Springfield Thunderbirds goaltender Georgi Romanov looks on in a San Jose Sharks game against the Edmonton Oilers at SAP Center in San Jose, CA. (Source: Eakin Howard-Imagn Images)In a battle of goalies that took extra minutes of hockey, the Springfield Thunderbirds beat the Charlotte Checkers 2-1 after overtime to advance to the Atlantic Division Semifinal Series of the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs where they will play the Providence Bruins.
Springfield did a good job restricting Charlotte to zero shots to open the game, but in a 4v4 situation and with open ice, the Checkers scored on their first shot at the 5:58 mark courtesy of Tobias Bjornfot to take a 1-0 lead. Springfield would go cold in shooting for nearly 15 minutes in the first period and Charlotte eventually outshot the visitors 9-4 in the opening frame.
The Thunderbirds kept the shot differential relatively closer and competitive for the last two regulation periods but were still outshot 20-18. However, they did get the all-important equalizer early in the third period when Aleksanteri Kaskimaki shot the puck past Charlotte goalie Cooper Black.
Ultimately, when overtime began, the Checkers came out guns blazing, outshooting Springfield 7-1 before T-Birds forward Julien Gauthier would score on Black with Springfield's second shot of the frame and giving the series win to the Blues AHL affiliate team.
Both teams had a combined seven opportunities at the power play with the Checkers getting four and the Thunderbirds getting three. They were a combined 0-for-7 with Charlotte's poor job at the man-advantage being magnified more as it eventually cost them the game and the series.
In the win, T-Birds goalie Georgi Romanov made 34 saves off 35 shots for a save percentage of 0.971.
Despite the loss, Checkers goalie Black made 22 saves of 24 shots for a save percentage of 0.917.