After finding themselves stymied for much of last night’s tilt, the Checkers broke the ice early in the first thanks to Gerry Mayhew punching in a quick shot from out front.
That lead wouldn’t survive until the intermission, as Springfield evened the score before the first buzzer, but the Checkers responded in a big way in the second. Ryan McAllister delivered a one-timer from the right circle two minutes into the frame, then Zac Dalpe stuck with a loose puck in the crease and put his side ahead 3-1 after 40 minutes of play.
That two-goal advantage proved to be clutch for the Checkers, as the two sides traded blows in the third. Springfield narrowed the lead to a single goal on two different occasions - once just 39 seconds in and once in the back half of the frame - but Charlotte had a counter each time. Justin Sourdif crashed the net and negated the Thunderbirds’ first tally of the period, then Mayhew put a dagger into the empty net in the waning moments of regulation to seal the deal for the home team.
Nice start! pic.twitter.com/MF1Wt366Gg
— Charlotte Checkers (@CheckersHockey) February 18, 2024
QUOTES
Coach Geordie Kinnear on the gameWe talked about how we didn’t want to wait until the third period to get the goal and we wanted a better start. I thought the first two periods were outstanding. We stopped playing a little bit in the third period and give them some credit because they scored early and definitely carried the play. It was a big goal by Sourdif there to go up by two.
Kinnear on breaking through for five goals
We have a certain mindset offensively that we want to get to, and I think you’ve seen it. Guys just haven’t scored, and tonight we scored. You look at the guys that are supposed to score, they scored tonight.
Kinnear on offensive leaders getting on the board tonight
It’s big. Listen, we’ve had a lot of chances throughout the year that haven’t gone in, but I can tell you that guys have put a lot of work in. They stick to it and they don’t really get frustrated very often. They just keep doing what they’re supposed to do and eventually know it will turn. You’re not sure when, but it turned for Gerry tonight. As a group, the first two periods were outstanding and we did what we wanted to do.
Gerry Mayhew on breaking through offensively
It’s always nice when you win games, and even in the five-game skid you’re right there and you out-shoot teams and they just weren’t going in. They finally started to go in, so hopefully that continues.
Mayhew on keeping an even keel through times
It’s tough and it’s a little different than last year. We’re still in a playoff spot and we’ve got talent, and we know anything can happen in playoffs. It doesn’t really matter where we’re at as long as we’re winning some games and doing the right things.
Mayhew on coach’s message to get to the front of the net
That was a huge thing tonight that he said for us to improve on. It was a great job by everybody getting to the front of the net and digging. Just an overall great game by the boys.
