Kessel, Alexandrov Set Tone in Win over Hartford

January 26, 2025 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Thunderbirds News Release

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The Springfield Thunderbirds (19-17-2-2) fought off a resilient push from the Hartford Wolf Pack (18-20-2-1) to earn a 4-2 win on Sunday afternoon inside the MassMutual Center, finishing the three-game weekend with five of a possible six standings points.

Matt Kessel and Nikita Alexandrov were the tone-setters on this day. 36 seconds into the contest, Kessel flipped a puck toward Hartford netminder Louis Domingue's cage, and Alexandrov cut through the slot to deflect it home to give Springfield the 1-0 advantage.

7:13 later, with a delayed penalty against the Wolf Pack, the T-Birds hustled a sixth attacker onto the ice, and Kessel made a beeline to the net front. Alexandrov returned the favor, throwing a perfect pass to his stick, and the defender guided it home to make it a 2-0 score.

Colten Ellis was locked in from the drop of the puck en route to his fifth win in as many starts against the Wolf Pack. The backstop denied all 14 Hartford shots in the opening 20 minutes.

A dose of bad luck for Ellis gave the Wolf Pack the first goal of the second period at 3:01, when a bad carom off the right corner glass skittered to Alex Belzile. After failing to tuck it in at the side of the post, Belzile circled the net and located Brennan Othmann, who one-timed it home before Ellis could get back into his crease.

The 2-1 score continued into the final period when another bad break could have turned the game around. After Matthew Peca was knocked down from behind in the neutral zone without any penalty call, the Wolf Pack continued pressing, and before the next whistle, Anton Blidh beat Ellis with a wrist shot at 3:19 of the third to tie the game, 2-2.

Instead of letting it define their night, the T-Birds strengthened their resolve. With a power play chance at 8:27 of the period, Peca provided the exclamation point, deflecting a Samuel Johannesson shot through Domingue to break the tie and give Springfield a 3-2 lead.

The Wolf Pack were relentless in throwing pucks into the blue paint, but Ellis and the Springfield defense threw up a force field to hold on for the win. Hugh McGing added an empty-net goal as time expired to seal the deal. Ellis improved to 5-0 against Hartford and tied a season-high with 40 stops in the victory.

The T-Birds get some deserved rest before making their first-ever trip to Iowa to square off with the Wild on Friday and Saturday at Wells Fargo Arena.

Fans can get their Thunderbirds tickets today by calling (413) 739-GOAL (4625) or by visiting www.SpringfieldThunderbirds.com.

Springfield Thunderbirds crash the net against the Hartford Wolf Pack

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American Hockey League Stories from January 26, 2025

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