Charlotte set the tone immediately with a staggering offensive explosion in the first period. After Liam McLinskey opened the scoring early with a snipe and Mikulas Hovorka doubled that lead with a shorthanded strike, the floodgates opened for the Checkers - who pumped in three more goals over a span of less than three minutes.
The Thunderbirds broke through with four seconds left in the period but the damage was done. The Checkers kept their foot on the gas to tack on two more quick ones in the middle frame and a power-play blast from Mike Benning to cap things off in the third to finish off the smackdown of Springfield.
— Charlotte Checkers (@CheckersHockey) January 14, 2026
QUOTES
Checkers Coach Geordie Kinnear on the first periodI just liked the way we were playing. You look at McLinskey, he scores the first goal but he’s put the work in behind the scenes and worked on his shot. He kind of had to wait his turn a little bit, but he got it started for us. I just thought we had good energy tonight for the first time in a while.
Kinnear on Mikulas Hovorka’s goal
We encourage all our D to be part of the attack. I know he’s had a lot of chances and kind of hasn’t gotten rewarded for it, but good on him. I thought he had a really good game tonight.
Kinnear on staying disciplined
I think the refs did a great job allowing us to play. There were some competitive components to it, which is what you want even though the score got out of hand a little bit. I liked the way the guys played regardless of the score all the way through. It was a building block.
Kinnear on building momentum for tomorrow’s rematch
You’re not going to build any momentum. It’s extremely hard to win back to back against the same team. I’m sure they’re going to watch the video and address some areas of concern, and we need to do the same thing and be ready to go tomorrow.
Mike Benning on tying a franchise record with five first period goals
It's fun when you’re scoring goals and it gets the energy going. I was having a good time. It’s why we play the game, to have fun and score some goals. Fun to be a part of history there.
Benning on his three points tonight
It’s not so much the points but it’s playing the right way. Our power play is clicking, and that’s one step in the right direction. Just keep it moving forward, and hopefully we can take that momentum into tomorrow’s game.
Benning on playing against Springfield
When we play our game we dictate the play. It’s our agenda against theirs, and if we stick to ours it’s a good outcome. It’s playing hard and staying connected with the guys in there.
Benning on the growth of the team
It’s a lot of new guys coming in and a lot of new faces. I think at the start of the season we didn’t really know what everyone was all about, but now we’re a tight-knit group and we play for everyone in the room. It’s not just about numbers and points and all that. You’re playing for team wins and two points at the end of it. You’re looking at the bigger goal, and with a good group of guys like that, who doesn’t want to do it?
