Thunderbirds defy odds, rally to upset Checkers to advance to division semifinal; Carbonneau, Jiricek facing formidable foes in respective junior semifinal series; Fischer joins Springfield; Fyodorov, Metallurg begin semifinal series in KHL; Harenstam joins
Left for dead, Springfield rose from the ashes and lived to fight another day.
The American Hockey League's Thunderbirds, affiliate of the St. Louis Blues, pulled off the improbable and upset Charlotte, winning the series 2-1.
They were lambasted in the opener last Wednesday, falling 8-1 after dropping six of eight to the Checkers, the affiliate of the Florida Panthers, in the season series.
But after falling behind 2-1 in Game 2 on Friday, Springfield would score six of the final seven goals in the series, including the last four in a 5-2 win in Game 2 before winning 2-1 in overtime in Game 3 on Saturday on a goal by Julien Gauthier, who was acquired by the Blues from the New York Islanders on Feb. 24 for Matt Luff.
From a Blues prospect perspective, Hugh McGing, a fifth-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, had a goal and an assist and was a plus-3 in the game. His goal was a shorthanded breakaway that for all intents and purposes, put the game away at 4-2 late in the third period:
Zach Dean (2021, first round, No. 30, Vegas Golden Knights), who was in on the series-clincher, at the net in case Gauthier's goal didn't trickle down and in, also scored in Game 2 that tied the game 2-2 on a nice setup by Theo Lindstein (2023, first round, No. 29) that initially wasn't called a goal because the Charlotte goalie knocked the goal off its moorings; he also led Springfield with four shots on goal:
And what can you say about goalie Georgi Romanov, acquired prior to the season from the San Jose Sharks after Colten Ellis was claimed off waivers by the Buffalo Sabres, stepped in nicely to stop 29 of 31 shots.
Romanov would come back 24 hours later and stop 34 of 35 shots, and Gauthier, who also scored in the opener, would power his way around the right edge and flip a backhand up and over Cooper Black's shoulder and roll off the goalie's back and over the line to end the game, with Dean there to pop it in just for good measure:
According to the AHL site, the Thunderbirds are the first team in Calder Cup playoff history to win a series after losing its first game by more than five goals.
Springfield, which qualified as the No. 6 seed from the Atlantic Division, will now face top-seeded Providence in a best-of-5 series, starting on Friday:
* So, as it turns out, Adam Jiricek (2024, first round, 2016) and Brantford are penetrable.
After sweeping through the first two rounds of their Ontario Hockey League playoff series, the Bulldogs are being challenged by Barrie in the Eastern Conference Final series.
After splitting two games in Brantford, the top-seeded Bulldogs went out and reclaimed home ice advantage with a 2-0 win over the Colts in Game 3 on Sunday.
Jiricek didn't register a point on Sunday, but the defenseman, who has 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) in 11 playoff games thus far, had two assists in a 4-3 win in Game 1, including the game-winner with 1:35 remaining in the game:
He would score two high-slot one-timer goals in a 5-3 loss, the Bulldogs' first in 10 postseason games, in Game 2 on Friday to even the series before Brantford re-took the series lead on Sunday.
Game 4 in Barrie will be Tuesday before the series shifts back to Brantford on Thursday.
* The same can be said for Justin Carbonneau (2025, first round, No. 19) and Blainville-Boisbriand of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in its conference final series against Moncton, but the Armada got what they wanted with a series split.
The fourth-seeded Armada would knock off the top-seeded Wildcats, 3-2 in the fourth overtime when Carbonneau would set up Mael Lavigne at 7:48 of the fourth extra period on a shot on goal and Lavigne following up the rebound in the slot:
Carbonneau, who has 17 points (seven goals, 10 assists) in 12 playoff games, would give the Armada a 4-3 lead in the third period off a face-off, but Moncton would score two late in the third to win 5-4:
Games 3-4 will be Monday and Tuesday in Boisbriand, Quebec before going back to Moncton for Game 5 on Friday.
* Mikhail Fyodorov (2025, fifth round) is the lone prospect remaining in the Gagarin Cup playoffs in Russia's KHL and Metallurg opened its semifinal series with a 5-2 loss to Ak Bars.
The forward only played 8:31 in the contest and had one shot on goal; thus far, the has two goals and an assist in 10 postseason games.
* The season for Lukas Fischer (2024, second round) ended with Sault Ste. Marie in the second round of the OHL playoffs recently, but the defenseman's season isn't over.
* Ondrej Kos (2024, third round) and Ilves are in a 3-2 series deficit to Tappara in the semifinals of the Liiga playoffs 2026 in Finland.
Tappara has come back to take Games 3-5, winning 3-2 in Game 3 last Tuesday, 5-1 in Game 4 on Thursday and 2-1 in overtime in Game 5 on Saturday.
Kos is up to five assists in 13 playoff games.
Fischer was assigned to Springfield of the AHL last Tuesday.
He began the year as captain of Sarnia and had 26 points (five goals, 21 assists) in 39 games before he was dealt to the Soo Greyhounds halfway through the season and had 19 points (three goals, 15 assists) in 26 regular-season games.
Fischer would put up six points (one goal, five assists) in 10 playoff games.
* Also, goalie Love Harenstam (2025, sixth round), who backstopped Sweden to a gold medal in the last World Junior Championship, was named to the roster for his country for the upcoming Fortuna Hockey Games in Jönköping, Sweden, and Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic.
Harenstem is one of two goalies along with Magnus Hellberg, once with the Ottawa Senators. Other NHL skaters include Nils Hoglander, Liam Ohgren and Linus Karlsson of the Vancouver Canucks, Jack Berglund (Philadelphia Flyers) and Anton Frondell (Chicago Blackhawks).
The tournament will take place April 27-May 3, 2026.
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