CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Springfield Thunderbirds (2-3-1-1) took a narrow 3-2 defeat at the hands of the Charlotte Checkers (5-2-0-0) on Friday night in the first of back-to-back games between the Atlantic Division foes inside Bojangles Coliseum. 

After he stopped 63 of 66 shots in two postseason starts in Charlotte in April, Georgii Romanov was asked to pick up right where he left off, and he answered the bell in a big way with 17 stops in a first period controlled by the Checkers. Kirill Gerasimyuk only needed to make four stops at the other end of the ice, but despite two power plays and all those shots, Charlotte was unable to crack Romanov as the game went scoreless into the second.

Romanov's strong work allowed Springfield the time to find their offensive game, and at 2:22 of the middle period, the T-Birds did just that as Simon Robertsson worked a slick two-man game with Michael Buchinger, as the young defenseman fielded Robertsson's pass and quickly snapped a forehander through Gerasimyuk to give Springfield the 1-0 lead on Buchinger's second of the season.

The T-Birds' power play got an opportunity to put some distance between themselves and the opponent four minutes later, but Charlotte's penalty kill completed the feat, and moments after the advantage ended, Matvei Shuravin moved up as the trailer on a 3-on-2 rush and slipped a forehander through Romanov's legs at 8:31 for his first AHL goal, tying the game 1-1. 

The animosity ramped up near the end of the period after an interference hit by Gracyn Sawchyn on T.J. Tynan ignited a massive scrum in center ice. For their roles, Springfield's Quinton Burns and Charlotte's Robert Mastrosimone received misconducts as the bad blood seeped into the end of the second.

Charlotte would take its first lead early in the third when veteran Nate Smith found a loose puck near the low slot and lifted a backhand into the top of the goal to make it 2-1 at 3:54. 

However, the T-Birds showed quick response time when Robertsson spun to his forehand on the right side to give himself a shooting lane and laced a forehand try past Gerasimyuk just 33 seconds later, tying the game, 2-2. 

The stalemate carried for five minutes, but Charlotte ultimately fired the last punch at 9:50 when Gracyn Sawchyn found a loose puck near the left post and navigated the puck around a fallen Romanov to tuck in the go-ahead goal, making it a 3-2 game. 

Springfield's troublesome time generating shots wound up hurting them, as they managed just 19 shots for the game, including only four in the final 20 minutes. 

The T-Birds look to earn a split of the weekend on Saturday when the teams reconvene for a 6:00 p.m. matchup at Bojangles Coliseum. 

2026-27 season and individual game tickets are on sale now. Reserve your seats at SpringfieldThunderbirds.com or call (413) 739-GOAL (4625).