T-Birds Bested by IceHogs, 4-2
December 2, 2022 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Thunderbirds News Release
Springfield Thunderbirds battle the Rockford IceHogs
(Springfield Thunderbirds)
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The Springfield Thunderbirds (7-9-0-4) could not get past the special teams of the Rockford IceHogs (10-7-0-1) as the visitors came away with a 4-2 win on Friday night at the MassMutual Center in the T-Birds' first-ever regular season contest against a Western Conference opponent.
In their return to the Thunderbirds, skating on the same line, Alexey Toropchenko and Nikita Alexandrov nearly generated the game's opening goal when they moved in on a 2-on-1 against Rockford goaltender Dylan Wells. The pair worked a nice give-and-go, but Wells sprawled with his left leg to stonewall Toropchenko from the right circle, keeping the game scoreless.
Rockford went to the game's first power play, and despite the man advantage generating next-to-nothing over the first 1:45 of the power play, it did strike in the dying seconds, with 20-year-old Lukas Reichel one-timing a shot off the inside of the post behind Joel Hofer, giving the IceHogs the 1-0 lead at 10:51 of the first.
Springfield outshot the IceHogs 7-5 in the first, and the T-Birds had a golden chance to tie the game with Will Bitten in alone on a shorthanded breakaway later in the period.
Rockford had the better of the play to begin the second, and their efforts were rewarded when Brett Seney and Cole Guttmann combined to steal the puck near the goal line, with Guttman finding Buddy Robinson at the edge of the crease, and the big man beat Hofer at 4:54 to give the IceHogs the 2-0 lead.
Springfield's power play would let three opportunities slip through the cracks, including a four-minute advantage, but at even strength, some hard-nosed work near the goal line paid off as Greg Printz jammed a loose puck past Wells at 15:00 off a setup from Anthony Angello and Matt Kessel, cutting the IceHogs lead to 2-1.
The Thunderbirds then fell victim to some controversy when Bitten got tied up with Mike Hardman after a hit by Bitten nearly put the Rockford winger into his own bench. Hardman responded by dropping his gloves and trying to start throwing punches at Bitten. Tyler Tucker joined in to defend his teammate as the whistle blew. Springfield ended up shorthanded out of the scrum, however, and Guttmann picked up his second point, chopping a puck through Hofer's legs from the right circle at 17:43.
Frustrated but not defeated, Springfield answered just 1:04 later when Toropchenko fired a shot off the crossbar. As he and Alexandrov dug for the rebound alongside Matthew Highmore, a desperate Wells inadvertently pushed the puck back into his own net, giving Toropchenko his first AHL goal of the season and bringing the T-Birds back to a 3-2 deficit as the game hit the intermission.
The IceHogs added to their lead just 39 seconds into the third, taking advantage of a giveaway before Luke Philp blasted a one-timer past Hofer to extend the lead to 4-2.
Springfield appeared to cut the lead in half when Toropchenko raced in from the left side, deked in front of the crease, and beat Wells over the blocker. However, after the officials came together, the goal was taken off the board for incidental contact with the goaltender. The T-Birds would not get any closer, despite seven power-play chances over the course of the evening.
The Thunderbirds hit the road for the next two legs of the three-game weekend, beginning with a 7:05 p.m. affair against the Providence Bruins on Saturday at Amica Mutual Pavilion.
Thunderbirds fans can reserve their seats for the 2022-23 season and lock in the best prices and member benefits by calling (413) 739-GOAL (4625) or visiting www.SpringfieldThunderbirds.com.
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 Springfield Thunderbirds battle the Rockford IceHogs |
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