Isles Top T-Birds on Sold out Sensory-Friendly Sunday

March 3, 2024 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Thunderbirds News Release

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- The Springfield Thunderbirds (25-24-3-2) could not overcome a 3-0 hole in the opening period as the Bridgeport Islanders (18-29-6-1) skated off as 4-1 winners at the MassMutual Center on Sunday before a seventh straight sellout crowd of 6,793.

Not even a minute into the festivities, both Sam Bitten & Will Bitten got the Thunderdome engaged in the game with a pair of fighting majors in bouts against Seth Helgeson and Eetu Liukas respectively. However, the Islanders held a sizable edge in offensive zone time, and that translated into an early lead for the visitors.

At the 9:10 mark, Ruslan Iskhakov artfully slipped the puck to Matt Maggio in the left-wing circle, where the rookie swiftly moved the puck from backhand to forehand and uncorked a perfect wrist shot under the crossbar past Colten Ellis to make it 1-0 for Bridgeport.

The penalty parade continued as two separate Springfield players were whistled for penalties just 45 seconds apart, opening the door for Bridgeport's power play. On the ensuing two-man advantage, Ellis made a save on an initial try by William Dufour, but Carsen Twarynski was positioned perfectly to slide the rebound home to make it a 2-0 score at 11:18.

In the final minute of the period, Brian Pinho further bolstered the Islander lead when he sidestepped a hit attempt before beating Ellis between the legs with a snapper at 19:23.

After being outshot 18-5 in the first, the T-Birds responded with some pushback in the second, but rookie Bridgeport goalie Henrik Tikkanen was steady in the crease. Mikhail Abramov finally dented the young goaltender at 12:11 when he deposited a loose puck in the blue paint after a Jakub Vrana slapper squeaked through Tikkanen's equipment. Abramov's second goal in as many days cut the margin to 3-1.

The T-Birds' best chance to get closer came in the middle portions of the third period, when back-to-back Bridgeport penalties handed Springfield a 5-on-3 advantage. However, Tikkanen and the gutsy Isles' PK unit stood up to the challenge, and a Springfield penalty would then nullify the advantage.

Karson Kuhlman put the game away at 16:48 with an empty-net goal to seal the visitors' seventh win in 11 tries this season against the T-Birds.

The T-Birds and Islanders complete their season series on Friday night for one final installment between the rivals inside the MassMutual Center. Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m. at the Thunderdome.

Fans can reserve seats for Thunderbirds hockey action throughout the 2023-24 season by calling (413)-739-GOAL (4625) or visiting www.SpringfieldThunderbirds.com.

Springfield Thunderbirds forward Ryan Suzuki in front of the Bridgeport Islanders' goal

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