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).
American Hockey League Stories from March 20, 2026
- REIGN Preview 3/20 - Ontario at Iowa - Ontario Reign
- Gulls Slip Past Condors in 7-4 Showdown - San Diego Gulls
- Condors Dropped by Gulls on Road - Bakersfield Condors
- Becher Tallies Game-Winner in Victory over Rockford - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Iowa Starts Weekend with 4-1 Victory over Ontario - Iowa Wild
- Third-Period Comeback Falls Short in Loss to Crunch - Rochester Americans
- Wild Night in Iowa, Reign Downed, 4-1 - Ontario Reign
- Pens Snag 2-1 Shootout Win, Playoff Berth in Belleville - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Senators Battle Hard, Come up Short in 2-1 Shootout Loss - Belleville Senators
- Bojangles Game Preview: March 21 & 22 vs Lehigh Valley - Charlotte Checkers
- Crunch Clinch Playoff Berth with 5-3 Win over Americans - Syracuse Crunch
- Abate, Soderstrom Boost P-Bruins Past Comets - Providence Bruins
- Penguins Clinch Berth in 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Comets Drop Close One in Front of Sellout Crowd, Fall to Bruins 4-3 - Utica Comets
- Stingy Rocket Defense Frustrates T-Birds in Laval - Springfield Thunderbirds
- Dallas Stars Sign Northeastern University Forward Dylan Hryckowian - Texas Stars
- Syracuse Crunch to Host Christie Casciano for "The Puck Hog: Trophy Thief Mystery" Book Signing March 22 - Syracuse Crunch
- New York Rangers Recall G Dylan Garand from Hartford Wolf Pack - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Jackson Jutting Released from PTO - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Hartford Wolf Pack Ink D Phip Waugh to PTO - Hartford Wolf Pack
- The Captain's Call - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
- John Leonard Reassigned to Griffins - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Preview: Condors at Gulls, 7 p.m. - Bakersfield Condors
- Silver Knights Sweep Road Trip With Dominant Win In Calgary - Henderson Silver Knights
- Nikita Chibrikov and Phil Di Giuseppe Lead Moose over Milwaukee - Manitoba Moose
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.
