Peca Leads T-Birds' Comeback Triumph over Isles
November 6, 2024 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Thunderbirds News Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The Springfield Thunderbirds (4-7-0-0) overcame an early three-goal hole and stormed back to knock off the Bridgeport Islanders (2-6-1-1) by a final score of 5-3 on Wednesday morning inside a sold-out MassMutual Center.
The Thunderbirds' power play had a golden opportunity to start the day on a high note after an early head contact penalty to Islanders captain Cole Bardreau, but the Springfield power play, which was 2-for-4 in their last outing on Saturday, could not dent Jakub Skarek's net.
Bridgeport, on the contrary, took advantage of their first chance, scoring the game's opening goal just six seconds into a power play at 5:17 when Brian Pinho tallied his team-high seventh of the season.
Travis Mitchell added to the Islander lead with a breakaway goal past the blocker of Colten Ellis at 12:29, and Pinho added a second tally at 15:23 off an odd-man rush to push the visitors' lead to 3-0 after the opening 20 minutes.
Springfield began its turnaround at the 4:47 mark of the middle period when a fallen Islander in the neutral zone sprang Matthew Peca and Nikita Alexandrov on a 2-on-0 break. Peca fed Alexandrov a perfect cross-crease, backhand pass, and Alexandrov capped it for his third goal of the season to cut the Bridgeport lead to 3-1.
Not even five minutes later, the T-Birds' blue line joined in on the action as Hunter Skinner received a pass from Tanner Dickinson and blistered a slapper through Skarek to shave the lead to 3-2 at 9:26.
The T-Birds hadn't recorded a shorthanded goal all season, but that changed at the 13:43 mark when Greg Meireles raced into the Islander end on his backhand. While Skarek made an initial save and a second denial on Aleksanteri Kaskimaki, the Finnish rookie got another chance, and Kaskimaki's first AHL goal tied the game heading into the third.
With new life on the Thunderbirds' bench, Steve Konowalchuk's team came out in the third and seized control. Peca broke the tie at the 10:00 mark, receiving a perfect backhand centering pass from Alexandrov and stashing it over Skarek's shoulder to give Springfield its first lead.
Ellis slammed the door shut at his end of the ice, denying all 21 Bridgeport shots in the final two periods, including a pivotal breakaway denial on Liam Foudy in the final two minutes. Dalibor Dvorsky extended his goal-scoring streak to four games with an empty-netter in the final minute to round out the scoring.
The T-Birds look to carry the momentum of the comeback win on the road for two games in Hershey against the two-time defending Calder Cup champion Bears. Puck drop from the Giant Center is set for 7:00 p.m on Saturday and 3:00 p.m. on Sunday for the back-to-back set.
Interested 2024-25 season ticket members can call (413) 739-GOAL (4625) or visit www.SpringfieldThunderbirds.com to learn how to become a regular at the Thunderdome.
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