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AHL Springfield Thunderbirds

Haggerty's Heroics Get T-Birds Past Sound Tigers

December 20, 2019 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Thunderbirds News Release


SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The Springfield Thunderbirds (16-14-1-0) rallied for three unanswered tallies after allowing the first goal to come away with a 3-1 triumph over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (11-16-3-1) on Friday night inside the MassMutual Center.

In a first period devoid of high shot totals either way (Springfield led 9-6 in shots on net), the Sound Tigers struck first with Sebastian Aho leading a smooth rush into the T-Birds zone, with Nick Schilkey on the receiving end of a perfect pass in the right circle. Schilkey then beat Philippe Desrosiers on the far side to make it 1-0 at the 4:53 mark of the opening period.

Springfield had a tough time getting shots on net in the opening period, as quality chances slipped away for a number of T-Birds in the first 20 minutes. In his first game with the T-Birds, Ryan Haggerty nearly got Springfield on the board in the opening period as he crashed the net but could not handle an Anthony Greco pass cleanly on the doorstep.

As the teams returned for the second period, the T-Birds picked up their snark, and Paul Thompson then got Springfield on the board when he slipped a forehand bid past Jared Coreau at the 5:04 mark of the middle period on a 2-on-1 rush.

At the other end, Desrosiers did his job in the second, stoning all 13 Bridgeport attempts to allow his team to get to the final period in a 1-1 deadlock. In the final period, Haggerty took advantage of a small bit of deadlight to get the MassMutual Center into a frenzy. After fellow ex-Penguin Ethan Prow carried the puck around the Bridgeport net, he spotted Haggerty in the left circle, where the right-hand shooter pushed a one timer through Coreau on the short side to give the T-Birds a 2-1 lead at 12:34 of the third.

With Bridgeport threatening late, the T-Birds squelched any comeback attempt as Anthony Greco picked up his second point of the period by stripping Aho and hitting an empty net for his 10th of the season.

After giving up a goal on his second shot faced, Desrosiers stopped the next 31 in a row to pick up his 8th win of the season with 32 saves.

The T-Birds hit the road to Hershey for a pair of matchups with the Bears at 7:00 p.m. tomorrow night and at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday. Both Hershey and Springfield sit at 33 points in the standings.

For more ticket information or to become a 2019-20 Springfield Thunderbirds ticket package member, or to purchase single game tickets, call (413) 739-GOAL (4625) or visit www.SpringfieldThunderbirds.com.

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