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AHL Springfield Thunderbirds

T-Birds Hang Tough But Can't Skate Past Bruins

April 19, 2024 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Springfield Thunderbirds News Release


Springfield Thunderbirds defenseman Anton Malmstrom (right)
Springfield Thunderbirds defenseman Anton Malmstrom (right)
(Springfield Thunderbirds)

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Springfield Thunderbirds (30-36-3-2) battled hard but ultimately came up shy in a 4-2 defeat at the hands of the Providence Bruins (41-20-6-3) on Friday night inside Amica Mutual Pavilion.

The T-Birds' struggles with finding the opening tally continued just 4:47 into the action when Anthony Richard circled Colten Ellis' net before firing a perfect cross-crease pass to Georgii Merkulov, who one-touched it into the yawning net, giving Providence a 1-0 advantage.

Like on Sunday, though, the T-Birds were not deterred. 3:58 after the opening Merkulov goal, Anton Malmstrom cashed in on his first professional goal, funneling a left-point wrist shot through traffic to tie the score, 1-1, at 8:45. Adam Gaudette extended his point streak to five games with an assist on the play, and in doing so, he also became the first T-Bird to reach 70 points in a single season.

The T-Birds had a gift-wrapped chance to take the lead when Trevor Kuntar was guilty of a four-minute high-stick infraction. Springfield's top power-play unit fired from all angles, but after five shots on Brandon Bussi's cage, the Bruins survived the threat to hold the score at 1-1.

Providence then leaped back in front in the closing minute when Richard scooted to the left-wing circle before snapping another perfect pass to the back post, where Jayson Megna guided it through Ellis with just 46 seconds left in the period, sending the Bruins to a 2-1 intermission advantage.

Gaudette and Zack Bolduc each had an assist in the first, and both players picked up another helper at 6:10 of the second when Bolduc drove down to the bottom of the right circle. From there, he tucked a backhand feed to a cutting Ryan Suzuki, who finished a forehander through Bussi as he fell to the ice, tying the game 2-2.

Bussi and Ellis had the force fields up in front of their respective nets for the better part of the next 30 minutes of game action, as the 2-2 score held all the way until the 17:13 mark of the third. Rookie Riley Duran fired the dagger into the T-Birds when a rebound skipped right to his stick to the right of Ellis, leaving the Providence College product with a wide-open net and a go-ahead goal to make it 3-2. Merkulov added one more into an empty net in the final minute, ending the scoring.

The Thunderbirds conclude their 2023-24 season on Saturday night before a 20th sellout crowd inside the MassMutual Center against the Hartford Wolf Pack. The day begins with the Community Bank N.A. Block Party at 4:00 p.m. at the Plaza at MGM Springfield before puck drop at 7:05 p.m. inside the Thunderdome for the 14th straight sellout audience.

Fans can reserve seats for Thunderbirds' hockey action in the 2024-25 season with a ticket membership by calling (413)-739-GOAL (4625) or visiting www.SpringfieldThunderbirds.com.

Check out the Springfield Thunderbirds Statistics




Images from this story

Springfield Thunderbirds defenseman Anton Malmstrom (right)
Springfield Thunderbirds defenseman Anton Malmstrom (right)
   



American Hockey League Stories from April 19, 2024


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