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AHL Springfield Thunderbirds

MacEachern's "Mac-Nificent" Night Lifts T-Birds Past Wolf Pack

December 18, 2021 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Thunderbirds News Release


SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The Springfield Thunderbirds (15-7-2-0) rode a five-point night from Mackenzie MacEachern and a 49-save performance from Joel Hofer to a 6-4 win over the Hartford Wolf Pack (12-6-2-1) on Saturday night inside the MassMutual Center. The win allowed Springfield to leapfrog the Wolf Pack and hop back into first place in the Atlantic Division.

For two teams that had each gone more than two weeks without a victory, the Wolf Pack and Thunderbirds raced out of the gates to the tune of 37 combined first-period shots, with young goalies Hofer and Tyler Wall each needing to be at their best from the opening minute.

Hartford got the first goal in the wild shooting gallery of a period when Patrick Khodorenko used the outside of his skate to deflect a Lauri Pajuniemi shot in behind Hofer at 10:50 to make it a 1-0 game less than a minute after the Wolf Pack's first power play came to an end.

Despite the deficit and even though the offense had been quiet in their prior three games, the T-Birds kept their nose to the grindstone and Drew Callin got rewarded at 16:36 following great work by both Nolan Stevens and MacEachern behind the net to free up a loose puck. Callin slid into the slot area and took a centering pass from Stevens and lifted it over the glove of Wall to make it a 1-1 tie.

The Wolf Pack power play was then handed a chance to retake the lead, but instead, the Springfield shorthanded unit broke the tie in the T-Birds' favor. MacEachern darted in on goal to dislodge the puck after Wall failed to corral the loose change. After winning yet another puck battle behind the icing line, MacEachern threw the puck back in front. With Wall sprawling to try to get back in position, Calle Rosen crept up from the right point and unleashed a slapper into the yawning net at 18:53 to make it a 2-1 Springfield lead at the end of the first period.

Hartford kept making Hofer work up a sweat as they unleashed 20 more shots in the middle stanza. The only one to elude the Springfield netminder was a power-play redirection by Tim Gettinger at the 12:14 mark of the period to tie the game, 2-2.

That tie score would be fleeting, though, as MacEachern's third point of the night at 14:14 restored the Springfield lead, 3-2. Tommy Cross moved up on the play in the left circle and took a shot that careened first off a Hartford defender before glancing off MacEachern's body and in behind Wall.

Not even 20 seconds later, Hartford went right back to a power play with another gift-wrapped chance to get the game back even. However, Morgan Barron fumbled the puck at the point, and MacEachern raced the other way on a shorthanded breakaway. With only Wall to beat, MacEachern confidently slipped a backhand-to-forehand move through the five-hole of the Hartford goalie, and the fourth point of the night for the T-Birds winger made it a 4-2 game heading into the final frame. Through two periods, MacEachern already had the most prolific single-game output by a Thunderbird so far this season.

After seeing their power play come up empty in each of the previous three contests, the Springfield man advantage broke through as Cross flipped a point shot through Wall at 4:06 of the third to make it a 5-2 game. The goal would later be credited to Keean Washkurak, and Michael Kim picked up his first point as a T-Bird with an assist on the tally.

Hartford would not go down quietly, though. Jonny Brodzinski one-timed a power play goal through Hofer's stick side at 8:18, and just under seven minutes later, Barron added a power play goal of his own off a setup from former T-Bird Anthony Greco to make it a 5-4 game with 5:13 to play. Greco finished his night with three assists for the Wolf Pack.

Despite Hartford's late charge, it would come up just short, as MacEachern finished off his five-point night with an empty-net tally with 54 seconds left on the clock. MacEachern's output was just the second such five-point game in Thunderbirds history, and it marked the Thunderbirds' first hat trick of the 2021-22 season.

The I-91 rivalry renews itself on Sunday afternoon in Hartford at the XL Center, as the T-Birds and Wolf Pack will square off at 3:00 p.m. to complete the busy weekend slate of games before the holiday break.

For more information on the Springfield Thunderbirds and to order tickets, please visit www.SpringfieldThunderbirds.com. To learn more about becoming a Thunderbirds ticket member, call (413) 739-GOAL (4625) to speak to a Thunderbirds representative.

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American Hockey League Stories from December 18, 2021


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