Stingy Rocket Defense Frustrates T-Birds in Laval
AHL Springfield Thunderbirds

Stingy Rocket Defense Frustrates T-Birds in Laval

Published on March 20, 2026 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Thunderbirds News Release


LAVAL, QC - The Springfield Thunderbirds (24-28-6-2) struggled to find offense against the stout defense of the Laval Rocket (38-19-2-3) on Friday night in a 4-1 loss inside Place Bell.

The two teams, each entering with two-game winning streaks, started the game confidently, with chances traded at both ends. Netminders Vadim Zherenko for Springfield and Kaapo Kahkonen for the Rocket were equal to the task through a busy opening half of the period.

Kale Kessy and Vincent Arseneau also got the capacity crowd inside Place Bell into the action with an exciting scrap at the 5:12 mark of the period.

Springfield fended off 10 Rocket shots in 10 minutes and then got the scoring started at 11:11 when Hunter Skinner joined an outnumbered attack and shuffled a backhand rebound past Kahkoken after a stop off of Thomas Bordeleau. Fellow Quebec native Julien Gauthier picked up an assist alongside Bordeleau to give Springfield the 1-0 lead.

After the Skinner goal, both teams took turns in the sin bin, as the T-Birds killed a Rocket power play, then Laval returned the favor to dodge a four-minute Springfield advantage.

Unfortunately for the visitors, back-to-back penalties for too many men and slashing gave Laval a 5-on-3 in the final minute of the first, and former Blue Sammy Blais tapped home a point-blank pass from Joshua Roy to even the score at 19:04. Springfield would survive the remainder of the period to get to intermission deadlocked, 1-1.

The T-Birds would go on to outpace the Rocket in shots, 9-5 in the middle period, but Laval was opportunistic at 8:13 when Jared Davidson found a soft spot in the high slot, caught a pass from Owen Beck, and snapped a glove-side laser past Zherenko for the only goal of the second, giving Laval a 2-1 lead into the third.

Filip Mesar furthered Laval's lead when he beat Zherenko off a 2-on-1 centering pass from Beck at 5:57 of the third, making it 3-1, and Springfield never would get closer, as the Rocket penalty kill stymied the T-Birds one final time down the stretch, with Florian Xhekaj adding a shorthanded, empty-net goal to close the scoring.

The T-Birds complete their Canadian road trip on Saturday night at 7:00 when they square off against the Belleville Senators at CAA Arena.

Single-game tickets and ticket memberships for all remaining games in the Thunderbirds' 2025-26 season are available now - fans can order now by visiting www.SpringfieldThunderbirds.com or by calling (413) 739-GOAL (4625).

Check out the Springfield Thunderbirds Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



American Hockey League Stories from March 20, 2026


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central