goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic continued to stand tall, saving all seven shots he faced to maintain the clean sheet going into the second period.
The Checkers continued their offensive momentum with back-to-back goals in the middle frame. Zach Nastasiuk fired a bullet into the top corner on a late-developing 2-on-1 chance for his third goal of the season, and then just 41 seconds later Julien Gauthier used his big, net-front presence to bury a rebound following a no-look pass from Schilkey in the slot.
The third period provided a fitting end to a competitive division rivalry with a heavyweight fight between Dan Renouf and Thunderbirds’ forward Bobby Farnham. With less than three minutes remaining in the game Dryden Hunt tapped in Springfield’s only goal after a save by Nedeljkovic and a fortunate bounce off the post. To provide the proverbial dagger, though, Steven Lorentz buried an empty-netter to lift the Checkers to a 4-1 win.
