For the second day in a row, the first period proved to be tough sledding for the T-Birds, who managed just one shot on goal in the first 19 minutes of play. While Springfield’s penalty kill again stood out thanks to an early Charlotte lead, the Checkers broke through at 15:49 with the first goal of the game when Wilmer Skoog knocked home a rebound in the crease behind him. George Romanov.
The T-Birds nearly equalized in the final seconds, but Cooper Black made the most of his three saves in the first frame to deny a goal. Matt Luff breakaway to maintain Charlotte’s lead at intermission.
The Checkers wasted little time in forcing Romanov to break a sweat in a busy second period, but as was the case during the T-Birds’ hot spell, the goaltender threw up a force field and Springfield’s penalty kill survived two more man-down scenarios to prevent Charlotte from adding to their total.
Despite registering just five more shots in the second, the T-Birds did enough to equalize, such as Michael Buchinger turned to the right wall before hitting a centering pass straight to the stick Matthew Pecawho guided it over Black’s blocking arm to tie the match at 9:31 of the period, 1–1. The captain has now registered points in each of the last three matches. Matt Luff also picked up an assist, his sixth point in four games against his old team.
In the third period, the match started offensively and Charlotte took advantage at 5:57 when Jack Devine rounded the goalmouth and tucked a wraparound behind Romanov for a short count, making it a 2-1 game.
The T-Birds returned at 11:11 am Chris Wagner completed a perfectly executed 2-on-1, with a pass to Dylan Peterson for a net front finish to tie the score, 2-2. It was Peterson’s third goal of the weekend.
The 2-2 score lasted just 48 seconds, however, when Nolan Foote took a stretch pass from Tobias Bjornfot and fired a high shot over Romanov’s blocker for a 3-2 Checkers lead.
The T-Birds got some more luck with about two minutes left, as a miscued cherry whistle kept Charlotte from making a potential empty-netter with Romanov on the bench. In the following series, Luff lifted a wrister towards the net from a distance, but Black could not hold it and Jakub Stancl jumped on the rebound to tie the game with just 1:36 to play.
For the sixth time in the two teams’ last seventeen meetings at the Bojangles Coliseum, overtime was required, and for much of the frame Romanov shone, spurning six Checkers offers, including a clear break for Bjornfot and three consecutive close-up chances from Foote.
Ultimately, though, the T-Birds’ misfortunes continued as Gracyn Sawchyn broke free from behind the defense and lifted a perfect backhander to the top with just 16 seconds left in the 3-on-3 action, giving Charlotte the win and snapping Springfield’s four-game win streak.
Despite the loss, Romanov shined with 35 saves, earning points for his team in the standings for the sixth consecutive time. The T-Birds are now 7-1-3-1 dating back to November 18, good for a .750 point percentage in that time frame.
After the holiday break, the T-Birds will make their highly anticipated return to the Thunderdome after the holiday break on Saturday, December 27, for a 6:05 PM game against the Providence Bruins.
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