Checkers Defeated 5-1 By T-Birds

The Charlotte Checkers (30-18-4-0) lost 5-1 to the Springfield Thunderbirds (21-25-5-2) on Saturday night at MassMutual Center.

For the second straight night, Springfield’s Zach Dean produced the game’s opening goal, beating Kirill Gerasimyuk at 2:20. Matthew Peca doubled the Thunderbirds’ lead at 18:57 on the power play, forcing Charlotte into a 2-0 deficit after 20 minutes.

Alek Kaskimäki potted his own rebound at 4:30 of the second period, pushing Springfield’s lead to three. Noah Gregor gave Charlotte some life at 5:22, scoring the visitors’ first goal off a setup from Brian Pinho and Nate Smith.

However, Dylan Peterson made it 4-1 at 6:25. Following Peterson’s goal, Charlotte made a goaltending change, swapping Gerasimyuk for veteran netminder Louis Domingue. Hugh McGing added Springfield’s third goal of the second period and fifth of the game at 7:20. The Thunderbirds outshot Charlotte 11-4 in the middle frame.

Gerasimyuk allowed four goals on 15 shots in 26:25 of action, while Domingue stopped nine shots in relief. Charlotte fired a season-low 18 shots on goal in the loss.

The Checkers are back in action Monday night against the Hershey Bears at Giant Center. Coverage of the game will be available courtesy of FloHockey and Mixlr.

NOTES

Charlotte is 3-2-1 on their current ten-game road trip … the Checkers went 6-2 against the T-Birds in the 2025-26 season series ... Trevor Carrick returned to the lineup on Saturday after a three-week absence due to an upper-body injury … Domingue appeared for the first time since February 1 versus Providence … Gregor has six goals in 15 games this season with Charlotte … Smith extended his point streak to four games with the assist on Gregor’s goal … Domingue and Thunderbirds goaltender Will Cranley fought with 8.8 seconds left in regulation. Ludvig Jansson, Liam McLinskey, Colton Huard, Kai Schwindt, Gracyn Sawchyn, Marek Alscher, Cooper Black and Brett Chorske were scratched for Charlotte.