The Checkers produced plenty of chances in their visit to Springfield on Friday but couldn’t find any bounces, dropping a 3-1 final to the Thunderbirds.
The slumping Thunderbirds came out hot in this divisional battle, pumping in two goals within the first six minutes of play. The home side then tacked on a power-play tally early on in the middle frame and the Checkers found themselves in a steep 3-0 hole midway through regulation.
The Checkers tilted the ice their way from that point - outshooting the Thunderbirds 27-14 through the second two periods - and a point blast from Matt Kiersted put the visitors on the board, but that would be the extent of their attempted rally. Despite a myriad of close calls the Checkers couldn’t quite push any across the goal line, and time ran out on their comeback bid as Springfield captured the 3-1 win.
NOTES
Tonight snapped a seven-game point streak for the Checkers and was their first regulation loss since March 25 … The Checkers are 2-4-1-0 against the Thunderbirds this season, with their final meeting of the regular season coming tomorrow … This was the first time the Checkers have failed to score at least three goals since March 25 … Grigori Denisenko, Max Gildon, John Ludvig, Max McCormick and Henry Bowlby missed the game due to injury … Zach Uens and Antoine Bibeau were healthy extras
UP NEXT
The Checkers and Thunderbirds square off once more tomorrow, with the puck dropping at 6:05 p.m. in Springfield.
