T-Birds Embark on Second 3-In-3 of Season
Published on December 1, 2022 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Thunderbirds News Release
Springfield Thunderbirds prepare to enter the ice
(Springfield Thunderbirds)
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The Springfield Thunderbirds (7-8-0-4) begin their second three-game weekend of the season on Friday night as they welcome a Western Conference opponent in regular season play for the first time. The Rockford IceHogs (9-7-0-1), the AHL affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks, will be on hand for the first of two meetings between the clubs this season. The puck drops at 7:05 p.m. inside the MassMutual Center. Springfield will travel to Rockford for a rematch on Friday, Jan. 20.
The Thunderbirds look to rebound from a trio of tightly-contested defeats over the last week. Springfield got two more splendid performances from goaltender Joel Hofer, who compiled a microscopic 1.96 goals-against average and .938 save percentage over seven November starts. Despite Hofer's 63 saves against Hershey on Wednesday and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Saturday, the T-Birds' offensive sticks came up just a little short, falling 2-1 against the Bears and 3-2 in a shootout against the Penguins.
The T-Birds battled valiantly on the road on Sunday in Bridgeport, erasing a 4-2 deficit against the Islanders in the final period, but the Islanders got the puck luck on a game-winning power-play goal with just over three minutes to play in a 6-4 triumph.
Familiar opponents round out the weekend slate for the T-Birds, as they visit the Providence Bruins on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence. Then Springfield will make a second consecutive Sunday visit to Bridgeport in a rematch with the Islanders at 3:00 p.m. at Total Mortgage Arena.
Through the season's first 19 games, Matthew Highmore leads all T-Birds with 20 points, including a team-high 16 assists. Fellow first-year T-Bird Martin Frk also is clicking at a point-per-game pace with 17 points in 17 games.
After this busy weekend, the T-Birds return home for back-to-back games on Dec. 9 and Dec. 10 against two more Central Division opponents, the Grand Rapids Griffins and Milwaukee Admirals, respectively.
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.
Images from this story
 Springfield Thunderbirds prepare to enter the ice |
American Hockey League Stories from December 1, 2022
- Davies' Heroics Sends Amerks Past Monsters in Overtime - Rochester Americans
- Cleveland Falls to Rochester 4-3 in Hard Fought Overtime Loss - Cleveland Monsters
- Detroit Recalls Austin Czarnik - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Admirals Stomp Moose in Shoot-Out - Milwaukee Admirals
- Moose Outlasted by Milwaukee in Shootout - Manitoba Moose
- IceHogs Teddy Bear Toss, Josiah Slavin Hat Night Coming December 10 - Rockford IceHogs
- Phillips Named AHL Player of the Month - Calgary Wranglers
- Hunter Shepard Named AHL Goalie of the Month - Hershey Bears
- Phillips, Walker, Shepard Named AHL Award Winners for November - AHL
- T-Birds Embark on Second 3-In-3 of Season - Springfield Thunderbirds
- P-Bruins & RIPTA Team up for Toy Drive for Hasbro Children's Hospital - Providence Bruins
- Series Preview vs. CV: December 2 & 3 - Henderson Silver Knights
- Reign Announce Multiple Transactions - Ontario Reign
- Bears Return Kim and O'Neil to South Carolina - Hershey Bears
- Detroit Assigns Goaltender Magnus Hellberg to Griffins - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Blue Jackets Assign Goaltender Daniil Tarasov to Monsters - Cleveland Monsters
- Roadrunners Announce Details for 2022 Holiday Games, Shopping - Tucson Roadrunners
- Mitchell Recalled to Blackhawks - Rockford IceHogs
- Minnesota Wild Recalls Defenseman Andrej Sustr from Iowa - Iowa Wild
- Rochester Americans Game Preview: Thursday, December 1 at Cleveland - Rochester Americans
- San Diego Drops Game to Colorado - San Diego Gulls
- Abbotsford Canucks Sweep Bakersfield with 4-3 Comeback Victory - Abbotsford Canucks
- Barracuda Tamed by Wild, 5-3 - San Jose Barracuda
- Wild Sweep Barracuda, Win 5-3 in San Jose - Iowa Wild
- Win Streak Reaches Seven with 3-1 Victory over San Diego - Colorado Eagles
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.
