The Charlotte Checkers split a weekend set with the Springfield Thunderbirds at Bojangles Coliseum to maintain its third-place standing in the AHL’s Atlantic Division.
The Thunderbirds took the Saturday night opener by a 3-1 count. After a scoreless first period, Hunter St. Martin scored his first AHL goal from Gracyn Sawchyn and Marek Alscher 2:35 into the middle frame. Springfield’s Dylan Peterson lit the lamp late in the second and Matt Luff potted the eventual game-winner with 6:23 remaining in the third before Peterson tallied again into an empty net at 19:57. Kirill Gerasimyuk delivered a quality start, finishing with 29 saves on 31 shots.
Sawchyn beat Georgi Romanov with 16 seconds left in overtime to lift the Checkers to a 4-3 victory on Sunday. Jack Devine scored a goal and had two helpers, including the lone assist on Sawchyn’s game-winner. Wilmer Skoog opened the scoring and set up Devine’s goal and Nolan Foote also found the back of the net for Charlotte. Sawchyn, Tobias Bjornfot and Mikulas Hovorka contributed assists to the cause. Cooper Black made 19 saves to up his record to 12-4-1. He had 11 wins as an AHL rookie last season.
The Checkers are now 15-9-2 with 32 points. They will hit the road for games against Lehigh Valley, Hershey and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to close out the calendar year.